For many high school students the
new school year is here, and many school have already announced their fall and
spring musicals. Now it’s time to gear up for auditions, but before auditions,
it’s time to look within yourself and decide what part you want to play.
Where to begin? Why studying that
upcoming musical of course. If you’re not familiar with the score, that’s step
one. Download the score and really listen to each song. Is there a particular
song that speaks to you? Perhaps you want to use it for your audition piece.
Check out the various high school
productions of your show on You Tube. There are tons and you can see what other
high schools have done with your upcoming musical. I guarantee they will all
have a quality all their own as each school always adds their own personal
touch to their musical.
Don’t limit yourself to one part,
especially if it’s a musical with multiple supporting roles, such as Hello
Dolly, Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, Sound of Music… I could go on.
Yes, the
lead would be wonderful but there are many fun supporting roles and you could
make that part your own and maybe even steal the show. Be open to many roles,
and trust your director. He or she is going to put you in the role that suits
you best. PS- It’s sometimes fun to play a role that is the complete opposite
of you. My favorite role I ever played was Gooch in Mame.
If you you’re dancer you may decide
to be part of the dance ensemble and that’s fine. The same is true for ensemble
player, especially if you’re new to high school musical. There is nothing wrong
with wanting to be a part of the ensemble and for first timers I would actually
encourage it. Ensemble is the heart of the musical. That show stopping
production number? It couldn’t exist without the ensemble.
Once you are familiar with the
musical, choose a song from the score that fits your voice and personality. If
your director has a particular song they would like you to use for audition, make
sure you have that down to perfection. Don’t forget the monologues. Again watch
particular scenes in the high school videos on You Tube to get a feel for the
scene you’ll be reading.
Excited yet? You should be. Once you
become familiar with your musical, the songs, the choreo possibilities and best
of all spending time with your theater fam, you will be ready and excited for auditions.
They’re coming up soon. Musical
season is here. Break a leg everyone.
