Audition 101: Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what should I have in my audition book?
As a teacher of BFA majors, professionals, and humans are starting their audition journey this question never fails to come up.
With musical theatre the range of acting and vocal styles are so vast they sometimes become overwhelming. Remember, you can’t show everything you’ve got in the audition – my rule of thumb is show enough to get the callback! I believe that less is more – show what you do well and tailor what’s in your book to the audition (this eliminates having to learn new material each time). You should have a 32 bar cut (1:30 or less) and a 16 bar cut (Less than 1:00) of each song if you can.
- Your Go-To Song: This is the song that given the opportunity to sing ANY song; Can be any style
- Driving Dramatic Song: Strong focus on the story
- “Legit” Ballad: This could be taken from the Pre-Golden Age, Golden Age, Continued Golden Age timeframes, or a Standard
- Up-Tempo Golden-Age or Contemporary
- Pop Song (That’s current within the past 5 years)
- Folk/Country Song (An easy sing) –
- 1950s-1960s Rock/Pop – Ideal for shows like Hairspray, Grease, etc.
- Note to find actual pop songs, not covers from Jukebox Musicals (All Shook Up, Jersey Boys, etc.)
- Comedy or Character Song – This can also include Disney
Still unsure, or have questions? Attend the Musical Theatre Audition Workshop with my good friend and collaborator Mark Yurkanin. You will learn about audition preparation, speaking to an accompanist, curating audition material and building your book, etc. We will then have a mock audition to receive helpful feedback.
