As a performer, we are expected to be prompt and prepared when it comes to auditioning. You may be surprised to hear though that a main concern when I work with my performers is their lack of repertoire. Even seasoned, professional performers can have issues when it comes to refreshing their repertoire book. In this post, I want to help you in this seemingly nerve wracking task! Here are the categories you should consider having in your repertoire book!
Your “Perfect Song”
As discussed in this post, it is essential as a performer to have a song that you feel comfortable and proud of performing, but also something that is uniquely you. This song may take a while to find, but once it is found, it will showcase who you are as a performer. It’s a song that shows off your range, your vocal and acting skills, is reliable, and it’s rendition is a performance that you can say is uniquely yours and memorable. This song is a must in your repertoire book because it’s YOU! However, the most crucial aspect of an audition is to prepare intelligently, so your “perfect song” may not be suitable for every audition. Luckily, you are a versatile and flexible singer, so keep reading on to find out what else you should be including in your repertoire book!
Traditional Music Theatre Piece
While the use of the word “traditional” or “Golden Age” is debatable in research, many casting notices still use these words when describing the older style of music theatre. When you hear “Golden Age”, most people will immediately think of Rodgers and Hammerstein or Loewe and Lerner. However, this idea of “traditional music theatre” begins earlier than the 1940’s and 50’s. This is why it is important to have a span of different early decades in your repertoire folder. The “traditional” style of music theatre singing is generally described as incorporating a speech-like quality, with emphasis on the lyrics over the melody. While romantic leads, such as the classic soprano ingenue, still sing with a legit quality, belting is also a vocal quality popular in this genre. Most belting characters will belt to a C5. Including some classics from South Pacific to My Fair Lady is advised, also think about exploring some of the less popular musicals from the 1920’s-1960’s.
Legit Music Theatre Piece
While there are characteristics of legit singing in the “traditional” section, this style is where the classical singers find most comfortable. With focus on sound rather than lyrics, this vocal style is suited for those with the skill of producing a classical tone. While the legitimate style musical is becoming less popular to compose nowadays, we continue to see revivals with this style being produced. To be a versatile performer, I believe it is essential to learn this legato and rounded style to succeed in today’s industry. Even if you are not a soaring coloratura sopranos, looking into the likes of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas will provide you with material to explore this genre, as well as have you prepared for that audition for The Phantom of the Opera!
Contemporary Music Theatre Piece
This goes without saying, but music theatre is evolving to become one of the most versatile and progressive forms of art. A musical from the 1950’s is drastically different to what we are seeing being written today. In contemporary music theatre, the focus on speech-quality is emphasised even more than what we saw in the “traditional” style, but where the belt went up to a C5 and was reserved for comedic characters, we now see the belt as dominating the industry with the range going above and beyond the traditional C5. Contemporary music theatre often requires performers to be versatile, with the ability to sing effortlessly throughout their entire range. By focusing on this speech-quality that extends higher in the range through belting or mixed voice quality, it is essential to include at least one contemporary upbeat and one contemporary ballad in your repertoire to have handy for auditions.
Pop/Rock Music Theatre Piece
While we have seen a rise in a different style of singing through contemporary music theatre, another leading genre in music theatre today is the pop/rock musical. Yes, there is a difference between pop/rock and contemporary. While contemporary music theatre focuses on storytelling through speech-like qualities, pop/rock music theatre relies on the authentic sounds that come in pop/rock music. This includes embellishments, vocal distortions, and imitations of original rock/pop artists. Speaking of original artists, this is where we see jukebox musicals come to play. With many more musicals now taking inspiration and music from pop/rock artists, including a pop/rock music theatre piece in your repertoire, especially from a jukebox musical, can show diversity and skill in a singing style that many singers neglect to learn authentically.
Non-Music Theatre Pop/Rock Piece
As explained previously, the pop/rock music genre is taking over the music theatre world! While there are an abundance of music theatre selections from jukebox and pop/rock-written musicals, casting notices will often ask for a non-music theatre audition piece for a pop/rock musical. Because of this, it is always handy to have some non-music theatre pop/rock pieces under your belt. However, because there are so many sub-genres with the pop/rock world, it can be difficult to predict what type of songs to pick. We will be talking about how to learn a song for an audition quickly later, but for now, try picking songs from popular artists and bands as you get to know this non-music theatre style of singing.
