Matching the song to the casting

Had a new client coming for a consultation session.

He is an actor comfortable with comedy, and is often cast in comedy roles. He was looking for repertoire that would suit both his physical casting and his voice.

Having found out what sort of comedy types he would play (wry, dry, physical, quirky) I asked him to sing something he was already comfortable with. He chose "On the street where you live" from My Fair Lady. He has a smooth, rich bass-baritone, which comes as somewhat of a surprise, as it doesn't really fit his physical casting. Watching him deliver the song, I am immediately struck by the fact that he is comfortable portraying physical extremes - his movements are clear, precise and definite. He is one of those actors who is physically funny to watch (think Rowan Atkinson or Charlie Chaplin).

My first thought (within three bars of him starting) was the song "Funny" from City of Angels. The song is normally done as a type of rant by the leading man, but I thought we could make something interesting of it by taking it out of context. The client has the voice-type and range for the vocal writing, and his willingness to go towards extremes could be very useful.

In general, I felt keen to work with what are essentially standard songs, but to give them a twist that would fit his physical and comedy/pathos persona.

I also came up with several alternative suggestions which could be used as well as or instead of the "Funny" song. I always suggest a classic-book type song, and in this case, Gershwin songs such as "They All Laughed" and "They Can’t Take That Away From Me" came to mind. Sondheim songs include "Good Thing Going" from Merrily We Roll Along, and the highly unusual "Invocation and Instructions" from The Frogs. The latter is a complex (and long) front-cloth song telling the audience how to behave, and I thought that it would suit his quirky MC persona well (with a lot of judicious cutting).

Walking into an audition with songs that he knows suit his casting and persona gives an actor tremendous confidence, both in his ability as a performer and in the auditioning process.

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