#2: Tell That Man To Get Back To His Piano
7/2/24
The other day I posted a TikTok about 2 Broadway auditions I had last week. In that video, I said “I auditioned for 6 people between the 2 auditions: 2 accompanists, and 4 “behind the table” people”. I got a question about what I meant by “auditioned for 2 accompanists”. Let’s chat about that…
From a very young age, probably 10, I was drilled on auditioning by people who ran a studio near me who had about 10 Broadway credits. HUGE credits like the original Les Miz and Parade companies. THAT kinda huge credit. They treated us like pros even when some people were children. I liked it - I felt that I was being treated like an adult haha. They were so precise in training us on the art of auditioning. One thing I really remember was that you are auditioning for EVERYONE you encounter at an audition: the reader, the monitor, the pianist, whoever you see. They emphasized that you never know who is working on what. When I was 10 I didn’t quite understand that sentiment… but when I started auditioning regularly during college, I completely got it.
NOW I know what “you never know who is working on what” means. It means each audition can really be multiple auditions. The pianist can be the MD for this show, or another show that just lost a cast member, or a composer working on their own show. The reader could be the producer or artistic director of the theatre! Or, perhaps they wrote the show. Simply put, you are not just auditioning for the casting director or the director. You are auditioning for everything EVERYONE in the room is working on or may work on.
I know, that sounds like a LOT of pressure. Sure… but it’s not meant to. It’s just meant to let you know that you may not be right for THIS show - but maybe you are perfect for something one of these people are working on! That’s not delusional behavior - I say it because it’s happened to me and to plenty of people I know. Now, I’m a fan of not wasting time, so I’m personally not going to an audition where there is NO role for me… like I'm not going to audition for A Chorus Line or Mean Girls because it’s a chance to audition for the people on that team. But, if there is a show that I could really be in - even if offers are out for the role right for me - I’m probably going to attend THAT audition. And actually, that’s precisely what happened this last week. I could be in this show, but I haven’t been in front of that CD in a year or two, so it was time to remind him who I am!
PRO-TIP: keep a copy of your headshot/resume tucked in the left inside flap of your audition binder with the resume side facing out toward the pianist. Perhaps they’d like some light reading if you end up in a chat with the team behind the table :)
There are a few pivotal moments in my life where this has happened to me. One in particular I recall was II auditioned for URINETOWN at the Gallery Players in Brooklyn in 2006. The director, who I went to college with, said “i’m not sure this is the right show for you (i’ve hated Urinetown since lol jk) but they are doing VIOLET in the winter. You should definitely audition for that.” I did, I got it… and the links that occurred in my life because of that one comment absolutely shifted many pieces of my own artistic puzzle.
All this to say, you never know who or what will do or say something that changes your life or, at the very least, will get you an opportunity you may never have had. You are auditioning for everyone. Everyone is crucial and important.
Dreams Take Time :)
Julie