I couldn’t find this question asked in the MT forum although I know it has been addressed in the past; if found, please provide a link to any discussion I should read.
I’m curious about the number of songs and monologues each MT applicant prepared for the pre-screens and auditions this application year (or a recent year of applying). I know the answer to this question will depend on which schools (and the number of schools) that one is applying to, but just looking for examples.
I’ve heard everything from a minimum of THREE (for songs, 1. ballad, 2. up tempo, 3. belt or legit depending on ballad / up tempo selections; for monologues, 1. comedic, 2. dramatic, 3. classic … i.e., before 1900 … often Shakespeare selected) all the way up to SIX - EIGHT songs and SIX - EIGHT monologues covering all pre-screens and auditions preparation.
What is the number of songs and of monologues that were prepared by you (or your D or S), and how would you briefly describe each song and monologue selected (e.g., what criteria they were meeting based on the “ask”)?
Everything we have encountered so far (in applying to 20+ schools) could be addressed with 3 songs (1 MT ballad, 1 MT uptempo and 1 pop/rock, so long as one of the 2 MT songs are “golden age”) and 3 monologues (2 contemporary and 1 classical)
For each of these, need to have short and long versions (songs need 16-bar and 32-bar versions; monologues need 1 minute and 90 second versions)
If you have additional songs or monologues they can come in handy, and some might ask “let’s see what else you have” or “do you have a comedic monologue”, etc., so nice to have some more, but can get by with 3/3.
D had 6 songs (16 and 32 bar cuts) and 8 monologues. She ended up throwing one song out after she realized the accompaniment just didn’t work well. She applied both MT and Acting so needed a dramatic and comedic Shakespeare so ended up with more monologues than most of her MT friends.
Be prepared to perform whatever is in your book. Don’t have extras “just in case” if they are not 100% ready. Better to stick with fewer polished pieces than perform something that shows you less than your best.
My son has 3 monologues (including one classic). I think he has 2 songs which he plans to do at each audition; one golden age ballad and one contemporary up-tempo. He did a different golden age ballad for prescreens, but choked on it in his first live audition and won’t touch it now. He also has a couple of other songs in his back pocket in case someone asks.
I agree that each song needs to have 16 and 32 measure cuts and you need to have 60 and 90 second cuts (or different monologues for each time period).
A few BM MT programs (Belmont, for one) require an “Art Song” from the classical repertoire.
Occasionally a student may be asked if they can perform a song from a recent show on their resume, so its not a bad idea to have one or two songs ready and in your rep book from recent roles. These are likely to fit within the list above, or may be additional.
At least two contrasting monologues are required for MT applicants, typically one comedic and one dramatic, although in many cases only one monologue may done during the audition. Some programs may require a classic monologue. A few programs have very specific monologue requirements, such as Oklahoma:
My d sailed through with two contemporary monologues; she prepared a classical one but I don’t think that she ever used it. In addition, she hunted down and prepared a specific monologue to meet Oklahoma’s requirement for a play 1900-1969 and then never used it again. Her monologues were carefully selected to fit her “castable type” and were from a scene where her character really wanted something and included a specific “other” character.
As I recall she ended up only using a total of about five songs for auditions, one song was used early on and then dropped and never reused. She did, however, continually practice the 10-12 songs in her rep book throughout audition season. Her songs were selected to showcase her vocal range without trying to hit the very highest note that she possibly could and the songs were selected based more or less on the ability to portray a character with some emotional need, i.e., trying to get something that they want, etc.
My D was pretty minimalist. She had 3-4 songs prepared - 1 pop, 2 modern and 1 Golden Age - and had decided with her coach to do two specific ones but at the last minute changed her mind. She wasn’t feeling the Golden Age (she never does) and ended up auditioning with a rousing bit from the show she’d just been in. She walked out of her auditions (all Unified) feeling great and I know the Golden Age song would have made her feel iffy so it was good to have those options available. She prepared 3 monologues - 2 modern and 1 Shakespeare for you-know-who. Her coach helped her pick monologues she really related to so there was never really a question of swapping those out.
My D had probably more songs than needed - a contemporary song that is kind of a tweener (in between ballad and up tempo), but it is her favorite because she feels it shows her best storytelling. She also has a true contemporary ballad for schools that stressed ballad with sustained legato line. Her golden age is up tempo. And she has a comedic song and a pop/rock to meet specific requests. She has three art songs/arias (Italian, French and English) prepared because she’s auditioning vocal performance as well. She used one of those for both schools requiring that for MT and her solo and ensemble competition. She’s also dropped a couple songs along the road for different reasons.
For monologues she has three, two contrasting contemporary and one Shakespeare.