What Part Do I Want to Play?

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.