So, you’ve started your search for the perfect audition material.
Let’s face it, there’s a lot to consider.
Whether you don’t know where to look or you’re having doubts about your choices, this is the guide for you! Here are 10 tips to help you get started.
HOW TO FIND MATERIAL
1. College Audition Coaches and Pre-College Programs
If you’ve already done tons of research and are still totally stumped, an audition coach may be right for you. Audition coaches are helpful mentors who have a wide knowledge of audition material and are masters at tracking down sheet music and monologues. They also can be your greatest supporter and confidant. With a multitude of coaches to choose from and many of them conducting meetings online, there is no doubt that— with a little bit more research— you will find the right coach for you. As you conduct your search for an audition coach, consider your needs along with your budget. If you’re willing to spend a good amount of money, there are specific coaches or even pre-college programs that specialize in assisting with college auditions. However, if you’re tight on cash, maybe you have a long-time theatre teacher/vocal coach/director who understands you like no other. Be your own coach or find an affordable online course! Any path you take, you should trust your coach. An experienced coach will not only supply you with songs and/or monologues that suit you, but they will also help you figure out why that material suits you.
Disclaimer: You definitely don’t NEED an audition coach to be successful at finding material. Do whatever feels right for you! If you are interested in checking out some trusted coaches or pre-college programs, visit the links below!
College Audition Coaches:
College Audition Coach (Mary Anna Dennard/“Moo”)
MTCA (Musical Theater College Auditions)
CAP (College Audition Project)
Pre-College Programs:
NEXUS Musical Theatre (Texas State)
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Performance Intensives
Carnegie Mellon’s Pre-College Drama Program
2. Read Plays, Listen to Broadway Soundtracks, & Watch Theatre
You’ve probably heard this a million times before, but staying active and up-to-date in the theater community is a must! Staying engaged in the community by reading plays, listening to soundtracks, and seeing productions (even locally) is the easiest way to find material that you love. Listening to soundtracks on Spotify or Youtube is not only free, but likely to lead you down a rabbit hole of exploring songs akin to the ones you love or performers who have a similar voice to your own. Reading plays is a great way to find playwrights whose works you enjoy and unique monologues that will stand out in an audition room. Online subscriptions and libraries are a great way to check out new and preexisting plays! Seeing productions will not only expose you to new material, but it will also remind you why you love this art-form (which can be so important during the college audition process).
*Here are some websites to connect you with a library of plays!
The Folger Shakespeare Library
3. Learn From Monologue Books or Song Collections
I know these get a bad rep, but hear me out! Monologue books and song collections are not all bad as long as you use them wisely. Yes, they do tend to include overdone material, BUT they can be a great jumping off point if you’re feeling lost on where to look for material. For monologue books, skim the book and find a few monologues you resonate with. Ask your self why you resonate with those pieces and take a look at who wrote them. Then, go read the full play or some of the playwright’s other works to see if you can find some strong material. Maybe you like that the character is headstrong, but vulnerable— go look for similar roles in other plays. For song collections, the approach is almost identical. However, you can also use song anthologies to help further your understanding of song styles. Many musical theatre song anthologies will group songs together by style or vocal range (alto, soprano, bass, baritone, etc). Listen to these songs to find their similarities and develop a greater understanding of how to categorize and discover songs of a particular musical theater style.
ADVICE ON CHOOSING MATERIAL
4. Choose Material You Connect With
This is a HUGE one! Most of the other tips will tie back to this. Auditions are not just a tool used to cast you in a role; they are a chance for the auditors to learn more about a you. When auditioning for colleges, it is so important to show who YOU are! Picking material that you connect with will help ease your nerves and allow you to have fun performing. If you are enjoying yourself, the auditors will too! Whether you feel passionate about the message of the piece or share the traits of the character, it will be crucial to pick material that speaks to you. The auditors want to learn what kind of person they’d be letting into their program— after all, you will be working with each other for the next 4 years.
5. It’s Okay to Change Your Material
Bouncing off of tip #5, it’s okay to change up your material if you are not feeling it. No matter how good you sound, if you aren’t connecting to the material, your performance will suffer. You don’t have to keep a song or monologue in your rep if you find that you’ve grown tired of it or hate it. This is totally normal, especially if you’ve used the piece for multiple auditions already. Don’t feel stressed out if you decide you need to go find some similar material and switch up your audition package. At the end of the day, it will be worth it to feel confident in the audition room.
6. Pick Roles You Could Realistically Play
This isn’t a rule, rather a suggestion. You can be successful with “non-traditional” material (gender-bends, performing a classic in a different style, etc), as long as it fits the requirements of the audition and is reflective of who you are. There are so many shows out there, so don’t settle for something that doesn’t appropriately convey your story. Again, the auditors want to see YOU, not a character. Pick a piece that deals with topics that someone in your age range would deal with or discusses something you’ve personally gone through. It’s hard to perform an experience you don’t understand. Show the auditors that you’re someone who is aware of their strengths and owns who they are.
7. Your Material Doesn’t Have to be Obscure
Let’s debunk this myth. Obscure material won’t get you into a program. Something I’ve heard time and time again from auditors is that it is okay to do “over-done” material, as long as you put your own unique spin on the piece. Auditors don’t want to sit behind a table all day seeing performers mimic the same rendition of “Don’t Rain on My Parade” that Barbra Streisand or Lea Michele did. Obscure material is usually chosen to ensure that a performer stands out (by doing a piece no one else has done yet), but sometimes it can pull focus from a performance by leaving the auditors wondering where the material is from. Standing out is easy when you bring yourself to the table and make bold choices!
8. It’s Okay to Change the Key of Your Song
This one is for my musical theater friends. There is a negative stigma around changing the key of your song. Rest assured, it’s not the end of the world. You won’t get banned from auditioning or looked down upon. If you find a song you absolutely adore and feel reflects you perfectly, that is more important than hitting the high note at the end. Doing a song you don’t feel 100% comfortable with can add more nerves to the mix in an audition room. Adjust the key (and make sure you practice with it) so that you can walk into an audition with confidence. No one is paying attention to the fact that you dropped the song a half-step. You’ll have four years of vocal lessons to work on extending your range. So for now, set yourself up for success!
9. Have Alternative Material
For two reasons. Reason number one: This could prevent #5 from happening to you! It may seem like more work, but it’s nice to have options that you feel comfortable with performing and fit the requirements of your auditions. Alternative material gives you the opportunity to keep your audition process feeling new and exciting. Diversify the material that you pair together and tailor your choices to how you feel the day of the audition. Reason number two: After you perform the requested material, the auditors may ask if you have anything else you could show them. Without additional material, you can’t take that all-important extra opportunity to show them what you’ve got! Always be prepared.
10. Pay Attention to Requirements
Each audition may require different types of material, so it’s important to keep track of what you need. Meeting the requirements of an audition proves that you are professional, organized, and can follow directions. These are traits that make you easy to work with and if you don’t portray them, it could weed you out quickly. It’s always best to keep all of your requirements and various audition material organized— TCAO Digital Planner is a perfect resource for just that (and much more)!
Now get out there and start finding those audition pieces!
With love,
The TCAO Team