#18: Dear Julie… How Do I Pick Songs for Auditions?
Wednesday, July 24th 2024
TODAY’S DEAR JULIE
“Hi Julie! Can you help me know where to start on picking audition songs? I am just beginning with professional auditions and moving to NY”
Well, you’ve come to the right place. I can’t tell you what to do but I’ll give you some guidance on things to consider.
Please for the next year or two, BE PATIENT with yourself. Run your own race. Please do not be intimidated by the girlies rolling up to auditions with a packed 3 ring binder. Remember that you are JUST STARTING.
A bit of comfort - never ONCE in a professional audition has a pianist or a casting director commented on my song outside of “oh loved that!”. No one is going to tell you your material is wrong. They don’t have time. So, it’s ok if you don’t hit the nail on the head at the start. Feel free to TRY THINGS ON!
Start with songs from roles you’ve played or a few go-tos. Having only 1-2 songs that you OWN is critical. You will most likely only sing the same 2-3 songs anyway. The first couple of songs in my book were things I worked on in voice lessons or were from assignments in college. To this day, 1-2 of those songs are in my rotation.
Then work in reverse after you know your couple of “go-tos”. Working in reverse means instead of thinking about all the songs you know or just randomly listening to cast recordings, I want you to think through buckets of shows and see what buckets of shows you may be right for … or would definitely avoid! Here is a list of buckets for more POP/ROCK shows:
American Songbook: Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin
Folk/Pop - various eras: Waitress, Come From Away, Bright Star, Girl From North Country, Once, Hands On A Hardbody, Beautiful, The Outsiders
50s/60s Light Pop: Grease, Jersey Boys, Marv. Wond, All Shook Up, MDQ, Smokey Joes, Beehive, Shout
70s Rock: Hair, Superstar, Tommy
80s/90s OTT (Over The Top) Pop: Mamma Mia, Escape To Margaritaville, Head Over Heels, Rock Of Ages, Footloose, Kinky Boots, Xanadu
90s Punk/Glam Punk: American Idiot, Hedwig, Bloody Bloody AJ Early 2000s Pop: Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, & Juliet
90s Rock: Jagged Little Pill, Rent, Spring Awakening, Bare
VERY SPECIFIC: Hamilton, SIX
For me, I’d never audition for 90s Punk/Glam Punk shows and most likely not the 90s rock either. I also don’t see a world where I’d audition for the 50s/60s shows or the 70s rock. From this whole list, I’d only find a song for Folk/Pop, early 2000s, 80s/90s Over The Top Pop, and American Songbook.
Other categories to consider MAY be Sondheim, “other voice option”, golden age, contemporary MT (not pop), comedic, and/or mega musical
I love looking for FLEXIBLE pieces. You may be able to find a comedic song that is also contemporary. Or a mega musical song that is also a Sondheim. Look for overlap to increase the use of real estate in your book!
An IMPORTANT note: not all great songs make great audition songs. Be sure to look for material that is about a moment that is happening NOW as opposed to a memory or recollection. Look for interesting cuts of songs. BIG endings! Avoid overly repetitive sections or lists of things “i've never talked back. I've never slept late. I've never sat down. When told to stand straight.” BORING. This is just a list of things you haven’t done… which is the point of the song within context of the show. There are a LOT of songs like this - they are called LIST SONGS. Avoid these if you can.
As you go through this journey, know that it is a long one and people will have opinions. You’ll hear people say you need 12 songs in your book. And you’ll hear others that say they booked broadway with their 1 song in their book. You have to - what? Say it with me! - RUN YOUR OWN RACE.
My favorite place to find “new” material is watching Senior Showcases. Go to youtube, type in musical theatre showcase and sort by upload date. You are looking for COLLEGE showcases (you will see random other ones as well which I skip).
Write down everything you hear that you want to look into!
Start slow. 1-2 songs with cuts that make you feel amazing. Grow the rest over time. Rehearse them well. Rehearse speaking to the accompanist. Make bold acting choices. BIG endings are typically the best :)
Dreams Don’t Die
Julie