THE AUDITION NIGHTMARE

In every aspect of our professional life, one has to "audition" or "interview" for a job. Its all the same. The same butterflies, the same lack of sleep, the same dry mouth, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera! When the time comes for the audition or interview, we are a mindless wreck and therefore we don't do our best. While interviewing for a job comes only a few times in your life, depending on your situation, the classical singer/Broadway performer profession audition is a little different. We have to audition for certain opera companies, a church job, a chorus audition, a touring Broadway show, etc. Sometimes we have up to 3 or more auditions per day, and somehow, most of us don't learn anything, perpetuating the same problems. Some performers have an easy time auditioning, but most of us still struggle. We need to approach the audition with confidence. For performers, its not enough that we have to lie to make our resume fatter, but we, as singers or actors, have to back it up! If you are sick or don't feel well, please cancel or have a back-up plan.

These are some rules that I have set not only for myself but for my students to follow:
1. Treat your audition as a performance
2. Know your limits
3. Be prepared, know your material backwards and forwards.
4. Don't gab while waiting for your turn.
5. Focus on the job at hand
6. Exude confidence

While these rules are common sense, you would be surprised how many people break these rules and allow either of these rules to take over your audition and ruin it. Nerves are nothing but lack of confidence: lack of confidence in your voice, your appearance, you, you, you. Stop thinking about "you" and start thinking of being the character you are singing about. You have no control in the outcome, so why torment yourself? I, after many years of auditioning and beating my head against the wall like "Why did I do that?" "Why did I sing that aria?" "Why did I do that monologue?" Why did I wear those clothes?" "Why, why, why!" Don't beat yourself down. build yourself up with confidence by being prepared and follow the rules stated in this article. Know the rules and start training yourself tor a presentation of your talent--the performance of your life.

Once I realized that auditioning is a way of life, It became a "job", just like a 9-5 job. As performers, our 9-5 job begins about 9am and if there is a performance at 8pm, our 9-5 becomes a 9-11 job. This is why we train. This is our job. Auditioning is part of our job, our 9-5 job. Treat your audition as that and your auditions will go smoothly. One more thing,--once the audition is done, move on. You can dwell on it for a half hour but that's it, only to figure what worked, what was positive and what was negative and make a note to self that for the next audition you are going to do something else or add something else, or if you felt good about the audition. That's all. Move on.

I have seen students come into my studio on day of performance with pale complexion, and "deer in-headlights" eyes. Stress can kill, so avoid it. follow the rules and work on the rules and you will be successful.


Knowing that auditioning is "hell Day" for most of us, by applying the basic rules of auditioning, your "hell day" will become a "swell day". Auditioning will be fun once you have the confidence in yourself. You have to enter an audition with confidence. You have to realize that you do not know what they are looking for, and if you did, you have no control on you being picked. You don't know what the director wants. You may have some parameters on the character, but I have found that no matter how well you sang and how well you nailed that audition, you may not get that part. Why? Because there are so many factors inherent in the casting, like personal preference, height, color. Generally the leading lady or gentleman are picked before you ever got there. I have been at auditions where I have sung very well and sang better than the guy they picked. It is not fair, but that's life. Sometimes I have found out that the tenor they picked happened to be a friend of the director or had worked with him on a few projects. Its always the politics. so no matter what you do, or how well you sing, you might and you might not get the job. Knowing this, I use the audition for my purposes. I practice for the next audition, hone my audition techniques. I make that audition a performance. If nothing else, they will remember me! I always get even.

Lets take each rule one by one:

TREATING YOUR AUDITION AS A PERFORMANCE
When its your time to audition, don't just stand there and sing. Perform! Become that character. Make your audition memorable. Use your hands, your face, your body, to become that character, that voice. Concentrate on what you are singing/saying. focus on that character, that emotion, the motivation. If you come out of the audition exhilarated and don't feel awkward about it, then you have succeeded. It's the first step into winning more and more auditions.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS:
Don't pick music that is way beyond you vocally, or age-wise. Know who you are as an actor and singer. In the operatic world, if you are a light tenor, don't sing anything from Tosca. Stay within your vocal limits. Audition for the roles that are right for you. although I like to push myself into larger, meatier roles, I'm careful not to overtax myself vocally, because if you undertake an extremely heavy or light role, you might damage your technique, and back to the voice teacher you go. If you are a Broadway singer/actor, go for your body type, don't do Shakespeare for your monologue, wait until you are 50 or so.

BE PREPARED:
For any audition, you should know :
1. what you are singing about.
2. who you are singing about.
3. the background of the character (read supporting material--do your research)
4. know about the style you are singing about

DON'T GAB AT AUDITIONS:
Audition time is a time for setting your mind at ease, going over your material in your mind. Talking while waiting for your time only tires out your voice and you are not focused on the job at hand.

FOCUS:
Focus on the audition, not what you are having for lunch, or other trivia. Save your energy for "the performance"

EXUDE CONFIDENCE:
Confidence comes from knowing your material, knowing your voice, knowing your limitations, and winning audition after audition, until you make it to the top. Confidence is job one. By following these simple rules, confidence is just a step away from success. Let your personality shine!

To summarize: enter the audition with personality, oozing confidence, putting everyone at ease. (auditioners can smell fear.) Remember, they want to hire someone who can do the job. Don't come to the audition with "hat in hand" or apologetic, or with excuses. Forget that. Focus at the job on hand. Get on with it and PERFORM! PERFORM! PERFORM!