kitkatt565

Sorry I know I've been posting a ridiculous amount of questions lately, but I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking anything! I'm auditioning for Otterbein, Hartt, Webster, Ithaca, CMU, CCM, Emerson and possibly OU at the Chicago Unifieds next week!


1. I know I need to bring my sheet music in a binder, but should I have 16-bar, 32-bar and full song copies of each song in there separately, or just have the cuts marked within the music?
2. Should I hand them my sheet music when I walk in the room or should I wait for them to ask for it?
3. Is it safer to use a CD and boombox or an amplified ipod? (I'm bringing both in case something malfunctions!)
4. If I put the songs on a CD, should I put each song on a different track or just dead space between each song on the same track? Should I put each song on separate CDs completely? And how much time should I allow before the music actually begins?
5. When I walk in the room, should I expect to plug in my boombox/amplified ipod myself and then be expected to start and stop it myself and then head to the spot they want me to sing at (therefore needing more silence at the beginning?) Or do they want you to let them handle that, and they'll start and stop it for you?
6. On my 32 bar song, I'm only singing 32 bars, but I have a two measure intro and a two measure ending, making it 36 bars total.. will any school be against this? Also on my ipod, my minute long songs say that they last 1:15 because there is a five second intro of silence, and a ten second ending of silence, do any schools want the track to specifically be a minute to ensure I'm not going overtime?
7. On some schools (such as Otterbein) they say that your two song selections and monologue should not exceed three minutes.. does this include transition time?
8. Do these schools expect you to automatically transition from song to song to monologue without them asking? Or will they ask for things and discuss them with between each selection?


I know I'm being nitpicky, I just want to make sure I'm as well prepared as possible!
Thanks to everyone so much, you have no idea how much I appreciate it!

srw

I don' think you are being nitpicky at all. I think your questions show that you are giving this alot of careful thought and that you are taking all of this seriously and that you recognize the benefit of good preperation. I cannot answer your questions, my S did not
do the unified, but I know that others will chime in and you'll get your answers. I will say this to you. Use all of this knowledge and preperation to go into your auditions relaxed and with confidence! GOOD LUCK!

Ninnynoddle

I'm going to add a question to your list that's basically your last question...

What do you do when you're done with your piece?! Especially monologues. I usually look awkward and nod a little bit. But I definitely look awkward. What's appropriate? And then I don't know what to do and say after I nod, "Okay...um...my next song is ____".

I don't know!

Pohsmom

I don't think there is a clear "right" or "wrong" answer to many of your questions. We just came back from FSU auditions and they told my D to simply state the name of her pieces. They also said she could do them in any order, songs or monologue first, etc. She has one CD (several copies) that has 4 tracks on it. Each song has a 16 and 32 bar cut accompaniment with a 2 or 4 bar intro. Since she is also doing several auditions with different requirements this CD will be used by all and she will just tell whomever is playing the CD (if not herself) which tracks to play when. She considered four different CD's but we both felt that was even more complicated and time consuming to be changing CD's. I have heard people using both CD's and Ipod's, both are fine. Perhaps IPod speakers are smaller, but I don't think it matters. I am sure the adjudicators have seen everything...the most important thing is to relax and have fun and do what you do best...perform! The quality of the performance is what they will remember.

anothermom-w-q

kitt....you have asked many good questions, and I don't have answers to many of them, but do be aware of one thing which my D was not prepared for. Emerson uses a live pianist at Unified (or at least did so in LA, several years ago when she did them). D walked in, thinking she would be using her boombox, and was told to hand music over to the accompanist. It is really good that you are being nit-picky with details so you don't get any surprises.

doctorjohn

Kitkatt:

Actually, it’s better if you have separate pieces of music. Put the music appropriate to the particular school up front for each audition, so that the accompanist can go straight from your first to your second piece without having to flip through pages.

Be prepared to do either. They’ll tell you. They’ll say something like, “Please take your music to the accompanist” or instead they’ll say something like, “Come on over here and talk to us.” Otterbein will do the latter.

Either will work. We'd prefer a CD, so that we can put it in our boom box; that way you don’t have to worry about pushing buttons. Bringing both a boombox and an ipod is not a bad idea. Murphy's Law is in full effect at the Unifieds, and affects us as much as actors. I speak from experience...

