<p>My S states that the schools do not want the auditioners to "act" out the song - they just want to hear the song and maybe some facial expressions. I find that odd. Can one of you experts clarify this?</p>
<p>I don’t know if I qualify as an expert, but yes he should act the song, inhabit the character, if you will.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>Whoa, it is the opposite of what your son has said! It is not enough to sing a song very well. It is musical THEATER. He MUST act and interpret the song. This is CRUCIAL. I cannot emphasize it enough. A great voice will not get you in a MT audition by itself. The presentation of the song counts a lot and it must be acted. Your son should not only work on the vocal technique of singing the song but work in his prep on how he plans to act the song, such as even prepping by acting his song like a monologue without even singing it. He must convey the story in the song. </p>
<p>Perhaps there is some confusion in that the song should not be blocked or choreographed like a stage production. But the song needs to be performed and yes, he can move and not stand in one spot. He can use more than simply facial expression. His entire body should be in character to perform and interpret the lyrics. But he shouldn’t break into a dance. :D</p>
<p>“…such as even prepping by acting his song like a monologue without even singing it. He must convey the story in the song”</p>
<p>I very much agree with all that soozie posted. When my daughter, who is now a junior, was preparing for her auditions, she in fact performed her songs as monologues not only with her vocal coach but also with her acting coach. Acting the song is a critical component to the vocal portion of the audition.</p>
<p>I was gonna post what Michael did but didn’t end up mentioning it, but when my daughter was prepping for college auditions, she also worked on acting her songs with her acting/monologue coach. Then, one time, the acting coach came to her voice lesson and they did the songs with music that time.</p>
<p>Totally agree with above posters. Colleges are indeed looking for singers who understand and can act their songs. In fact, at several auditions my D was questioned about her motivation in her songs; at one school she was even asked to perform her song again with a totally different interpretation. (And she was accepted into that program, so I guess she did a good job!)</p>
<p>Thank you. He has taken two song interpretation courses (total of 12 classes) with Ms. Betty Buckley here in Fort Worth, and he does a very good job at it, but since we are “new” to all of this, I think he is confusing what he does for the voice recitals as opposed to what he needs for the auditions. </p>
<p>Thank you thank you thank you. He is a 17 year old boy, and Mom doesn’t always know what she is talking about. </p>
<p>I bought all of the books that you guys referred to in another thread, and one of the books was talking about song interpretation. So now I will have the book and you guys.</p>
<p>Lots of kids think Mom doesn’t know what she is talking about. Thus, have your son read this thread. :D</p>