Auditioning For Musicals: Working Through The Recall System

Here's the third of three articles I wrote on the process of auditioning for a West End or Broadway show.

As a vocal coach specialising in successful singing auditions, I know that the auditioning process can be either a dismal failure that actors want to hide from, or an opportunity to present your work to the same knowledgeable people in a well-defined sequence of events. This article describes working through the recall system, and how a coach can help performers through the different recall stages.

Auditioning For Musicals: Working Through The Recall System

When an actor, singer or dancer auditions for a show, it is very rare that they are cast on the first hearing. With thousands of actors singers and dancers looking for work, the recall system is a necessary evil. (One of our clients in the UK had to go through 9 recalls - all at her own expense - before being cast in the show.) This article describes the different stages of auditioning, and how I coach performers through the system.

I'm assuming that you have either succeeded in or bypassed the preliminary stage of auditioning, the open call (or cattle call), and completed the first full call.

Getting a recall means that the company has decided you might fit the part and are at approximately the right level for them. They want to find out more about you and how you deal with the material in the show. They will usually give you music and script for the roles they want you to audition for.

If the production company haven't given any music or instructions, but has asked you to sing your own choice for them again, my advice is NOT to take new songs "to show something different" but to polish the same songs that were sung in the first audition. I also advise wearing the same clothes - after all, it's that song, that performance and that clothing that was appropriate enough to get you the recall, so why jeopardize your chances?

During a coaching session for auditions, we focus on the song, the character and the story - what's the package that we're selling? This technique, used for first auditions with your own choice of song, can be applied to the recall. We'll explore the songs the casting panel has provided, identify the style elements of the show and incorporate them into the song (and your voice). We'll also nail the personality aspects of the character, and experiment with dialogue and scenes to carry the character through singing AND speaking to produce a cohesive performance.

That's the first major hurdle. But the second recall is different again. By this time you will probably have been given not just the music but also some clues or advice on how the company wants the character to be played. In coaching for the second recall, we might experiment with different readings of the song based on different subtexts. It's important in the second recall that you give a clear performance, but can remain flexible as an actor.

The third recall is usually a more flexible event. You now know that you are at the right level and appropriate for the role. Often in the third recall the director and musical director will work with you in detail. This is the time to listen and experiment! Occasionally other auditioning actors will be brought in to "match up" a potential cast. My coaching sessions for the third recall are much more focussed, using information and hints given by the panel.

For example, working on auditions for the musical Spring Awakening recently, one of my clients was looking at three different roles and had been given very specific instructions from the directors for all three songs. So we worked on more aggression and bite in the consonants for one character, a more fluid, lyrical feel with some musical style tweaks for the second, and a hypnotic, sexually dominant feel for the third.

Another client was working on recalls for Mamma Mia and was up for two of the three leading ladies. So we worked on the dialogue for each character, identifying and shaping the differences between the two roles, finding the essence of their speech patterns, speed of delivery, pitch range and characterisation. Then we carried those differences into the songs to give a complete, identifiable package for each of the leads.

By the time you get to the fourth, fifth or sixth recall, you will have a relationship with the casting panel, and they have more time to discuss what they want to experience from you. You should be able to find out if there are any weaknesses in your presentation, and what you can do about it. Experimentation is vital here so know your material!

Occasionally at this point, it's less about you and more about the casting panel being in disagreement about what the role requires. Perhaps a show originates on Broadway and comes over to the West End (or vice versa). In these cases there is often an American casting contingent who might have very different ideas. Just stay calm and do what you do. Be prepared to change everything that you have done so far. Stay focussed and open, and listen very carefully to what you are being told. In the rare event that you receive conflicting information, follow the advice of the person with the highest authority!

And if you don't get any further in this particular journey, remember that the casting panel in your country has already approved your performing and will remember you for other shows.

Auditioning for jobs is a fact of life for the actor singer dancer. Once you become more successful at singing auditions, casting directors start to see you in other roles and you can bypass the first stages of auditioning (although even for the stars auditioning never goes away - "Would you like to pop in for a chat and a little sing?").

Landing a role in a Broadway show or getting a West End lead can be incredibly rewarding. Working the Recall System in this way can help you understand the process and get you there quicker.

