Monday, July 8, 2013

Sing Something You Know

Hello one and all! Welcome to your very own auditions page! Okay, not really. It is MY auditions page but it is the conveyance for direct, concise audition information to help you in your quest for employment as an entertainer.  

Hmmm, you may wonder, why should I listen to Miss Auditions?  Having been involved in casting a great variety of shows and events for theme parks, resorts and the wide wild world of corporate entertainment, I know what makes the "judges" write in their diaries that the next truly great artist has arrived, what will put them directly to sleep and what is so terrifying you may be sued to pay for their Post Traumatic Stress therapy. 

Lesson One "Sing Something You Know" is for vocalists; not dancers, unicyclists or trained horses.  This may seem self-explanatory to most of you, but I assure you there are those who have shown up to audition for the lead in Evita with a spoon-playing monkey. And no, he didn't get the part. 

Now, Sing Something You Know should also be self-explanatory but experience has shown that not everybody chooses a song they do, in fact, know. This suggests to the casting team that if you are unable to learn a 2 minute song of your own choosing, you probably won't master the 39 page score required for the role. 

How, you may ask, will the casting team know whether you know the song or not? There are hints. Here are a few:

  • You have the lyrics written up your arm in sharpie
  • You ask the pianist to play through the melody a few times so you can familiarize yourself with the tune
  • You have your mother stationed behind the casting table with cue cards
  • You ask to go last so you have a little more time to prepare
  • You sing "da, da, da-da, da" instead of the lyrics
  • You bring an audition track that includes the original artist singing, so she can cover if you forget something. Lip syncing worked for Milli Vanilli but it may not work for you. 
  • Do an original, a cappella tune. Nobody will have any idea whether you improvise poorly or whether you actually wrote a song that bad. 
  • You keep saying, "My bad, can we start over?" 
So, go forth and learn by heart the song you want to use to audition. If you will be auditioning with a pianist, practice with a pianist. If you will be auditioning to a track, practice to the track. 

When, you may ask, is it okay to use an original tune for a vocal audition?
  • never
Unless, of course, your originals are famous enough that those listening will applaud not only your impeccable execution but your passion and brilliance as well. 

As a rule, if not explicitly stated otherwise, the auditions team wants to know you can sing with accompaniment,  with other people, with a track and/or sing in harmony with voices other than those in your head. Maybe you sing brilliantly in a key all your own. That doesn't work for ensemble numbers. If you are a maverick who sings to your own oboist, let it be known before somebody casts you in the chorus and the others hurt you. 

Once you know your material, have practiced and it comes easily to you, you're free to worry about other things like what to wear, how to make eye contact, what to say and does bribery work or is idle flattery sufficient. 

Visit again soon or even better, subscribe, for more vital information. 

In the meanwhile, happy auditioning! May the part be yours. 










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