10 May Choosing The Best Song for Your Audition!

I recently conducted a small (very small) experiment in finding good audition songs. I asked AI to give me five audition songs for the character of Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family. Let’s just say, AI is not going to be very good at this particular skill (suggesting audition songs) for awhile! 🙂 The song suggestions were basic and very overdone songs. So to save you from the desperate act of  turning to AI for choosing your audition songs, I’m going to give you some really tips to finding the perfect audition song!

Step 1) Get to know the character that you are auditioning for. What is their general personality and energy? Ingenue? Character? Dramatic? Comedic? Quirky? Angsty? Research this character and find up to ten adjectives that best describe this character. Now you’ve got an idea of the energy you’re looking for in your song. What is the challenge that this character faces in the story? How do they overcome it? The answers to these questions give you specifics to look for in the audition song you choose. You want a song that has similarities in the story line and/or emotional content.

Step 2) Who is the composer of the show that you are auditioning for? For instance, The Addams Family was composed by Andrew Lippa, so lets look at some other shows that Lippa composed.  Big Fish, The Wild Party, John & Jen, Asphalt Beach, You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, A Little Princess are some of the big name musicals that Lippa has composed. Immediately, my mind goes to a song that Jen sings in John & Jen. Jen and Wednesday are both sisters with little brothers with whom they have a love/hate relationship. In the song “Dear God”, Jen is begging God to do something, anything to rid her of the embarrassment of her little brother. It’s dark and funny and the perfect reflection of Wednesday’s relationship with Pugsley. You get a little of her dark, teenage angst and the humor that comes from watching two siblings struggle to tolerate each other. Best of all, because it’s from the same composer, the music sounds similar, not the same, but similar to The Addams Family score. See where I’m going with this? Find other material that composer created and you can usually find at least one good song option for your audition.

Step 3) Look at the actor/actress who played that character in the past. In the case of Wednesday Addams, that would be Krysta Rodriguez who originated the role on Broadway. So now take a look at other roles that Rodriguez has played throughout her career. Chances are that she is very good at playing “Wednesday type” roles and she has some material from those other shows that will fit your audition. Rodriguez has been in A Chorus Line (hmmm…..maybe Nothing from A Chorus Line?), Spring Awakening (The Dark I Know Well seems like a great Wednesday match!), In the Heights (ooooh…. maybe a strategic cut of Breathe from In the Heights?), First Date (Safer from First Date is already a popular audition song for Wednesday) and Bye Bye Birdie (What Did I Ever See In Him has got some Wednesday energy about it). Are you catching the vision here?

Three ways to hunt out the perfect song for your next audition! But remember that the last and most important step to choosing a great audition song is that you have to love the song and the song has to love your voice!  If you love singing it, that will shine all over your face. We love seeing that in an audition. If the song loves your voice, it will make your voice stand out as beautifully authentic. We love seeing that in an audition as well.

So don’t trust your audition song choice to AI or your best friend or a basic internet search. Put in a little extra time and effort so you can find the perfect song that will show you at your very best. If you get stuck or feel like you need some extra support, reach out to me. That’s what I’m here for and I’m sure we can find the perfect audition song for you!