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Jeremy Fisher trains singers and performers to find and maintain their best. He's the author of Successful Singing Auditions, and creator of the Voicebox Videos (featured on the BBC and broadcast to an estimated 44,000,000 people). Sign up for Jeremy's free newsletter containing original interviews, pre-release offers and receive your BONUS free copy of "86 things you never hear a singer say" at http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/

Visit http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/ for the latest downloads:
the Vocal Process eZINE (free electronic magazine)
86 things you never hear a singer say (free ebook)
The Voicebox Videos DVD website tells you all about the Looking At A Voice endoscopy video series
The Vocal Process website has a series of free articles on vocal technique and style, memorising and different musical genres.

Auditioning for Musicals: The Cattle Call

Here's the first of three articles I wrote on the process of auditioning for a West End or Broadway show.

If you want to audition for Musicals on Broadway or in the West End, and you don't have an agent, you need to go to the open call, known as the Cattle Call. This article describes the cattle call, what you need to take and what you need to do to succeed.

Auditioning For Musicals: The Cattle Call

There are new musicals being written every year, and long-running shows being recast regularly. But there are thousands of actor singer dancers seeking work in musical theater. You want to be heard for roles in these shows but you don't have an agent. Where do you start?

Every year, production companies run open calls. They are particularly useful if the show is new or in an unusual genre (grunge/folk/rock or Tuvan throat singing), if there is a serious lack of actors with the relevant casting requirements (ethnic casting or tightrope juggling), or if the casting directors simply want to know what's out there at the moment. Open calls are usually advertised in the theatre press (The Stage newspaper in the UK is an example). The open call can be quite a demoralising process (not for nothing are they called "cattle calls"), so this article will help you prepare for them.

The first thing you'll see when you arrive is a long queue. Depending on how popular the show is, the queue could be three times round the block, or just a small crowd. Be prepared to stand in the queue for several hours. Even 15 years ago, professional singer friends of mine were kept waiting for 7 hours on the auditions for nuns in The Sound of Music.

What should you carry with you? Your resume or CV and a photograph are essential. If the photograph is not attached, make sure that both the resume and photograph have your name and contact details on. Photographs and CV details often get separated, and it would be horrible if the panel remembered your face but then couldn't find your contact details on the photo. A bottle of water is vital, and either a book or an mp3 player is useful to while away the hours.

You will give your name to the auditions usher or stage door manager, and the audition begins. If you're lucky, you'll have about 2 minutes to get on stage, introduce yourself and do your audition. If you're unlucky, you'll have 16 bars. If you're really unlucky, they will ask you for your best single phrase. How do you deal with this?

Remember that the purpose of this audition is NOT to get the job! If you're up against 1,000 people or more, nothing you can do will make you stand out enough to be offered the job on the spot. Your mission is to get asked back to the first call (the first invited call, as opposed to the cattle call). Therefore your task is to appear professional, calm and focused. That's it.

If you look professional (dress appropriately, perform to a good standard, interact well with the panel) you will be noticed. If you seem calm you will score points too - cattle calls are difficult situations with a lot of "unknowns" - like not know what time you're actually going to perform, and a vast number of people breathing down your neck! If you are focused, you'll be able to sing your piece to the best of your ability, and lock into the character immediately. Being focused really "reads" well on a theater stage, so the panel will notice very quickly how well you do.

When I'm coaching for the 16bar audition, the key is practise EVERYTHING. The walk in, the hello, the piece announcement, giving the pianist the music (or the backing track), the getting into focus, the 16 bars (decided beforehand, please!), and the exit. Everything matters, including the way you talk to the auditions usher. I work to help you choose song extracts that show your best (and it's not necessarily your loudest or highest), and to sing those extracts to the best of your ability.

Notice I haven't said what you should sing! Ultimately, in a cattle call your choice of song is less important than how you sing it. I have been on cattle calls where actors singing the weirdest songs have been called back for the next audition, simply because they sang it really well. In a situation like this you want to stack the dice in your favour as much as possible. Take a piece you know really well - that way if nerves strike, and you will still feel secure in your song.

Panels find cattle calls just as horrible as you do, and believe me, they breathe a sigh of relief when someone professional, calm and focused turns up. There usually are three piles in front of a cattle call casting panel. Yes, No, Maybe. The only pile you want to be in is the Yes pile.

And if you give a clear, focused, professional performance and follow the rules in this article, you're much more likely to get to sing in the next round and stay in the Yes pile.

