Because musical theatre inspires people to be themselves, a person can learn how the process of an audition goes. In the world of theatre, auditions are critical in order to have an exquisite show. However, auditions can be tricky and demanding, especially if it is for a musical. A regular theatrical audition is different in comparison to a musical audition; the steps may look more complicated, and it can seem convoluted for a first time auditionee. For this reason, it is difficult to get into a show without prior experience. So, this guide can benefit a majority of people who wants to undergo an audition, especially if it is their first time auditioning. Furthermore, the age can range from 13 to 30 years-old. This guide may benefit the first …show more content…
Characterization is the process of developing and portraying a personality through thought, action, makeup, and clothes. Since the performer is only undergoing an audition, makeup and clothes do not matter. The person undergoing an audition must make the character complex; it has to be well-thought-of in regards to physical description, movement, inner thoughts, reactions, and speech. That is why it is crucial to make it unprecedented as this performance can set the performer apart from the rest of the …show more content…
The audition’s difficulty can vary depending on the chosen role. A lead role needs more effort in comparison to a background ensemble. Preparation is key for a successful audition. So, the night before the audition, make sure the performer’s voice is well. One can drink tea with honey in order to soothe the vocal cords. It is essential to warm the vocal cords up before going to the audition. During the audition, the auditionee must introduce himself or herself to the panel of auditioners, and state the role he or she is going for. The performer cannot allow fear to take over his or her performance, as this can affect the quality of the performance. After the audition, it is hard to predict the results because the auditioners usually show little to no reactions in order to hide what they thought of the audition. However, the auditionee can usually know or feel that he or she did
Kenrick, John. Musical Theatre A History. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2008. Print.
Performing or public speaking of any kind is difficult, but that difficulty can help to build confidence. Fine arts gives students the ability to perform and build confidence with their own support team of people who do and love the same thing. Not having to perform alone and knowing that everything possible has been done to ensure a good performance helps performers be confident in themselves and in their abilities. “Puneet Jacob, former choristers and current assistant conductor, says kids are often afraid to perform because of fear of failure.” (Lefebvre) The more a person faces their fear, especially when they do well and the fear is disproved, the less afraid he or she will become. When students work on music or a play for months on end, they become much more confident in themselves and what they can do than they were when they first began.
Don’t let your nerves get to you. It was a Friday afternoon in the hot, muggy, and humid auditorium. It was the opening of our new musical, Little Shop of Horrors. All I could see when I looked through the blue curtains of the stage were all the people talking and carrying on about their children. Of course people are going to brag about their kids, it’s acting. Some kids are good, some, not so much. I’m freaking out because this is the first time I’ve been on stage to act in a musical since I was in elementary. I was all nerved up and persistently telling myself, what are these people going to do if I mess up? What if I look funny? I was getting overwhelmed and agitated.
Auditions are the pride of music television and the bane of every auditionee. Every time you open up your browser, the latest and greatest news on our favorite contestants riddles the headlines. Whether it be The Voice, all the way down to the recently-ended American Idol series, we all enjoy a good story of success. Musicals, plays, and operas follow a similar grueling tryout process but typically miss the headlines due to a more local influence, rather than national. The harsh reality that auditionees face, however, is something to be noted. Carol Wolfe (The Soprano, 93), and Diana Griffith (The Contestant, 105) are just two examples of how similar, and different, the branches of the music industry are. While Wolfe resides in New York, Griffith goes to Philly; two major auditioning and performing art cities. New York features a variety of artistic license from Broadway to the CBGB's mentioned in The Frontman (163). Philly, however, welcomes the influence of The Voice, the late American Idol, and The Big Bad Musical, and interactive comedic play in where the audience participates in deciding the events.
Musicals also provide me with an emotional outlet. When enthralled by a member of the opposite sex, I am wont to burst into a performance of "Maria" from West Side Story. After an exhaustive football practice, my lips chant "I'm Free" from the rock opera Tommy; and at my desk, feeling haughty after getting the highest grade on a calculus test, I sing quietly, "I am the very model of a modern Major-General," from The Pirates of Penzance. I can delve into the recesses of my mind and produce a piece fitting for any occasion, and I take pride in this ability.
