So the real story.
My freshman year of high school, I decided to audition for the school musical, unaware of what it was and what it was about, and some how passed the initial rounds of casting. Let me tell you, I really should not have made it into the musical. My audition skills were amateur at best, and down right sad at worst. So here are the things I did wrong, and how you should avoid them:
1. I had no clue what I was auditioning for.
Knowing is the key to... not looking stupid. Also, your whole audition should be based around the show and the role you want. Freshman Baylee was not aware of this. She heard 'musical auditions' the day before and dove headfirst into the shallow end.
If you are auditioning for a musical, the first thing you do is determine the genre. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? Is it 'West Side Story'? If it's the third option, walk away and don't look back. Trust me. But, if it so happens to be a drama like Jekyll, then your song and monologue should be dramas as well. If you want to be the leading lady, pick a few bars from one of her more flashy songs. If you want to be Nellie, the child prostitute/ probably-a-pimp, use a seductive monologue.
2. I auditioned with 'The Only Exception' by Paramour.
I can't listen to that song anymore without cringing. I actually die a little on the inside if it comes on the radio. Don't audition with a pop song unless specifically told to. There will be regret. So. Much. Regret.
3. I probably looked like a tornado dressed me.
I say probably only because I can't quite remember what I wore, but I remember that I did not value fashion the way I do now. From what I recall and from the few surviving pictures of me, I would say I probably wore ratty blue jeans, some strange off-brand Toms, and a shirt that most likely said something about summer. My hair was dyed a streaky dishwater blonde and in the midst of growing out an unfortunate haircut.
Do not dress like Freshman Baylee.
Wear something professional that you can move around in. There shouldn't be any logos or brand names stamped across the fabric. My advice to you, just throw on a plain black tee shirt, some dark and stretchy skinny jeans, and Keds. Can't go wrong with Keds. If you want to stand out, use your personality. Trust me, that'll impress them way more.
(I'm the one with the legs.)
The rest of what I learned is actually second hand. At the same time I was making a fool of myself, a friend of mine was making an ass of himself.
Cory walked into his audition like my polar opposite. He was confident in his abilities and just knew he would land the leading role. He sauntered onto the stage and peered into the audience, finding two women sitting side by side. One he knew, our chorus teacher, Mrs. Bruno. The other, he did not.
"Excuse me," He said, "But this is a closed audition." He probably raised his eyebrows and everything. The unnamed woman probably raised hers right back before replying.
"I know, I'm the director." Mrs. Cook responded.
Cory had made the fatal mistake of pissing off the director, and he knew it. He will claim this is where his audition went down hill, but I like to think it did the moment he opened his mouth.
After having his swagger ripped out from under him, Cory decided to just hop right into the rest of his audition. He started with the chorus of some popular rap song that I never listened to. Maybe this would have worked if he were auditioning for 'Hamilton', but the choice seemed a tad odd for a musical about Victorian Britain. He stumbled his way through it and finally came to the monologue portion.
This, he thought, was where he would redeem himself. He had chosen it carefully with the show in mind; a monologue from 'The Phantom of the Opera'. He began and then... stopped.
"Um..." He muttered, than began again, making it about three lines in before... he stopped again.
"May I... can I look at the paper?" He had to ask sheepishly. He told me he felt like an idiot at this point. Mrs. Cook graciously allowed him to read from his printed copy, and he got about halfway through before she stopped him.
"That's not from Phantom." She said. Cory stared blank faced back, not really understanding. "I've seen and read Phantom, and that is not from the musical."
At this point if Cory were me, he would have started crying and then moved to some obscure place in Alaska to research alien life forms. Cory, though, is not me, and instead stood there until she said he could continue with his false Phantom piece.
Surprisingly, despite both of our atrocious first auditions, we got called backed. We then found our names on the cast list and thus, I became the child prostitute/ seriously-I-think-she-may-have-also-been-a-pimp Nellie, and Cory starred as Poole, the oddly incompetent butler.
(Cory (blue suit) is studying opera at Oberlin University. Here, he's preforming in Miami.)
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