For young performing artists pursuing theatre or musical theatre, life can seem like series of auditions: college auditions, show auditions, live auditions, digital auditions, it doesn’t matter. You know that you have one chance to really blow your judges away. One of the worst things you can do in an audition is to be unmemorable. You need to make sure your performance can stand out in a crowd, and that takes a combination of confidence, talent, and solid preparation.
We want to help you with the preparation part. Whether you’re preparing for your very first musical theatre audition or your hundredth, everyone could use a little brush up on the basics now and again. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you prepare for theatre or musical theatre auditions.
Who’s your “other”? The other is the person you are singing or talking to. Envision exactly who they are and what they look like. Try to picture them slightly above the heads of the judges when performing live or place their face slightly to the side of the camera when filming.
What is your objective? Your objective is what you want from or what you want to do to your other. Use strong verbs as you determine your objective. For example: to torment, to seduce, to tease, to impress, to comfort.” Use the first person as well to help personalize the objective. You’ll actually want to write down your objective. It will make for a stronger performance.
What are the stakes? Stakes refer to how badly you want or need your objective. Drama is built on high stakes! Never say “I just want to explain...” or “I sort of need this...” What you want, you want to the core of your being!
What is the moment before? Sometimes called a pre-beat, it’s what has just happened to your character that triggers him/her to take action. See or hear that moment. This only takes a second, but it prepares you to begin your song or monologue. Avoid looking at the floor to start or end. Get your inspiration from looking up at the imagined other.
What is the arc? Sometimes called the journey, a character’s arc has to do with how he/she is different at the end of the piece. Does the character go from moderate need to desperate need? Does the issue resolve and the character goes from desperation to peace and understanding? Your character should take some kind of journey throughout your performance. Look for the specific moment when the change occurs; that is your golden moment.
What is the button? The button is the final moment of your monologue or song. Let that moment linger. It could be a triumphant and you take a moment to celebrate; it could be that you have lost and you need a moment for the loss to settle in. Done right, the button will captivate your judges.
Remember, these are just the basics. Auditioning is an art, and when you decide to pursue the performing arts, it's simply part of the package. Whether you’re auditioning live or submitting a digital audition, it’s important to be prepared to wow your judges. And that starts with completely understanding your performance.
