…we are looking for students who want actor-training and a liberal arts education, students who are interested in other human beings and who want to learn everything about them, students who love the theatre and want to spend their lives doing it.
Because we define ourselves as a school that trains actors and educates human beings, acting is the root of our training programs. Of course we are interested in students who can sing coloratura or do three pirouettes. But thats not enough. We need students who want to use their acting, singing and dancing skills to tell stories to audiences hungry to hear them…
We want to see you.
We can see you if you play
characters that you understand,
caught in situations that you understand,
who are demanding what they need from the other characters in the scene,
using the words (and, in songs, the music) as tactics to achieve their objectives.
If you make all the characters desires your own, we will be able to see you…
We want to hear you…
…Effective audition songs let us hear the range, quality, and size of your voice, your sense of style and command of technique, as well as your ability to act the song:
Range: Its better not to try to show us your very highest notes, or how loud you can sing. Again, its about sharing, not showing. Songs should live within the range you are comfortable singing. But do make sure that the song has more than a five- or six-note range. We dont learn very much from such songs.
Style and Technique: We listen for good diction, accuracy in pitch and rhythm, support and control of the breath, and the ability of the voice to ring throughout the vocal registers used by the singer. Many of you have worked diligently on these issues with your voice teacher. But dont do any of these things for their own sake. Practice the songs long enough so that your technique becomes a part of the way you sing. That way you will be able to focus on acting the song. The best way to think about technique is to view it as part of the constellation of tactics that your characters are using to achieve their objectives.
Quality: Some singers have a legitimate sound, as in the kinds of voices heard on the original cast recording of Oklahoma! This style, based on operetta and opera, is still very much alive in works like Light in the Piazza. Its also the core of our vocal training, so one of your two songs should be in this style. There are many places to find this style, including current musicals. But another place to find this style is in musical theatre repertoire written between 1930 and 1980, including songs by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Kurt Weill, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe, Leonard Bernstein, or Kander & Ebb.
Some singers have character voices, required for most of the characters in Guys and Dolls. Some singers can rock it high. Some singers can belt or mix. If one of these is your best sound, let us hear it. Just make sure that youre not straining or yelling or screaming…
Lead with your best piece. You may be tempted to do your weakest piece first to get it out of the way, and save your best for last. Its not an effective strategy. Remember the old adage: you only have one chance to make a first impression.
Dont yell, either in the monologue or the songs, unless its for comic effect.
Share yourself and your work with everyone in the room. We are your audience and we all want you to do well.