All the training and talent in the world isn’t enough if you don’t know how to handle yourself effectively in an audition situation. Auditioning well is a skill that goes beyond the mere ability to create a realistic character on stage—the audition room, after all, doesn’t provide you with the advantages of a set, costume, makeup, blocking, or a director’s outside eye. Auditions are complex and subtle hierarchical situations that more closely resemble a first date than a live performance.
Furthermore, the rules of auditioning keep changing. In the past 10 years, I have seen drastic and dramatic changes in the kinds of performers companies are casting, thanks in large part to how certain individuals have raised the bar by improving on their audition skills. Here are a few ideas that can help you improve your own auditions and keep up with this new audition standard.
The Audition as a First Date
An audition is a lot like a first date. First impressions are essential. From the moment you walk into the room, key indicators reveal the kind of person and performer you are. For example, the clothes you choose say something about you. Make certain you know what you want to say about yourself and then dress accordingly. Whether you approach the auditors’ table, whether you make eye contact when you shake hands, and the firmness of your grip—all tell a story. The overall energy with which you enter the room and that you maintain throughout your audition speaks volumes regardless of whether you want it to.
I can remember when I was casting Le nozze di Figaro, and a singer auditioning for the role of Cherubino arrived dressed entirely in black. This was not necessarily a problem in itself, but the cloud of doom and gloom that accompanied her into the room certainly was. You could tell she had a negative, depressive energy about her. I remember thinking: “No matter how well she sings or acts, there is no way I am going to spend a month of my life in a rehearsal room around this person.”
Energy can be contagious, and I have seen what certain kinds of energy can do to a rehearsal process to either enhance or detract from a production. As a result, a singer’s energy, presence, and demeanor are all important indicators for me.
Here is some practical advice that can help you improve your audition experiences and results. In addition to considering the kind of energy you want to introduce into the room, think of the time that you have in the audition room as your time rather than their time. Think of yourself as a party host of sorts—it is your responsibility to make the auditors feel comfortable in your presence, rather than the other way around. Every audition is an opportunity to blow somebody’s mind with your talent. If you are well prepared, you should be confident—and if you are confident, you should be able to have a really great time in your audition.
If you set yourself to this task, you will find that you don’t have time to be nervous. You won’t be thinking about trying to figure out what is on the auditors’ minds (which is a profitless venture because you can never know the answer). You will be too actively engaged to consider such a line of questioning. And don’t forget that the energy you send is often the energy you receive back. On the subway, if you smile at people, they almost always return the smile. It is that simple to introduce positive energy into an otherwise neutral encounter.
Remember that the people behind the auditors’ table are nervous too, just like in a dating situation. Singers have a false perception that the people conducting the audition are in the position of power and that you, the singer, are somehow beneath them in terms of status. The start to a successful audition is figuring out what the hierarchy is and how to break down that hierarchy.
Think of yourself as being equal to those who are holding the audition. Think of the auditors as your colleagues. I have seen singers walk into a room with so much confidence and grace that they actually manage to invert the hierarchy, creating a situation in which the auditors are doing whatever they can to please the singer, rather than the other way around.
Don’t forget that the auditors are just normal people who may very well be open to having a good time. On some level, everybody enjoys the energy of flirtation. After a long day of auditions, someone who enters the room and lightens up your day with a humorous anecdote or an infectious energy can be a very welcome thing.
We have all been on dates when it is abundantly clear, often rather quickly, that a person is or is not what we are looking for. But first impressions can also be wrong or misguided, and people are capable of changing their minds as they get to know you better during the course of the date. I have heard singers crack a note and then completely fall apart. I have also heard singers crack a note, then burst out laughing and say, “Wow. OK. That was just awful. Let me do this section again for you and nail it. You’re going to love it, I promise.” And then they nail it, and you love it. I admire someone who can recover like that.
Preparation
One of the most common complaints I hear from singers about the nature of auditioning is that they’re great on stage but when they get into the audition room they feel awkward. My follow-up question for them is always, “How do you prepare for an audition?”
