Auditions are tricky things. You prepare, sometimes for months, for those thirty seconds, those 16 magical bars that just have to make your dreams come true. You give it everything you have. You want it so badly. Then you give your performance over to a director, a musical director, and a choreographer, the judge and jury who decide your fate. It's exhilarating. It's terrifying. And it's necessary if you're ever going to make your way onto the stage.
I can honestly say that it's much more emotional and intense for me, as a vocal coach, to deal with the successes and failures of my students then with my own as a performer. I want it as badly as they do, sometimes more so I think, their successes are truly my successes and their failures (if we can even call them failures) are my own. In the audition after math, once the dust has settled and the lists have been posted and the phone calls have been made, my students come back to me looking for guidance. Hopefully it's guidance on the solos for their new leading role, but whether it is or not I try to have something meaningful to say. Here's what I've come up with, stolen from my time with Broadway musical director David Chase, and from my own experience: you have to wait for your show.
David used the example of his wife. An Indiana University voice graduate who was one hell of a tap dancer. She was also over six feet tall. Training, talent, connections she had it all, and she wasn't booking jobs. She came to him and he told her this: you have to wait for your show. What he meant was you have to realize where your strengths lie and play to them.
For an aspiring performer this can be tough. What are your strengths? What are you good at? All too often we focus on the negative. I remember my senior year of college, sitting with the rest of my BFA class in the program director's office and him asking, "What are you good at?" After four years of learning, and improving, and receiving note after note of what to work on it was extremely easy to answer the question, "Where do I need to improve?" but rarely did I stop to think, "What am I good at?" Whether it's your comedic timing, your balcony busting belt, or that you can out tap Gregory Hines it's valid, it has worth. So think about it.
The other part of his message was knowing where you fit in. This is tough as well, especially in a community theatre or school environment where the season is set and there are only X number of shows available to audition for. If you're a light coloratura soprano and a theatre has a season of contemporary belt shows, that's tough. It's not because you can't belt, and if you think you can't please contact me because I'll prove you wrong, but it might not be your strength. You may find yourself discouraged after auditions where you didn't get the lead role, or any role at all, thinking that you are doing something wrong or that you aren't talented. News flash. Not so. It just wasn't your show.
I'm not saying that if you find yourself unsuited to a show you shouldn't audition. Audition experience is invaluable in conquering anxiety, learning more about the process, and getting your face and voice out there. I'm saying that if you're X and the show is looking for Y, don't beat yourself up over it. Don't quit.
For David's wife, after seasons and seasons of not booking roles, along came the Broadway revival of Anything Goes and what did they need? Tall women who tap dance. He knew it. She knew it. That was her show. Now, even when your show comes along is that a guarantee that you'll be cast? No. But realizing your strengths, honing your skills, and nailing an audition for a role you know you're perfectly suited for, I can't say there's a better shot than that. And when that moment comes, and you stand on the X in front of judge and jury, be thankful for all those auditions leading up to your moment. Be grateful you put yourself out there and were open to learning. Be grateful you conquered fears and anxiety. And knock 'em dead.
