Vocal Arts Audition Tips | Student Blog

Auditions can be scary and that’s totally normal.

We all get that rush before heading into rooms of opportunity, and though it can be stressful, I know that experience has taught me to have the ability to identify my A-game in life. Doctors have this in operating rooms and exams, lawyers have it in court, karate kids have it in the studio, and we have it on stage and in audition rooms. You’re putting everything you’ve learned out there for people you may have never met before in your life to judge and hear. Sometimes regardless of how well you prepare, something could suddenly happen to really throw you off your game, and since you only usually get one shot, there are a lot of things to take into account when preparing for auditions.

Preparation:

The most essential aspect to auditioning is being so prepared that you could do the audition in your sleep. It is important to come in confident, in yourself and in a kind and available mood. When I audition now, I usually spend weeks singing my audition pieces over and over again until I know they are exactly where I want them, so even if something does go wrong, I will still have the ability and confidence to easily get the show back on course. If your audition is within a short time period, the best thing to do is practice the whole “performance” a few times, especially in front of family, friends, or even pets if possible. This way, some of the mistakes that might have happened in an audition will happen in front of people who know and love you.

Commute:

When committing to an audition time, it is so important to be on time, relaxed, and arrive with plenty of time to spare. Last year, I auditioned for Aspen, and my travel plan was a disaster. I ended up miscalculating the amount of time it would take for my transportation to arrive and ended up coming late to the audition. I was overexcited and out of breath from the rush of running to make the audition time slot and all of the chaos of this trip made my head fuzzy and at one point during the audition, the words completely slipped from my mind and though I managed to fake it till I made it and was lucky enough to be accepted, had it been a different audition, I could have possibly lost my chance completely. Moral of the story: always show up early.

Mindset:

When auditioning, it is very likely that you will be walking into an audition room with a panel of people that you have either never met or have never heard of. There could be anywhere from 1 to 15 or more people in the panel, and what I like to do is think of the panel as an audience rather than as judges. Sure, they are the people who are deciding whether or not you are a fit for a certain position, role, or company, but even in normal audiences, those critics and judges still exist. The reason I try to think of the panel as an audience is because when I do this, my mindset goes from “will they like me?” to “I will offer whatever I can to touch their hearts and brighten their days,” After all, the people who agree to listen to us for hours on end are usually music lovers who are rooting for our greatness. All you can do in an audition is show your personality, perform to the best of your ability at that time, and enjoy doing what you love to do.

Thank you so much for reading and wishing you all the best in your auditions!

Xoxo,

Maggie