10 Tips for Auditioning for a Regional Theatre’s Season

Written by Meghan Mitchell

April 3, 2017

Whether you’re going to a season audition for the first time or the 20th time, there are always new things to keep in mind when prepping for your audition. Whether a season contains Shakespeare, a one-woman show, or a musical you’re unfamiliar with, there are always new works to discover when preparing your audition cuts.  It’s never an easy task to encompass an entire season in only 16-bars of a song and one minute of a monologue; how can you possibly show the depth of your talent in such a limited capacity!?  It’s most important to remember that no matter what you’re auditioning for, and what shows are being produced, YOU are the person they are hiring for one, two, or even seven different shows through this one audition experience.

1. Research, research, research…

It should go without saying, but you should always research the plays and/or musicals that the company will be doing.  What are you going to need to gear your audition towards based on their season?  Then, research the company itself; do they allow for EMC points (part of Actor’s Equity)?  Do they only use non-equity for TYA (theatre for young audiences) productions?  How are they allowed to cast their productions with equity/non-equity rules?  It is best to research every play and musical in the season and know how the company might cast in order to accurately pick your audition pieces and what shows you should gear your audition towards.  Doing an Ahrens and Flaherty musical and Shakespeare?  Find a song and monologue that are in the same vein of what you are auditioning for; it behooves you to show the director how you would fit into their season with your audition pieces right off the bat.

2. Look through your book.

Stressing over having a certain ‘type’ of song for a certain musical?  Look at what you have (especially in a time crunch) and find how you make it work for the season you’re auditioning for.  As long as you’re comfortable with your pieces, it will show through in your audition.  And YOU are the person they are casting, not your specific 16-bar cut or minute monologue.  You should always know what you have on hand in your book at any point in time—work on keeping your book fresh and new.  Rotate stale pieces with newer ones, and always know what you have on hand at any point in time.

3. Shakespeare or no Shakespeare?

Sometimes with season auditions, you are only allowed one monologue for an entire season—and what if that season has Shakespeare in it?  First, know your theatre.  Is there a specific role you could play?  Do they use primarily interns or graduate students for smaller roles in all of their Shakespeare shows?  All I can say is that you have to use your best judgement when you are only allowed one monologue or song instead of contrasting pieces.  Are you more comfortable with Shakespeare than modern American realism?  Or vice versa?  Would you rather do a Chekhov piece?  Honestly, it’s all up to you!   I’ll keep coming back to the same theme; you want to showcase YOU.  And however you can do that, then THAT is what you should do for your audition.

4. You want 16 bars of… what?

Look into the season; if your options are Secret Garden and Pinkalicious, you would want to determine whether your stronger wheelhouse is classical musical theatre or pop/contemporary musical theatre.  Again, pick an appropriate selection that showcases what you do best.  If they want another selection, they will ask you for it in the room.  Better yet, you will be invited to a callback to sing or read for a specific role!  The director can look at your resume and see what you are capable of.  You’re not going to be able to do pop/rock and Light in the Piazza and Kander and Ebb all in one song—it’s not physically possible, and that’s okay!  And don’t feel bad about that!  At the end of the day, I’ll keep coming back to the same point…

5. Showcase YOU.

You are the one auditioning, so you should be the one to choose the correct audition pieces for YOU.  If your sound is more classical, gear it towards that.  If you’re uncomfortable with Shakespeare, use your Neil LaBute monologue.  Just because a season has a certain musical in it and you’re uncomfortable with the genre, don’t go for the genre and then have your audition fall flat.  At the end of the day, showcase what you do best.  After all, you are getting hired as the performer you are for what you bring to the audition.  Don’t make yourself uncomfortable singing Rodger and Hammerstein when you are a Pasek and Paul gal/guy.  As the old adage says, always ‘showcase your strengths hide your weaknesses.’

