Auditioning with music from the musical itself..?

Question

I'm a little confused on this because I've been getting lots of different answers. I'm wondering-- is it a bad to audition for a musical with a song from that same musical?
The musical in question is an amateur production of the Sound of Music. One of my potential audition songs is "Sixteen Going on Seventeen". My voice teacher as well as another yahoo member mentioned that it was fine to use it.

If you have any other audition songs that I could use, please include them-- I'm 13 and going for one of the children. Thanks!

Answer 1

You've been getting conflicting advice because there are two conflicting idealogies about this -- and both are legitimate and "correct."

A lot of times, producers will specify in audition announcements whether auditioners can sing from the score. If they don't you can take something from the show and another song, and just ask the auditors what their preferance is.

The potential drawback to doing a song that your target character sings is that, though you're trying to demonstrate that you're right for the role, your "performance" may not be what they're envisioning the character to do. Also, I've seen many people sing a song from the show, but just stand there and sing it -- boring. If you want to show them you'd be perfect, then you need to be perfect in your audition -- your performance needs to be detailed and vivid and so rehearsed that it looks spontaneous and easy.

What I've been doing for about ten years now is use a song that is complementary [i.e. similar] to something the target character sings. In other words, something that's requires a similar performance style, or something that a similar character in another work by the same writer sings.

But ultimately, the goal of the preliminary audition is to score a callback, so you have to just show yourself in the best light possible. Oh, and the number one forbidden thing is for a girl auditioning for "Annie" to sing "Tomorrow" unless specifically requested to do so. :-)

Answer 2

In general, you do NOT use a song from the show you are auditioning for. The reason is that the director has an idea of how they want the song and character to be performed. If you go in and do not do it how they envision it to be performed, then you have just lost your shot. What is generally done is you sing a song in your range and the range of the character you hope to get, to 'suggest' the character you want. So, if you want Liesl, you may want to look at songs sung by similar characters from other shows. For instance:

Louisa, The Fantastics, Song: "Much More"
Chava, Fiddler On The Roof, Song: "Matchmaker"
Sharon McLonergan, Finian's Rainbow
Kim MacAfee, Bye Bye Birdie "How Lovely to be a Woman"
Ester Smith, Meet Me In St. Louis, Song: "The Trolley Song"
Diana Barry, Anne of Green Gables

Choose the best 16 bars or how ever long they are letting you sing (generally 16-32 bars) and sing the song as Liesl would. In some cases they specifically ask that you DO sing from the show. It's rare but it does happen so by all means listen to what the audition notice says.

good luck,
Marianne

Answer 3

Don't take anyone's advice. Contact the theatre company (or simply check the audition notice). It's really the director's preference. Often time, despite what I was trained, the director would prefer to hear a song from the play. The advantage of singing a song from another show is that the director may consider you for a wider variety of roles. If you sing a particular song, the director might only envision you in that specific role.

Answer 4

It depends on your taste and abilities. Some directors view auditioning with one of the pieces from the show in poor taste. Others require it. If you are very concerned about it, you could always call the director or whomever is hosting the auditions for confirmation.

Whenever you are in doubt, use your resources! If your voice teacher recommends it over another song because it showcases your abilities, then go ahead and use it. However if your teacher may have another song in mind that he or she feels would be better suited, then try that one.

Good luck!

Answer 5

my voice teacher said NEVER, unless otherwise instructed, use a song from the show. Even if it is ok its not a good idea because a lot of others will probably b singin the same song and youll just get lost in the pile do something diiferent tht no one else will sing and they will remember like simple joys of maidenhood from camelot. Great memorable song

Answer 6

my fav music is Edelweiss yet that's for mr. von capture to sing... Freidrich is the oldest boy splendid? basically study all of the classics the little ones sing in... do-re-mi, my admired issues, see you later farwell

Answer 7

it depends. each director is different. i prefer not to, but to do a song SIMILAR to one in the musical itself. it shows that you can be the part, but not too forward wiht urself...is there any way you can email or talk to the director?