How to Prep for an Audition

You’re going to an audition? That’s so exciting! It can be really scary to put yourself out there and try to show off everything you can do in just a matter of a few minutes. My hope is that you enter the audition with the confidence of knowing you’ve given all of your best effort in preparing and you can leave the room with your head held high.

So, where to start? 

1. Finding auditions:

1. Search listing pages such as:

   1. Backstage

   2. Casting Networks

   3. Broadway World

   4. Casting Frontier

   5. Actors Access

   6. NYCastings

      
      

2. Join Facebook Groups

   1. Use keywords like:

      1. Theater + (your city)

      2. Auditions + (your city)

      3. Singing + (your city)

         
         

3. Create an email specifically for auditioning and sign up for your local theater’s newsletters.

2. After you’ve acquainted yourself with the types of auditions in your are, figure out which roles you’d be the right fit for. Consider your:

1. Age

2. Look and “vibe”

3. Vocal range and timbre

4. Are you more dramatic or comedic?

3. Get headshots and type up your acting resume.

4. Submit, submit, submit.

• You will be submitting your headshot and resume more often than you’ll be asked to send in recordings or come in for an audition, and that’s okay! Just submit and let it go. While it can be fun to daydream about certain roles or opportunities, it can also be disheartening if we’re not called in. So just submit, and submit, and submit, and don’t give it a second thought unless you’re asked to audition.

5. Audition!

• Ah! It can be so scary. Just focus on being prepared. If the call is asking you to sing a 32-bar cut, that’s about a minute of music, just time it that way. If it’s a self-tape, it can be tempting to do like a hundred takes. But some actors have found it helpful to give themselves a set number of takes they’ll do and stop after that. I suggest trying this. It is easy to overthink each note sung or each word said, but this is a drain on your mental health. Do your best to be prepared when you go to tape and then just let your art speak for itself. 

BUT let’s say, this is your first audition and you don’t know how to prepare. I’m going to focus on musical auditions, since that is what I’m familiar with.

1. Find a song that fits your range with ease.

   1. Don’t choose your “goal” song for your audition. It is better to stay in a comfortable range than to sing songs that challenge you.

      1. Not that you shouldn’t challenge yourself, but auditioning is scary enough. Keep the audition songs well rehearsed and “easy.” And keep your goal songs in your voice lessons, one day they’ll be in your book! 

   2. Choose a song that feels really good to sing. 

      1. There are songs that just seem to “fit” singers. Where it sits in the voice, the vowels, the length of notes, all seems to work together to allow a singer to shine. You’ll know this is you, when it feels really good to sing and you can sing it effortlessly multiples times in a row. 

   3.  Choose a song that fits your personality and physique. 

      1. Often, for your first audition, you probably won’t know anyone in the room and they won’t know you. It can be helpful for the auditors, if you sing a song that reflects a character similar to you (and hopefully similar to who you’re auditioning for). 

         1. For example, I’m a petite and bubbly person with a bright sound. I would go for songs like, “When He Sees Me,” “A Trip to The Library,” or really any song Kristen Chenoweth popularized. 

         2. I have a student with an impressive resonance and beautiful low baritone range. His stature is also a bit domineering, so he really fits roles originated by Patrick Page and sings those songs so satisfyingly.  

2. Find the right cut.

   1. A lot of casting calls will ask for a 32-bar cut or a 16-bar cut. Think of these as a minute of music for the former and 30 seconds for the latter. 

   2. Ask an accompanist to help you with marking the music for the audition pianist. 

      1. Once you have this music marked appropriately, you’ll have it for every audition in the future. It’s worth it if you need to pay for a coaching session with an accompanist. They can also record a track of the piano part in case you need to self-tape or come in with a track which some auditions ask for. 

3. Practice.

   1. I suggest starting with a mindfulness session. Whether that’s meditation or positive visualization. Do something to let the anxiety subside and go into a practice session relaxed with a positive attitude.

   2. Do your vocal warm-ups! (If you don’t have any, use these!)

   3. Practice your audition cut!

      1. Add emotion, acting, a thoughtful interpretation of the song, etc.

   4. Audition.

      1. You got this!

I hope this was helpful! If you have any questions or anything at all, let me know in the comments or book a 15-minute consultation and I’d be happy to help!

Until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and keep sharing your voice. We really want to hear it!

-Vanessa