It's Not Just How Well You Do in the Audition Room...

A lot of this blog is about how to best represent yourself. One part of that is remembering that you never know who might have influence on your casting. Because of that, you want to be polite to everyone you meet, not just the people behind the table.

Here's an example of what I mean...
Several years ago, I was teaching the dance audition for a theme park show. Everyone who did well was asked to stay for a singing callback in the afternoon. Due to the way the day was scheduled, I took my lunch break at a different time than the rest of the production and casting team. While I was eating my lunch, one of the auditioning performers came over and started talking to me. In an annoyed tone, he complained about the day's schedule and told me that the singing auditions should have been done before dance, because that's the way all of his other auditions have been. I let him know that we preferred dance first for this show, and I went back to eating my pizza. 

At the end of the day, the Complainer had made it through the singing callback. I sat down with the production team to help with the actual casting. When asked what I thought of the Complainer, I said he could definitely dance the part but I also mentioned his complaints. The producer moved the resume to the bottom of the pile. The Complainer was not hired.

Perhaps this performer didn't realize I was part of the production team, and so thought that his comments wouldn't matter. Part of this issue is that he was complaining about something that wasn't a big deal. But the bigger issue is that he had a complete lack of judgment. He was so oblivious to professional etiquette that he complained to one of the people auditioning him. 

Don't let the same thing happen to you. Be nice to the receptionist, be polite to the others auditioning and just be all-around professional the entire time you are at the audition.

Audition Attire - Women's Edition

I'll be writing several posts on this topic, but this first one is for the ladies. This is for a singing or acting audition, I'll do a separate post about dance calls.

What you wear to an audition should be planned. Don't just show up in whatever you happen to be wearing that day. You want to look professional. You want to wear something flattering. You want to be remembered for your performance, not the hot mess you're wearing. This is the performer's equivalent of a job interview, don't dress like the trashy contestant on a reality show.

That sounds so common sense, doesn't it? I can assure you that it's not. I can specifically remember an audition last year when dressing appropriately was the exception, not the rule. I sat there as woman after woman came in at their appointed time, and for the vast majority of them, my first thought was, "What is she wearing?!"

In my audition technique classes of yore, I was trained to wear a dress or skirt and character heels. I'm not so rigid to expect that, and in my experience, other casting directors don't expect that either. I still see lots of dresses, but I also see jeans, khakis, capris, etc. So while you have some freedom in choosing what style ensemble you will wear, keep in mind some guidelines...

BRAS
Wear one. Don't let the straps show.


TRENDS
Unless you're auditioning for an extremely trendy, modern show, steer away from this season's hottest trends. Often these trends only look good on stick-figure juniors models. One specific trend within the past year or two is the casual high-waisted tank dress. For some reason, these are very popular with the women I've seen recently. This style makes average or curvy women appear to have no waist and is nearly always too short. Here are a few examples of what I mean:

AMOUNT OF SKIN
Be a little conservative with the amount of skin you are showing. Don't make your audition panel spend the entire audition trying NOT to see something. I still remember one young woman from nearly a year-and-a-half ago. She had a large chest and we could see nearly all of it spilling out of her top. It was distracting. I had to force myself to look at her face (and I'm a woman). If you are unsure if your outfit is too revealing, change into something else.

WHAT TO WEAR
Now I am not a fashion guru. My sources of fashion education are Project Runway and some old episodes of What Not to Wear (they love a trouser jean and a good shoe!). And whether you are a fashionista or not, you should wear something that fits well and looks professional. You want clothes that are somewhat form fitting but not clingy. I'm partial to classic silhouettes like a shirt-waist dress. Maybe you prefer trouser jeans and a cute sweater. Find what flatters your shape.

And one final thought:
If the producer wrote down "Real Housewives of New Jersey" on your audition form, you're doing it wrong. (This really happened.)

Who is Your Audience?

The cardinal rule of public speaking and advertising also applies to auditions: Know Your Audience. I don't mean finding out about your specific audition panel. In many cases, you won't know what members of the staff or production team will be at your audition. You won't know if there's a Simon Cowell judge who hates country music or a director who loves Gershwin. What I mean by audience is more general, i.e. learn about the show and/or company. This way you can choose your audition pieces to the type of roles they are casting. Now they may have made this easy for you and listed in the audition posting what type of songs or monologues they are looking for. Pay attention to see if they've asked for pop songs or musical theatre. If they've specifically asked for musical theatre, performing a Billy Joel song because it was in Movin' Out is probably not what they had in mind. Read below for some examples regarding tailoring your song choices to the type of audition.

If you're auditioning for...

South Pacific (or other classic) - choose songs in your vocal range from Rodgers & Hammerstein shows or other classic musical theatre. There are lots of great selections to choose from, you just have to be wary of picking a song that's really overdone. If I had a dollar for every time a petite performer auditioned with "Honey Bun," I could take a vacation to Bali Ha'i.
 
Contemporary Musicals - really depends on the specific musical, but this category is probably the most flexible. There have been a wide range of styles in the last 30 or so years of musical theatre. Get to know the music of the show you're auditioning for at a basic level - rock opera, retro musical, etc. Pick your best pieces in the wide range of that musical style.

Cruise ship - this is where a little research can help you. Try to figure out what types of shows they do on the ship(s) of the cruiseline you are auditioning for. Are they showtunes? Family friendly? In my experience, many cruiselines are looking for people who can sing both pop and Broadway. If that's the case, look at pop songs and pop style songs from musicals.

Family or children's theatre - perform pieces that parents would like - either classic or contemporary musical theatre is probably your best bet. The people casting you are adults, so watching a grown man sing "I'm a Little Teapot" is just strange. I'd caution you to stay away from popular kid musicals, as the panel may be sick of them. In a full-day audition last year, I lost count of the number of times I heard songs from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. You also don't want to go too far the other way. This isn't the time for a song with swear words or sexy, suggestive lyrics.

Theme park - see "Cruise ship" and "Family or children's theatre" above.

I'll end the post with a little caveat - any song done really well can be a good audition. I've certainly cast people who have sung from ...Spelling Bee. But thoughtful song choices could give you a little bump by helping the audition panel see you as a good fit for their show.

I already know your objective

I'm sure many of you already know that a performer resume is a lot different than a resume for a desk job. If that came as a surprise, this post and several upcoming ones will provide helpful advice.

I would say anywhere from 10-20% of performer resumes I receive have an "Objective" section at the top. These are always worthlessly generic: "I want to use my talents to obtain a role in a musical theatre production." Well, obviously. Even if you change this for every specific company/show or have a really well-written statement, it is still unnecessary. In fact, objective statements have also fallen out of fashion in traditional work resumes (though I know some old fashioned job search books and college career centers still recommend it). So, delete this section now, no matter what kind of resume you have.

What is this blog about?

Welcome!

You're in the right place if you want to ask questions about resumes, auditions, callbacks or what the director is looking for.

With my job in casting, I attend auditions and receive hundreds of e-mails from performers each year. I've had so many "What are they thinking?" moments. Sometimes it's not being prepared, sometimes it's being unprofessional, sometimes it's an unfortunate audition outfit. I'll feature some of these examples here as teaching moments. 

Of course, no amount of advice will help if you are not right for the role. I also can't promise I think the same way as all the other casting managers out there, but I can give you the tools to help you present yourself in the best possible way.

Click on the "Contact Me" button at the top and e-mail your question.