I think Pohsmom has given you good advice about how to handle the CD. You can use one CD, but do lay down separate tracks. Just keep a list: BU is tracks 1 and 2, Otterbein is tracks 3 and 4, etc. Allow about 5 seconds of silence (lead time) on each track before the recording starts. It'll give you time to get set without rushing, and it's not so long that you're left standing there with nothing to do. Because of Murphy's Law, burn two copies and have someone else carry the backup.

Again, they’ll tell you. At Otterbein, we’ll handle the CD. Other schools may ask you to set up your own player, and they’ll give you directions. No one expects you to be psychic. People do expect you to be able to handle the situation; that's part of acting, and frankly, almost any job. Practice breathing and smiling and walking into a room and looking at who's there. It's about beginning a relationship, kitkatt, much more than demonstrating that you're trying to do everything right.

I wouldn’t worry about 36 bars, or about silence between tracks.

We’ll give you as much time as you need to make transitions between pieces.

It could be different at different schools. But at Otterbein, we ask you to announce your name, where you’re from, and all of the pieces you’re about to do. Then you can do them in whatever order you please. Announcing the pieces in advance also allows you to make transitions without breaking your concentration.

It's also better not to go straight from one piece to another without a transition. You need to give yourself time for something quite critical to the success of your audition, what Michael Shurtleff called “The Moment Before." (It's Guidepost #3 in his book Audition.)

Finally, Ninnynoddle asked,
After you finish each piece, give yourself a moment to think the last thought in silence. It’s like the final rest in a piece of music. Then give yourself the “moment before” and go on to your next piece. When you’re done with all of your pieces, after you’ve taken the last moment, look at us, smile and say, “Thank you.” You’d be amazed at the positive effect of this tactic, and conversely the negative impact when actors do the opposite, and walk off dejectedly.

Finally, kat, I’ll repeat what I’ve written to you before:

I look forward to seeing you next week.

mtfamily

We are flying to unifieds and are bringing a CD. What do people do with a boombox on an airplane? We already have the bag of auditioning clothes, shoes and music to carry-on. (Not to mention all the shcoolwork to be made up!) Is it safe to pack it in a box or suitcase and do checkthrough. Ipod is not an option. Thanks.

doctorjohn

mtfamily: For what it's worth, I've packed a boombox in my checked luggage for nine years, without incident. Put padding around it.

mtfamily

Thanks doctorjohn- I'm going to try it your way. In all our years of travel my luggage has never been "lost", so here's to hoping that our luck holds out!!!

kitkatt565

Thank you pohsmom and Dr. John for all your information, I really appreciate it! And I'll try to relax a little more Haha its just so hard sometimes!

And thank you so much anothermom-w-q for the heads up on emerson! I was expecting to use a boombox there as well! Just to check, does anyone know if Carnegie, Hartt, or Webster have live accompaniment? I went back to their websites to check and I couldn't find this info.. Thank you so much!

Ninnynoddle

Hartt says bring a CD and a boombox (or iPod and iPod deck, I suppose!).

SEATA

A final thought on packing the boombox... as much as none of us wants to spend any more money than absolutely necessary, bring the items on the plane that are not replaceable. A boombox could be purchased in Chicago (or any city where the Unifieds are held). Breath and enjoy. I feel like it was only yesterday that my D and I were off to Chicago and now she's happy as a clam at Webster. This will be an incredible experience and journey.

knarfydna

This is an ignorant question, but...
are boom boxes able to be checked or carried on or both?

MTgrlsmom

You can either check or carry your boombox. I'd say if possible (depending on size) pack it in your carry on bag (be aware that at some airports you may need to take it out like your laptop for inspection). To avoid the whole "my suitcase didn't make it and now I have no dance shoes" thing, we carried everything on everywhere last year, and checked everything on the way back home (except for D's song book, and dance shoes those always were in our carry-on ).

kitkatt565

I had one quick thing to add: When I was cutting my up-tempo selection on Garageband, it said that I was at 32 bars.. but when I went back and looked at my actual sheet music, it was actually much more than that.. but the whole cut is still less than a minute. I have a 16-bar cutting of it too (which is actually closer to 32 now that I've looked at the sheet music haha) but it is a very short cutting.. should I not risk anything and just go ahead with the 16 bar cutting, (which is not as fluid a "story" as my 32 bar cut), or do you think the extra bars would be okay since its such a short cutting? I'd appreciate any feedback, thank you!