What is Audition Coaching?
Audition coaching is a great way to increase and hone your audition skills. Rehearsing is awesome, but it’s difficult to know exactly how you come across to others. I used to think I came off as an innocent, Southern belle, but in auditioning classes as well in professional productions, I have been repeatedly cast as a funny, often goofy, not-so-innocent, definitely not shy character. I would’ve continued picking songs which I believed showed off my skills for the innocent characters and not getting cast had these audition specialists, professional music directors, and peers not highlighted how I come across to people outside of my own head! Since adjusting my view and realizing where my true skill lies, I have booked more professional productions and been much more satisfied with my career.
What happens in a session?
In a typical audition coaching session, a student brings in song choices for their upcoming audition and we narrow it down together. I will have the student sing through all of the songs to start, then we will discuss which one is going to do 2 things:
1. Make the student shine/show off all the best parts of his/her voice
2. Be a good choice style-wise for the show they are auditioning for (you don’t want to sing a pop song for West Side Story)
We will then find a cut of that song for the audition. A “cut” is a short section of a song. Most auditions do not allow you to sing an entire song, so you must pick a part of the song which shows your range while still telling a story and showing off your acting chops. Cuts can sometimes be very tricky to find and often involve jumping from one part of the song to another and piecing them together - I help students learn how to find these cuts and develop their song selection skills.
Once the cut is decided (often more advanced students will have come in with a cut already set so we can get right into the nitty gritty), we start the real work! I coach students on the best way to enter the audition room (first impressions happen in SECONDS), the way to speak to the accompanist, how to truly own their time and space in unfamiliar auditions rooms, and, of course, on the singing and acting of the piece. We will analyze the song together and dive deep into the performance of the audition to ensure the student is well prepared for the audition.
Personally, I like to put my students through mock auditions, if time allows, so they know what to expect. I will throw new things at them just like the auditors might, I will be on my phone and only look up if they truly grab my attention, etc. In truth, many auditions will be fabulous - the auditors will watch intently, they won’t ask for anything extra, but I want my students to be ready for anything!
In addition to prepping for specific auditions, we work on building an audition book. I have a whole blog post about what that is coming soon, but in short, the book should have a couple songs from each genre that are audition ready at all times. You never know when an incredible opportunity will come up and you don’t want to miss out because you were unprepared.