BWW Blog: Micah Young - Make the Call

For every theatre production there is usually more than one round of auditions. There's the open-call, the invited call, the callbacks, each time actors come in to sing the same song, or something new, or songs given to them from the show.

The first round of auditions can be very quick, just singing a cut of a song. What is often unclear to actors, it seems, is the "16 bar cut" of a song is shorthand for roughly 30 seconds of a song. No one is counting the measures of music and no one is going to stop you from singing bar number 17. Just give us a small cut of a song.

Recently I was asked if it's a good idea to sing from the show in the first audition. After thinking about it, I would have to say it's probably not a good idea. The director and creative team have probably spent a considerable amount of time on the show and the songs, and have their opinions about it. If an actor has a point of view on the character from the show, they won't get to discuss it in-depth in the first round of auditions.

At first it might seem like a good idea to sing from the show, giving the casting team a strong impression. However it might not be the right impression. I find actors who sing the songs that represent them the best, generally get a callback. With that, they are given more materials and information about the direction of the production.