6. Have things in your back pocket.

I cannot tell you how many times I have been in an audition where I have heard the words, “Well, do you have anything more pop sounding?”  Or (after a monologue only audition) “You sing… right?  Did you have something to sing?”  Always be warmed up and ready for anything in your book or in your back pocket of monologues.  You may not know that a director is considering you for a musical or play along the pipeline that hasn’t been announced in the season yet.  I would recommend always having (at the very least) 16-bar cuts of both up-tempo and ballad, one pop/rock song, both a comedic and dramatic monologue, and to be really prepared, a Shakespeare piece as well.  It sounds like a lot, I know! And that is intimidating, but even just saying to the director/producer “I have ______, I just need a minute to look over it,” and then taking a moment to prepare and have something for them to see reflects so well on your preparedness and professionalism. They will usually give you a minute, even send you out of the room and then call you back inside, so that you can have some time to refresh something that may not be so fresh at that precise moment.  Having multiple options of pieces is never ever a bad thing for any actor/singer to have.

7. Find a comfortability in your pieces.

After using your pieces for multiple auditions, you can find a sense of comfort in knowing the ins and outs of your songs and monologues.   I like to find songs and monologues that are multi-purpose—like a contemporary musical theatre piece that also has a classic dynamic build, that also sounds pop, that also has powerful high notes and lyrical phrasing.  Once you can use your pieces for multiple auditions, you can find true comfort and power in your pieces.  Everything sounds great in the shower, or in the car, but the more and more you practice just the art of auditioning itself, the more comfortable you will be with the whole process.  Everyone has those songs or pieces they’ve used where you cracked on a high note, or froze and ‘up’ed’ on your next line, and we are terrified to go back to them.  All I can recommend is practice, practice, practice.  As Julie Andrews once said, “Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong.”

8. Know your audience.

Has your director recently played a key role in a previous season?  Are you bringing in a piece from a production he/she knows quite well and has a certain interpretation they are fond of?  In general, it’s best to find the more obscure pieces so that you are not left with this dilemma when auditioning.  Of course, there are only a finite amount of Shakespeare monologues in the world, and I’m sure every director has heard every single Kander and Ebb song known to mankind at this point, but there are still ways to stand out while focusing your audition on specific shows.  Auditioning for Jesus Christ Superstar?  Find another Webber musical that matches the character you’re auditioning for but is lesser known.  Better yet, sing a pop/rock song everyone knows and loves from the radio!  Think outside the box!  Know who you’re auditioning for, what they might expect of you, and find the balance of comfortability and showcasing what you know they will be looking for in your audition.

9. Know your type.

Planning on singing an aria when you are more of a character actor?  Trying to do a character piece when you look like an ingénue?  Know your type and what directors and producers will look for in you when you first step foot into the room, especially when auditioning for an entire season.   As actors/singers/dancers, we are ‘typed’ the minute we walk in the room.  Decorum, how you dress, how you carry yourself are always factors when auditioning.  If you know that you can absolutely nail a Bottom monologue (Midsummer), then by all means, go for it!  If you can pull off the nerdy look and want to sing from Honk! the musical, do it!  And let them see your type!  This harkens back to the old saying ‘be comfortable with your pieces,’ but make sure that those pieces match what you look like to the casting team.  In college, we had an assignment to go up to 100 strangers and ask them how old they thought we were and what we did for a living.  You’d be surprised how quickly you can find your type just by what you’re wearing and how you present yourself when you walk in the room at any audition.

10. No news is good news… Right?

Like all auditions, you must forget about your audition the second you walk out of the room.  Especially for season auditions, when callbacks may be MONTHS from when the initial cattle call happens—they could easily cast closer to the show itself instead of nearly (in some cases) a year in advance.  You may come back in for a callback, or you may just be sent an offer weeks or months later… who knows!  But you can’t let that worry you on either account.  The best thing you can do after any audition is to move on with your day, keep auditioning, go to class, carry on, and when the right project and the right offer comes along, it will at the right time for the right reasons.



Need some advice? We’ve got you covered.

Meghan Mitchell is a working actor who graduated cum laude from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois with a B.A. in Musical Theatre. She loves Shakespeare and nightly fireworks, and after working regionally and on ships, she is now proud to call Orlando her home.