Other Non-Music Theatre Genre Piece
Along the same mantra as the section above, music theatre is now growing and expanding to include more diverse music. We are actually living in such an incredible time of music theatre, where we can experience so much more than what we could 30 years ago, and music theatre is becoming more accessible and appealing to the masses as well as being unexpected. With the likes of Hamilton and Once, we are now seeing more and more musicals letting go of what is considered the “traditional” sound and incorporating all genres of music, including R&B, folk, acapella and even rap! Therefore, sprinkling other non-music theatre pieces in your repertoire is essential. Now, I’m not saying that you need to master both folk and rap styles, but having skills in at least one “unexpected” style of singing will most likely work in your favour!
Character Piece
While a lot of auditions may focus on the sound and beauty of your voice, showing off your comedic acting chops through song is important when auditioning for particular types of characters. Audition notices will sometimes ask for a character piece, and if you are not versed in being a character performer, preparing a piece like this is a short timeframe may be difficult. This is why it is important to have a few prepared!
A Sondheim Piece
There are many composers within music theatre, but there seems to be a general consensus that Stephan Sondheim is one of the most legendary of them all. This could be due to his particular composition style, his ideology of writing for the actor rather than the singer, or many of his pieces being notoriously difficult to master. It’s because of this that many actors have a love/hate relationship with this composer. Because of all of the reasons I just mentioned, it is crucial to have at least a few Sondheim pieces in your repertoire book! They can take a while to learn and master, they are stylistically different to most other music theatre composers and it is all about the text, rhythm and pulse. But don’t let this scare you away! Learning a Sondheim piece can teach you advanced rhythm, complex time and key signature changes and analysis of lyrics that you may not normally get to practice!
A Disney Piece
Just like Sondheim, Disney is a particular genre within music theatre that has its own benefits. Disney has become one of the most popular producers of productions, from shows appearing in their theme parks and cruise liners to being megahits on Broadway. As a performer, there is a big chance that you will eventually need to prepare a Disney piece for an audition. While Disney is definitely not as difficult at learning Sondheim, I think it is important to already have it included in your repertoire as I find that a Disney piece is an effective song to pull as a very last minute song when asked to sing something more (depending on the audition brief, of course).
An “Overdone” Piece or Something from a Mega-Musical
I put these two categories together as a lot of (but not all) songs deemed “overdone” are from a mega-musical. I do agree that performing a song that everyone and their cousin sings may lead to casting directors comparing you to other performers (and detracting from your skill), a popular piece may often be asked for in the audition room. A popular song, one that the audition panel may be more familiar than your current song, may be asked for when wanting to get a full understanding of the skills you present, rather than concentrating on listening to a new song. It should be noted that you should never sing anything too “underground” as this can detract from your performance. Plus, we’ve all wanted to belt out I Dreamed a Dream at one point or another, right?
A Piece That Has Been Arranged
This is a piece of advice that I haven’t seen anyone else give, but I always like to include an arrangement of a piece or two in my repertoire. Not only do I love singing pieces that are arranged for my voice (usually by my uber-talented husband), but I believe that a successful arrangement of a popular song is something that stands out, showing off your creativity and artistry. While this may not be suited for traditional or contemporary music theatre auditions, I love using arrangements for pop musical auditions. Maybe I will get my husband to write about what to look for when working with an arranger, but I know that some of the key themes are to make sure it is unique to you while still containing some essence of the original piece. You also need to make sure that the piece is easy to sight-read for your audition pianist!
You have just read through 12 categories to include in your audition book. You can probably tell that that is a lot. However, this is just the basics. This is a guide to how to START creating a versatile repertoire book. As mentioned above, music theatre is constantly evolving, and its performers need to be flexible and versatile. Therefore, I strongly encourage your audition binder to be exactly the same. While I also encourage that you find multiple songs for each category, please please PLEASE don’t show up to every single audition with every single song from your repertoire. It is important to refresh your audition binder specifically for every audition. For example, if you are auditioning for Hamilton, you probably don’t need to show up with five legit pieces “just in case”. Aim to be as smart and conscious as you are flexible. It is also important that your audition binder is balanced. You do not want to fill it up exclusively with ballads or love songs. As a music theatre performer, you are automatically a jack of many trades, so make sure your audition binder reflects that.
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