<p>Michael:</p>
<p>On rereading my post, I think what I wrote could be construed as lecturing you. I didn't mean to. You seem to know what you're doing. I really meant that for the OP, but just didn't say so. Sorry ;-).</p>
<p>Tarhunt,
Never even crossed my mind! My daughter's beginning venture into the world of professional theatre is a whole new experience for me and every opportunity to learn from someone else's experience is appreciated.</p>
<p>My D has never been secretive with her audition selections - she loves to ask what others are doing in an audition setting, not because she wants to "steal" them, but just to share personal experiences and to use it as a great conversation ice breaker. Auditions songs are so personal and have to become a so much a part of you that I don't see how it matters if someone else does the same song - it's what you make of it, how you want to interpret and tell the story.</p>
<p>Michael:</p>
<p>Then let me express my admiration for how much you've learned, and how quickly.</p>
<p>How I find new material:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Voice teacher - find your daughter a great voice teacher. Talk to friends, industry professionals, teachers, etc and make initial voice lessons for her with several. She will know when she has found "the right teacher."</p></li>
<li><p>Public library - go to your public library's website, do a subject search for "cast recording" and reserve (literally) everything that comes up. Download them on iTunes and listen whenever possible. This is obviously a long term way to find songs and isn't quick or easy, but a lot can be learned about interpretation on top of simply finding good material.</p></li>
<li><p>See lots of theater... pretty self explanatory.</p></li>
<li><p>YouTube - google the names of top MT schools and watch their students in action. If the school is good, they will have students performing songs from obscure and lesser known shows, not just the big hits on Broadway right now and the classics that everyone and their mother knows. This will also give you a good look into how good (or not good) the students at a certain school are.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>actormcfamous:</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip on YouTube. Hadn't thought of that one. Went over there and looked up some programs. It's a bit scary. I think it's fair to say that people aren't admitted to those programs based on acting skills. A rewording of T&A from "Chorus Line" comes to mind:</p>
<p>"Sing 10, act 3!"</p>
<p>Gorgeous voices, though.</p>
<p>Tarhunt,
Can you point us to some films that have actors who are 25 or younger that you think are good? Younger than 30? Sorry. Off topic. :)</p>
<p>A few notes about YouTube - </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Much of what you see is students "messing around," performing things at hastily-organized cabarets for fun, or working in class - this is why many programs actually have prohibited students from posting material unless it has been approved by the school. The schools don't feel it's represetative of the students' good work. Of course, at each of these students, have found ways to circumvent these restrictions and post things anyway. </p></li>
<li><p>YouTube is the new "trendy" place to find material - so use it much like reading a monologue book - decide what material you are attracted to, and then look at more material from that composer/show. In this way, you'll prevent singing the same "obscure" songs as everyone else.</p></li>
<li><p>Sometimes the schools post their showcases online. It's generally not advisable to sing something from a schools' showcase to audition for that school the following year, because that particular song will be strongly associated with tha performer in the auditors' minds - especially if you copy his or her riffs and other vocal interpretations. But as always, if you find a song that really fits you such that you "own" it, all suggested "rules" can be suspended. :)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Although I agree that the YouTube selections are fun to watch, they're not always truly indicative of what the kids are capable of doing. I'm hopeful of that anyway! :) I've seen some pretty disappointing performances posted on YouTube from one of the top schools, in particular. </p>
<p>Many of them are, indeed, enjoyable to watch but something else to keep in mind, with the vocals anyway, is that the sound is not always true on these clips. There's a clip of a performance done by current CAP21 kids at Tisch's grad this year. I was in the audience, and I've seen the clip, and yes, it's still fun to watch but it doesn't sound like it did for those of us who saw it live. If you just want to see a fun performance, I think it's called '21 to 29', or something similar. I attended more than one ceremony that week so I may be mixing them up!</p>