<p>I remember reading a discussion somewhere about type and i was trying to differentate between characters. some seem pretty obvious to me like laurie from oklahoma. but would a character like nellie forbush or marian paroo be considered a "typical" ingenue also? or something else?</p>
<p>Basically, yes, the pretty soprano with the ballads who gets the guy typically falls in as that “type”.</p>
<p>Type is not necessarily a good thing to worry about too much. In a search for material to work with, its not always about the type, but how well you relate to it.</p>
<p>Going along with the above comment-
You also have to take into consideration that no two people are alike, and you don’t always want to fall under a trap of being known as a “type”. I’ve seen many different “typical ingenues” played with a little different spice to them. A lot of how a character is played is based on actor and director’s choice. It honestly all just depends on how you present that character with your given stakes and obstacles within the production.</p>
<p>I hope this helps!</p>
<p>But still, as I was explaining to my friend yesterday: she might be able to sing both Lucy and Emma from Jekyll and Hyde but I could never ever take her seriously as a Lucy when she’s got the sweetheart petite face.</p>
<p>alright thanks everyone! so basically, don’t worry TOO much about type, but don’t do something totally unbelievable either.</p>
<p>Do everything you can to match your audition material with your face and body, gender and age. It’s important for professional auditions; you may as well get into that habit.</p>
<p>Okay…then I’m going to ask a specific question just to make sure…I’m considering a song from Mack & Mabel, and I really like the song and it fits my voice really well. Only I’ve never seen the show and I’m not sure what kind of actress Mabel usually is…could someone maybe give me similar type characters? I don’t want the auditors to be like, why did she choose this song?!</p>
<p>I do costumes for shows - and to get an idea of what is expected, I google and youtube like crazy. That should also work for investigating a show you don’t know (and I’m sorry I don’t know the one you mentioned, either). High school productions aren’t usually much help as they have such a small pool to cast from.</p>
<p>
I think that classicalbk is giving some really good advice. It is a very good idea to have a solid understanding of the characters portrayed in any song that you do for an audition. I can’t imagine that anyone could realistically “act the song” appropriately without fairly deep character knowledge as well as understanding of the show. Audition panels are full of very knowledgeable professionals who generally expect to see a high level of work into character. The requirement to “act the song” is what generally drives you into “type,” i.e., how can you act a song decently if you are not a fit for the type? This is why almost every college recommends that you pick songs and monologues that are age appropriate and represent a character for which you could be realistically cast. If the audition panel cannot realistically “see you” as the character you are attempting to portray, you may struggle to impress them, no matter how good your basic musical ability is. You are going to be up against people who have done character and story arcs in depth for their pieces. Also, an audition panel may ask you questions to see how much you really understand about the character and show for each piece that you do. “But I really liked the song” is probably written on the tombstone of a lot of failed auditionees…</p>
<p>haha good point, EmsDad! I think I’ll try to get a copy of that script…
And thanks for the advice classicalbk!</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, if I remember correctly Bernadette Peters played Mabel.</p>