I feel strongly that the importance of representation onstage is critical to the mission of broadening the types of people that can be influenced
As Leonard Bernstein once said, musical theatre is “an art that arises out of American roots, out of our speech, our tempo, our moral attitudes, our way of moving” (Bernstein,???). Therefore, it stands to reason that society will continue to engage with musical theatre to witness themes that reflect their daily lives and social history. For example, “Hairspray” deals with African-American integration, “Wicked” addresses social exclusion and “Hair” conjures themes of the sexual revolution and political uprise (GROVE MUSIC). Moreover, Miller (2007) describes that musical theatre, its lyricists and book writers, composers, directors and actors, have continually had to evolve to suit the modern day audiences desires for more relatable material, which is now recognised in modern theatre’s energetic, dissolute, intense and emotional presentation (reference??). NEW PARAGRAPH? Now, more than ever before, America, and the world, can access these thought-provoking themes through the increasing use of disseminating musical theatre through mediums other than live theatre. These include movie musicals such as Les Miserables (2012) and Into the Woods (2014), TV series such as Smash (2012-13) and Glee (2009-15), Disney- animated musicals such as Frozen (2013), which showcase the
People have dreams of what they want to do or accomplish in life, but usually musical theatre is just pushed into the non-realistic void. It isn’t a dream for me. In the past four years, musical theatre has been clarified as my reality. Musical theatre has been the only thing I have seen myself wanting to do. My first love was The Phantom of the Opera, seeing how I watched it almost every day and it was one of the first shows I saw. Of course, I started doing all of those cute shows in middle school and making a huge deal about it to my family and friends, but I have never felt so passionate about something. The minute I get up on that stage I throw away Riley for two and a half hours and it’s the most amazing feeling! Being able to tell a story
The Broadway musical has been entertaining a wide variety of Americans for generations. It is not always clear what exactly draws millions of people across the country to these shows each year, some scholars, including Stacy Wolf, argue that the spectacular costumes, grandiose music, and exciting story lines, offer Americans an escape from their reality. It has been argued that Broadway musicals do not promote positive or progressive views of women, but only depict them in roles that are stereotypically associated with women. While this may be the case in some shows, it is more common for a female character to have depth and defy traditional stereotypes. From the twentieth century on, Broadway became
On a Wednesday night I saw Texas State Theatre and Dance Department's performance of A Chorus Line. The main plot of the musical entails the audition of 17 dancers for several Broadway roles on the chorus line. However, during their auditions the director Zach asks for personal stories of each dancer's life. Though the plot of this musical is seemingly simple in its twist on the traditional audition, it explores themes that reveal the human experience, the search for individuality, and the sense of self.
The first strictly female-based shows were released in the 1950’s. These musicals attracted more female-based audience members and ticket sales rose exponentially. Musicals such as The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady showed how women were an important part of life, whereas musicals such as Spring Awakening, Aida, and Wicked showed extreme women empowerment. Gender inflicts and shapes every aspect of the musical. ”Gender is a constitutive element of Broadway musical theatre, fundamental to the musical’s architecture, and as vital a building block as music, lyrics, orchestration, spoken text, choreography, and dance, lights, sets, costumes, and props. It shows from the very beginning the role to be played” (Wolf, p.6)
The 2000s/ 2010s brought in a wave of movie musicals- adapted from the stage shows. These brought new audiences into the theatre world, and for the first time in 20 years, brought a love to some of the timeless musicals. With slightly altered songs to appeal to a newer audience, these films brought in much needed money into the industry, with films including: Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Fame- and many more. Together with this, musicals began to push the concept of the songs in them, with a wave of new styles being written. Rap musicals such as ‘Hamilton’ and ‘In The Heights’, Pop musicals including ‘Waitress’ and ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and Rock musicals of ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Spring Awakening’. Together they pushed boundaries of a ‘traditional’ musical theatre sound, and brought in something never before seen. Due to the influence of ‘Rent’, controversial issues and themes began to be explored more, such as Teen suicide, Murder, Ethnic barriers and everything else, which brought with them, a world of opportunities. It was clear that musical theatre was once again showing for a promising
When it comes to rehearsals, no one has a bigger commitment than stage actors. For stage actors, rehearsals can last for several months to a year, in extreme cases. This gives an actor more time to develop his character, study his or her lines, and build great chemistry with their cast. As an actor, I realize the importance of building chemistry with your fellow actors within the production because once it’s time to perform; the audience can see the genuineness and the
The first step of the process was to go shadow the play during rehearsal hours. This experience was awesome and very educational. When I first went into the rehearsal I thought it would be way more different than what it actually was. My first initial thoughts were that it would be really
I had a little bit of preparation by getting some useful information about the location of the theatre and most importantly about the history of the play including the playwright, the origination of the play, synopsis, and the year it was written and first performed. Preparing for the play in this way gave me an idea of what to expect and helped with my positive experience of the play itself. I entered the theatre about 15 minutes before time with the audience sitting and chit chatting