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Jeremy Fisher trains singers and performers to find and maintain their best. He's the author of Successful Singing Auditions, and creator of the Voicebox Videos - featured on the BBC and broadcast to 44,000,000 people. He was commissioned by the DANA Centre at London's Science Museum to create a video on singing with a camera down his throat. Jeremy is fascinated by bringing technology and innate skill together. http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/


[You are welcome to reproduce the article on your website or blog provided you include the author name, biog details and website link at the end of the article.]

Visit http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/ for the latest downloads:
the Vocal Process eZINE (free electronic magazine)
86 things you never hear a singer say (free ebook)
The Voicebox Videos DVD website tells you all about the Looking At A Voice endoscopy video series
The Vocal Process website has a series of free articles on vocal technique and style, memorising and different musical genres.

How To Find Work As A Professional Theatre Pianist

What kind of work can a professional pianist expect to find?

Obviously you can work as a recitalist, or join an orchestra as their resident orchestral pianist. But there's a hidden area of work that is both satisfying and fun.

I worked for almost 20 years in London's West End as a rehearsal pianist, and this article focuses on what a rehearsal pianist is, and how to become one.

A rehearsal pianist plays for the rehearsals of West End or touring shows, in the weeks of production before the band arrives. Any show that contains live music will need a rehearsal pianist, but the most famous examples are the big musicals. I worked on Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Me and My Girl, Carmen Jones, and a host of productions both in the West End and on tour.

The contract usually runs for four to six weeks, from 10am to 5pm five or six days a week. During the technical week (the week before opening night or the first preview, when all the sets and costumes are added) the hours can extend quite dramatically - I would sometimes be working 12 or 13 hour days

As a rehearsal pianist you have to be very patient, and to enjoy watching the process of performance creation. In addition, you should be able to perform musical numbers repeatedly to a consistently high standard. And you need to like working with actors! You may or may not have a conductor there, and occasionally you are given the task of training the singers, or playing for the dance calls.

Most productions will have a minimum of two rehearsals each week. You may be called to work on the production during the run, particularly if there is no piano player in the orchestra.

How do you begin working as a production pianist?

When I moved to London in the late 80s I wrote 750 targeted letters asking for employment. Although most of the production companies no longer exist, the methods of contact I used are still valid.

Remember first that you're looking for companies or organisations that produce events, musicals, plays with music or short films, that would need a musician. In the UK, the place to start is the British Music Yearbook, published by Rhinegold and usually available in a good local library. Once you've exhausted the BMY, then Contacts, published by The Spotlight, has a good up-to-date list of repertory theatre companies.I also wrote to film and production companies (with the emphasis on Production) offering my services and asking them to keep my details on file for when they might need a film pianist.

Dance studios like Pineapple Studios in London are constantly hosting production rehearsals, and may be worth contacting. They won't provide you with employment but they have so many production companies hiring their space that they might be able to put you in touch with people needing your brand of skills. It may be worth approaching all the similar rehearsing venues in the area.

Another alternative, often forgotten, is to contact the West End Orchestral Fixer. An orchestral fixer will liaise with the producers of a musical to book the musicians for the run of the show. They will sometimes employ or recommend pianists for the rehearsal period, even if they are not booked for the performances. Once I was established on the scene, I got a great deal of my work from one West End fixer, who knew about or was involved in lots of productions. I didn't necessarily play in the production itself, but was hired for the rehearsal period and the "overlap time" between the bandcalls (in the final week of rehearsal) and opening night. There is an exclusive list of orchestral fixers approved to book West End musicians - if you are having trouble finding it - contact the Musicians' Union.

In a nutshell, think out of the box. I got the contracts by writing to as many people as I thought had the budget to pay me.

Did my mailout all those years ago get any results? Out of those 750 letters I received 49 replies, and one interview for a job in the West End which lasted for a full 8 months and led to a busy 20 years in and around London's Theatreland.

Good luck!

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Jeremy Fisher trains singers and performers to find and maintain their best. He's the author of Successful Singing Auditions, creator of the UK's first endoscopy video ebooks, and is fascinated by bringing technology and innate skill together. http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk

[you are welcome to publish this article on your own website or blog provided the author's biog and Vocal Process weblink above is included]

Visit http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/ for the latest downloads:
the Vocal Process eZINE (free electronic magazine)
86 things you never hear a singer say (free ebook)
The Voicebox Videos DVD website tells you all about the Looking At A Voice endoscopy video series
The Vocal Process website has a series of free articles on vocal technique and style, memorising and different musical genres.