#42: Now You Know (well, you should have known)

Tuesday 8/27/24

Yesterday I saw a TikTok from a West End performer and it was a slideshow off all the shows she’s done (big ones! She’s clearly super talented) and the songs she used for her audition for those shows. A few of them, for a white actor, were VERY questionable. 

She used Your Daddy’s Son not once but TWICE. 

She used I Enjoy Being A Girl not once but TWICE. 

She used I’d Give My Life For You. 

Now, if something is used because it’s unexpected and funny - perhaps there is wiggle room but that would be the exception, not the rule. Using “I Enjoy Being a Girl” to audition for Hysterium in Forum could work because it’s such a bold departure. It would be an unexpected and, in this case, funny choice. But if you are just using I Enjoy Being A Girl for a regular audition, this is a stop and think twice moment. 

I didn’t feel like fighting with her on social media. She’s actually claiming “oh i’ve been doing this for 15 years and things have changed”. What I want to write is “ummm that production of Light In The Piazza you used Your Daddy’s Son for was in 2019/2020. NOT fifteen years ago. Even still, 15 years ago is not that far gone. 

So, I don’t want to get into a war on tiktok over it so i’m not engaging. This is something I can try to fix and change by encouraging my students to make smart and informed choices in their own material. 

That’s why I’m writing it here. Anyone who is seeing this, especially coaches regardless of WHAT you coach - you need to be able to be comfortable pushing back on choices. It is very easy to ask questions. 

“I’d like to sing Id Give My Life For you”

“Oh I love Miss Saigon - i understand why you love song. Do you know whats going on in this show or what its about?”

“No, I just heard it on Sirius”

“Ok great, well the character is Southeastern Vietnamese and that is a critical component to the story telling…”

Usually that will nip it in the bud. I don’t like to assume so I just state the facts. Usually, the actor then realizes if the song is a good fit. 

We also need to draw a line in the sand if actors are being willfully obtuse. A conversation I remember pre-pandemic was a woman, very white, wanted to sing I’m Here from the Color Purple in her upcoming solo show. She insisted because of her challenging life circumstances that this was an anthem for her. There was NO reasoning with her - so I simply said, “I’m happy to work with you on other material but, for me, it’s not a song I want to work on with you. Let me know what you’d like to do”

There are various schools of thought on some of this and I’m aware (white writers, etc) but for me, coaching this material doesn’t feel aligned. I think we do have a duty to educate and hopefully students of all ages can learn over time - even if they are insistent initially. 

As they say, “make good choices!”

Dreams Don’t Die 

Julie