Acing Your Musical Theatre Audition!
15 June 2020
Written By: Vanessa Kee
Auditioning may be one of the most daunting experiences in your performance journey, but fret not!
Here are a few tips and tricks to help you, curated by the Sing’Theatre team:
Pre-Audition tips
The work starts here! Being prepared for an audition ensures that you are calm and ready for an audition, without over-worrying.
- Read Carefully –Take note of audition details and make sure you don’t miss out on important information that they have provided you with (deadlines, song length, monologue choices etc.).
- Be Prepared – Invest time in practicing and preparing! it is the common practice to memorize all material unless specified not to do so!
- Age Appropriate – Choose material suitable for your age. This allows yourself to naturally connect with material better. It’s hard to connect with a character 20 years older than you!
- Be Creative – Study the material and making bold choices that show your creativity as an artist!
- Ask For Help – When in doubt, do not hesitate to reach out to whoever you are auditioning for to clarify and answer any questions. Just don’t spam them!
During the Audition
First impressions matter! Make sure you present yourself in the best light, to be someone the directors and team would love to work with. Remember, the audition panel is on YOUR side, they WANT to find the person best fit for the job, and it might be you!
- Introduce yourself confidently – First impressions count! Remember, they are auditioning people, not robots, so they want to see your personality from the start.
- Have your sheet music/accompanying music prepared – Make sure sheet music is nicely taped/filed OR backing tracks are of good sound quality.
- Keep your nerves in control – being nervous is extremely normal but ensure it does not get in the way of your performance. Remember to breathe!
- It’s a performance – Imagine you are performing for the show itself, embody the character and perform like you are on the stage, not in an audition room!
- Avoid overdoing it – Remember, you are there to tell a story. Be authentic and real with your performance. Sometimes, less is more.
- Be confident in the face of mistakes – Mistakes happen all the time! It’s n0 big deal. Keep moving forward. Sometimes, people can’t tell that you made a mistake until you’ve told them!
- Triple Threats are hard to find – In the world of Musical Theatre, finding a performer that is truly exceptional at Singing, Dancing and Acting is rare! Work to your skills, show off each of them to the best you can do! Eg. If your more of an actor, act your way through your dance!
- Be honest – if you are asked questions, ensure you are honest about your answers, never EVER lie!
- Be malleable – if you are given directorial changes on the spot, do you best to take these changes on. They are looking out for good listeners and team workers.
- Be Polite – When we are nervous we can be stuck in our heads. But do not forget to Thank the panel and the pianist after the audition before exiting the room.
For video auditions
- Let them see you – Ensure you have good lighting and plain background.
- Let them hear you – Make sure your surroundings are quiet and your voice and backing track can be heard loud and clear.
- Get the right equipment – Make sure your camera is of decent, clear quality. Most smartphones these days have good quality cameras that will do the job.
- Align yourself – Stand in the centre of the video frame, and ensure you head and whole body can be seen.
- Introduce your pieces – Remember to introduce the song or monologue you will be performing with your name, the title, show and the writer. This ensures that even if videos get misplaced or renamed, the panel will still know who you are!
Post-Audition Tips
- Be kind to yourself – It is normal to make a mistake in an audition. So long as you have done your best, leave the audition behind you.
- Keep training – Finishing an audition doesn’t mean you can stop practicing! Keep practicing monologues and songs, who knows what else may be around the corner?
- If you passed this audition great! If you didn’t – it’s not personal. Keep in mind that the audition panel are looking into a whole combination of requirements and expectations for their casting choices. You may have done a fabulous audition, and their choice has nothing to do with your ability, but rather, the specifics of what they were looking for.
- Keep auditioning – keep working, keep going, keep at the craft! The growth that comes with auditions is worth the work put in.
