As a voice teacher who works with singers in all genres, I spend A LOT of time talking about and preparing singers for Auditions – College Auditions, Competitions, Grad School Auditions, Pre-screens, Musical Theatre calls, even “American Idol” and “The Voice” auditions. While the specific advice will change based on the genre, there is one overarching universal principal. In every audition, in every scenario the only thing you can and should offer is YOU.
You are not competing against other singers, you are offering yourself. If you are honest and presenting your skill set in the most appropriate and specific light, you have done your job. It is not up to the singer to attempt to read the mind of the adjudicator or director and present what the singer assumes they want to hear. That is an impossible task. There are simply too many variables in these casting scenarios. What you can do, is go into your audition with a well thought out, APPROPRIATE piece of music (that is the subject of another blog for another day) that highlights your strengths. Offer your talent to the opportunity.
If you are the piece of the puzzle that director is looking for, great! If not, it does not mean you were less than or not the best voice in the room, it simply means that, for some reason, you didn’t fit. There is nothing you can do about the selection of the puzzle, the parameters of the opportunity or the expectations of the adjudicator. All you can offer is yourself and hope that you are what they are looking for.
So, next time you have an important audition coming up, remember – be yourself. Show them what YOU can do – not what you think they want you to do or what someone else is doing. Though you may have some level of short term success trying to mold and bend yourself into what you think that show needs, that is a fools errand. Perhaps the worst outcome would be to have a “successful” audition where you have misrepresented your talent with smoke and mirrors. Then you have to live in the falsity of your presentation not just for the fleeting moment that was the audition, but for the duration of the job – carrying forth the charade, possibly doing damage to your voice and maybe even building the falsehood into your brand – tainting every opportunity that comes your way after.
Being truthful and representing yourself honestly not only sets you up for a good audition, but lays the foundation for a long and happy career. After all, it’s easier and more fulfilling to lean into your gifts than attempt to perpetually copy someone else. Why be a second-rate someone else when you can be a first-rate you?
Auditions need not be stressful anxiety-provoking obstacles. Enjoy the opportunity to introduce yourself and your voice to anyone willing to listen and be grateful for the experience. They are wonderful moments that allow you to share your gifts and talents with a new audience. And though they don’t always go the way a singer hopes, they are often a stepping stone to other projects and opportunities.
So, get out there, show them who you are, show them what you can do and enjoy the process. Whether or not it leads to the next performance, every day we get to sing for someone is a good day. Singing well, for the sake of itself, is reward enough. If a job happens to come of it today, or an opportunity grows from that audition next week or month, all the better. It will be another good day. Every opportunity to get out there, whether it be in a formal performance or at an audition is an excuse to joyfully do that thing that you were born to do – SING!