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Auditions might be nerve-wracking – it is all too straightforward to believe that you are going into a lions den. But one important thing to bear in mind, is the fact that the folks auditioning you Wish to like you. It is not like TV Talent Shows where the judges are competing with each other to come up with the wittiest put-down. They have a job to do – to cast a show. They could appear bored, but that’s due to the fact they’ve possibly seen a great deal of people already and are worried they’ll never discover the best person for a role. Having worked extensively as an audition pianist, I’m going to dispense some valuable guidelines.
1) Backing tracks or sheet music?
The vast majority of musical theatre auditions will have an audition pianist. Exactly where this is the case, the use of backing tracks is frowned upon.
2) Material
You’ll almost certainly have been told to prepare 2 songs – 1 uptempo and one ballad. They might be specific and request these be of a particular period or style. Be confident of your selection, but get advice if you’re not sure if your songs fit the genre. In case you cannot be bothered to discover this out it comes across that you’re not committed. Do not come in with a huge folder of titles for the audition panel to choose from – this can be a frequent mistake, and wastes everybody’s valuable time. Auditions are nearly constantly running behind time, so the much more organised and efficient you will be, the much better. Quite typically the panel will only desire to hear one of one’s two prepared songs.
3) Preparation of one’s music
Here, you want to make your life easy. Photocopy your music and tape together the pages, so it may be opened out by the pianist. Dog-eared loose sheets make it difficult for the pianist to concentrate on playing, as do books that won’t stay open! Among the worst experiences I had was of a singer presenting me with the music on a single lengthy roll of fax paper. An additional was when a singer came in with a hand-written piece of paper with chord symbols but no actual music. Make sure the sheet music is within the correct key – do not assume the pianist will be capable of transpose at sight. In case you are creating cuts or you will find repeats in the music, mark them clearly and confirm them with the pianist. Also make sure you have practised using the sheet music so you know exactly how it sounds – arrangements of pop songs are particularly notorious for sounding nothing like the original recording.
4) Ready to perform
Be courteous towards the pianist – they’re there to aid you succeed in an audition. Make confident you tell them how fast or slow the music ought to be played – don’t assume they know the song. If the pianist plays the piece a little too fast, just slow your singing, and they should follow your tempo if they’re worth their salt! The most crucial thing is for you to become confident of one’s performance. If anything need to go wrong – just keep going! That at times happens in a show, and you can’t just stop and say “can I start once again?” It really is a superb indication of how you cope with difficult situations that can present themselves in an acting job.
5) Completed!
Don’t worry in case you are cut off prior to your song finishes – this doesn’t mean they don’t like you, but as mentioned earlier auditions are typically running behind schedule, so they simply don’t have time to listen for the whole song. Nonetheless, you are able to support yourself here by ensuring the song isn’t overlong within the 1st place. If you can cut the song down to 1 verse and one chorus that’s generally a ideal length.
You May be asked in case you have any other songs with you. Now it is possible to get out your folder of other songs – just not prior to this point.
Make confident you thank the pianist, regardless of how nicely they played – they could be the musical director!