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From: jasiunas@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (J. Banning Jasiunas)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.musicals
Subject: RE: No more LES MIZ SAIGON songs (in auditions)
Date: 26 Jan 1995 17:42:05 -0600
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OK - I'm a director of college musicals and I have been in on auditions for
about 10 shows. At this level of musical theater, ANYTHING from Les Miz
should be considered overdone - I have heard so many people try to sing On
My Own that I can't even count (I Dreamed A Dream, Stars, Castle on a
Cloud - they've all surfaced far too much as well). Andrew Lloyd Webber is
basically way too overdone as well, especially "I Don't Know How To Love Him."
I don't care if you think you can sing rings around everyone who's ever
recorded one of these numbers; they shouldn't be done. Martha's songs
and "Lily's Eyes" from the Secret Garden are a bit too common, and I find
somne of R&H is way overdone - especially "Honey Bun" - out of 70 auditionees
for my most recent show, I heard 4 people sing this song...Another way
overdone show is Grease - almost any number is tired and dull as an audition
piece. The best auditions I've heard have been to songs such as "A Man Could
Go Quite Mad" from Drood, "Those Were the Good Old Days" from Damn Yankees,
"My Rules" from The Goodbye Girl, and "Love of My Life" (is this the
title - I can't for the life of me remember although I know the song by heart)
from Brigadoon. Hardly unknown pieces, but not very often chosen. Most
importantly, though, pick out an audition pieces that suits you - in every
case I think these auditions stuck out in my mind because the piece so well
suited the performer in every aspect, and suited the role they were auditioning
for...
Oh, one last overdone show - anything from Guys and Dolls (esp. Sit Down You're
Rocking the Boat, I'll Know, and I've Never Been In Love Before).
I know that at a professional level there are different rules and different
pieces that are overdone (I've heard that many songs from Baby, for instance,
are far too common at auditions), but such pieces from more uncommon works
might work very well for a college audition.
J.B.
jasiunas@phoenix.princeton.edu
From ???@??? Sun Jan 29 17:49:42 1995
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From: Michael Soliven Lara
Newsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.musicals
Subject: Re: Vocalism (or lack of it) in musicals
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 1995 13:44:43 -0600
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On 26 Jan 1995, John Howell wrote:
> >
> >But who needs voices in a musical? Today, they are spectacles. The music
> >is almost secondary. And the ability to sing, tertiary. I hear ads for
> >LesMis and MissSaigon on the radio (NY metro area) and the song clips
> >sound like the BeeGees are in the show.
> >
> >Awful.
> >
> >Hal in Connecticut
Hal, I really take offense at your statement. Voices are just as
important now as ever to musical theatre, including the megamusicals.
The real test as to the value of the music isn't the show per se, but
rather the cast recording--shorn of all spectacle and visuals, the music
and the voices stand exposed for close inspection.
As can be discovered by a cursory search of this newsgroup, obviously
many people enjoy listening to the cast recordings of Les Mis and Miss
Saigon, not to mention any number of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows.
So obviously many people don't share your opinion.
A chacun son gout...
Michael Soliven Lara mslara@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
"Touche moi, ne me laisse pas seule, seule avec la memoire,
de mes jours du passe. Si tu oses, tu sauras toute la verite.
Vois, le soleil s'est leve." -- Cats (Paris)
From ???@??? Sun Jan 29 17:49:51 1995
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From: ahsiung@bbn.com (Anita Hsiung)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.theatre.musicals
Subject: Re: Audition and vocalization tips ???
Date: 27 Jan 1995 11:47:54 GMT
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>jmc2146@tesla.njit.edu wrote:
>[...]
>: There is an upcoming audition for a musical that I want to try out
for. [... stuff deleted]
>: [...] I have a few questions:[...]
>
>: 1. Should I do the whole song? Even if it is just about three minutes,
>: I'm sure the time adds up and annoys auditioners to no end.
Definitely KNOW the whole song, but sing whatever segments the
director and MD want you to sing. Prepare beforehand for the
best 16 bars in case that is all you are asked to sing.
>: 2. What do I do with short spoken segments, or no-vocal segments in the
>: song?
Do the speaking. It's acting, after all. Try, though, to pick
songs that don't have too much talking. There should be a
scene reading included with the audition.
>: 3. Is it a good idea to "act" while doing the song? or should I just
>: concentrate on the singing?
Act, but don't crawl all over the stage.
>: 4. Is there any other, better, way of judging your ability other than
>: taping yourself? The accompaniment is important because I have to
>: sing to it, and obviously I can't sing and play at the same time,
>: and I know trying to judge your singing by listening to yourself
>: rarely works.
Yes, taping is important. If you can, do both audio and
video. It's important that you understand the body language
message you are sending to your audience.
>: 5. (Ok...this is a really stupid question) Is there any technique for
>: singing especially high notes without choking? I can sing the note,
>: but if I try to hold it, I start to get the pricklies in my throat
>: and I have to cough. Also, what do I do about salivating while
>: singing? I usually don't have time to swallow, and there's nothing
>: more embarassing than drooling while singing.
Singing lessons. The idea of singing is to make any
transition between ranges smooth and effortless. Don't sing
the high notes by stretching your throat. You'll hurt
yourself and sound horrible. Someone else had suggested
already that for this audition, pick a song lower in range.
The whole salivating part is just timing. In any song, there
are moments of pause, usually where there is a comma in the
lyrics. That's where you can swallow quickly. Also, there's
nothing wrong with taking a deep breath, even if people can
hear that. Listen to good opera singers; every now and then
you can hear the breath before a long phrase. Map out a song
like a computer program: take a breath here, a pause there,
remember where the difficult parts are, a hand gesture here,
etc.
To go for the high notes, your teacher will teach you how to
breathe correctly, use your throat muscles correctly, mix
ranges (adding more chest voice to the head voice or vice
versa, depending on the type of music), sing in falsetto.
The most important thing, more than skill and ability, is to
make the song beautiful.
>: I guess I should shut up, (because I feel really stupid) but I really
>: would like any help on these questions. I know I should stick to acting
>: but I desperately want to "sing" my heart out, even though I can't sing.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to sing! That's what this
group is about. Just keep in mind that with proper
instruction, you will get a lot more enjoyment out of it and
so will others.
-- Anita --
--
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