When you prepare a role for performance, you rehearse it every day for six hours a day—and you do that for two or three weeks before you ever put it on stage. So, of course, you feel confident and well prepared. But how many singers actually prepare for auditions every day for three weeks prior to the audition? I can pretty much guarantee that very few actually do that kind of meticulous preparation—except for my students. When you know you have an audition coming up—or even when you don’t suspect that auditions are coming—always have material ready that is exceedingly well rehearsed, not just musically but also dramatically. Otherwise, there is no point in auditioning.
If you’re going to go to an audition but not bring your best game, why bother? Certain companies keep lists of people they have seen, including “No” lists of people who haven’t auditioned well and won’t be asked to audition again in the future. If you find yourself on one of those lists, you might be on it for 10 years, if not permanently. You’re ultimately doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t prepared musically and dramatically—and you are the only person to blame if your audition doesn’t go particularly well.
What I am talking about here is accountability. This means not only making sure your languages and music are well coached, but also making certain that the dramatic aspects of your pieces are exceptional. If you’re not doing that, you shouldn’t be auditioning. These pieces require a great amount of emotional agility and you’re not going to hit the mark consistently if you’re not rehearsing consistently.
Furthermore, if you are accountable dramatically for every second of your audition, you won’t have time to be nervous. I have noticed a direct correlation between my students who actually adhere to this type of disciplined approach and get work regularly and those who do not adhere to it and work less regularly. Action produces results.
Auditioning: Past and Present
The rules have continued to shift in the 10 years I’ve been working with singers on their auditions, and I’ve seen drastic changes in who is getting cast and why. Keeping on top of these trends is important if you want to continue to work and be seen in the best light. It will probably not surprise you to hear that one of the primary changes has been in the amount of acting auditors see in the audition room. Singers are taking over the space more frequently and with much more confidence as this new trend continues. Singers on the front end of this trend were being offered contracts well ahead of their competition, and they continue to be more sought after than singers who simply stand and sing. Audiences now expect and demand first-rate acting in their shows, and companies are paying attention to that demand.
Now more than ever singers are really taking over the entire audition room as if they are on a set in full costume and full makeup, and as if other people are with them on stage. I have seen people get down on the floor, when it is appropriate, and I have even seen one person perform a backward somersault. (For the record, he was a character tenor and that type of “rep” lends itself to bigger and bolder choices.) Frequently I find that singers feel really liberated by this realization—they want to be able to act out their audition pieces, but they just haven’t been told that it is OK to do so.
Know Thyself
Knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a performer is also essential, and it is necessary for you to be honest with yourself about what you are doing well and what needs more work. Using this information allows you to accentuate your strengths in an audition and minimize your weaknesses.
I once asked a performer, “What do you do better than anybody else?” She replied, “Comedy.” Then I asked her what pieces she had in her audition rep. She listed five really depressing pieces. Sure, she had range in her rep in the sense that she had pieces in French, German, Italian, and English—but she had no emotional range in what she was presenting. If one of your primary strengths is your flair for comedy and “Ach! Ich Fühl’s” is the most upbeat piece you are offering, it might be time to reconsider your rep and where you are getting your advice.
One of my first questions to a new student is always “How honest do you want me to be with you?” The multitude and variety of answers I have received would surprise you. My tendency and preference is to give honest, constructive criticism. Some students ask me to be brutally honest, but others ask me to never say anything negative.
Everyone understands and processes information differently. Some people actually learn better from the kind of teacher who screams at them and tells them that they are going to be failures as human beings if they don’t change. This type of teaching style has always seemed rather abrasive to me, but there is also a danger in having a teacher who is too coddling, to the point that it cripples you, renders you incapable of accepting critical feedback, or fills you with delusions.
What I am arguing for here is self-knowledge and the courage to be honest with yourself about your work. This requires a certain amount of self-analysis or personal reflection about the aspects of your artistic presentation you need to improve so that the coaches you choose to work with can enable you to achieve your ultimate goals.
You can master the art of the audition. You can make it more likely that companies will want you to be a part of their productions. Define your goals, and then accomplish them. If you are not certain what you are working toward, you have very little chance of actually achieving it.
