Read the Notice

So one of the local theatres (who pays as they have an Equity contract) is holding auditions.  They emailed me, I wrote in for my slot, got the time and place, great.

And when I get there, I'm noticing that everybody is singing stuff way out of the time period I had chosen.  See, the notice, like many for musicals, gives guidance about what to prepare.  This one said, "No songs before 1960."  And here I am wondering why I'm hearing The Last 5 Years and Chicago and other modern stuff.  I mean, I was doing "It's Only a Paper Moon."  That's from 1932.

Yeah, that's because the word "before" doesn't mean "after."  Yes, the musical is set at the turn of the century, but the show is from the 90s.

Pay attention, Brian.

But, I do a wonderful rendition of "Paper Moon," so it sorta falls into that last rule about auditioning.  There are some rules for what to sing at an audition:

1. Pay attention to the notice and follow the directions.
2. Do not do someone's signature piece.  You are not Liza or Barbra or Mandy and you won't do yourself any favors in having the auditioner compare you to them.
3. Do not do the latest, hottest number from the big show on Broadway right now.  Everybody else is going to do that, too.
4. Do not do something so obscure they have no idea how to react to it.  This includes your own material.

But the last rule is the kicker:

5. If you can knock it out of the park, forget the rules and do it.

It is always better to do a piece that you are completely comfortable with and shows you off to your best abilities that bends the rules somewhat than it is to do something that you're unfamiliar with and will stumble through during the audition.  This is why it's so important to have a large repertoire of songs rather than just "an up-tempo and a ballad."  You need to be able to sell yourself in any style and manner when the casting call comes.

I was once at a talent competition where the winner of the youth division in singing was this 9-year-old girl and for the final show, she sang "Life is a Cabaret."  She came out on stage in a blue sequin dress with a slit up the leg and she sang the whole thing, including the patter in the middle about how her prostitute roommate died of a drug overdose.

Nine years old.  Completely inappropriate.  I'm wondering where the hell her parents are and what on earth convinced them that they should let their not-even-adolescent daughter get dressed up like that and sing that song.  And I still do think that, but it's combined with something else:

That girl could SING.  She knocked it out of the park.  It was one of the best renditions of that song I've ever heard and while I still have trouble with her doing it, I would have cast her in a second for almost anything I needed a young singer for.

I've always had a bit of a talent for the smiley ballad and so while it was out of line with the instructions they gave, I think I knocked it out of the park.  The accompanist knew the song and followed me like a pro, no fighting over tempos, it was wonderful.
And I rocked the dance audition, too, if I do say so myself.  Here's to hoping I get called back.