10/11/2023
The biggest secret that professional musical theater actors know.
I hear from performers every day that they’re looking for the perfect song for an audition next week. If only they could “crack the code” of the right song, they’d get the part.
This is not how successful Broadway professionals think.
Firstly, you cannot really learn a new song in less than a few weeks. You might be able to get the notes and the words right, but the song won’t be “in your bones”. Really let that sink in: You cannot learn a new song in less than a few weeks.
So what do you do? Well, you should have your “Book”. That’s a collection of songs and song cuts that you know, that you’ve worked on, that you can sing in your sleep. How many songs should be in your book? 25? 100? No!
You should have 7 to 10 songs in your Book. That’s it. No more. If you work on a new song and want to add it to your Book, then you have to remove a previous song from your Book.
So what if an audition comes up, and the character isn’t like one of your songs?
This is the fun part. You reimagine the circumstances of the character singing one of your extant Book songs. Auditioning for a soprano villain? Don’t search for the perfect soprano villain song! Take a soprano song from your book, work with a coach, and create a new performance that lets you shine as a soprano villain. It’s such fun, and it sets you apart from the others who are auditioning!
You (and your audition coach) tailor a song around your skills, and the part that you’re auditioning for, so that one of the songs you already know… is the perfect song. It is an exciting process, and much less stressful. And it lets you show all that you can do, so that the people casting the show will see just how terrific you are!
Auditions are stressful! The key to building confidence is to earn it by getting better and better.
