theatre4life
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audition coming up in 2 weeks - need helpso, theres a sooner production of Rent coming to my area thats actually a paid part, if i get in. i really wanna go for Collins or Benny - if they're willing to cast openly when it comes to race. so, i wanna know what musical theatre song i should use for such an audition. this is what they posted on their site:
Auditioners are asked to prepare 16 bars of a musical theatre song in the style of RENT (rock/pop) that shows not only your range, but also your ability to act a song. Please bring sheet music, an accompanist will be provided.
any suggestions?
*i didnt know about this untill tonight and audtions are on the 16th.
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emilyp
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Maybe something from Hair? Without knowing anything about your vocal range, it's impossible to make specific suggestions. Someone should tell that theatre that Rent auditions always prohibit MT songs.
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theatre4life
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well, Im mostly baritone - i figured sayin that i wanna go for Benny or Collins would give help.
why would they prohibit musical theatre songs? they are allowed to do whatever they want - theres no law or anything against it.
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emilyp
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| theatre4life wrote: | well, Im mostly baritone - i figured sayin that i wanna go for Benny or Collins would give help.
why would they prohibit musical theatre songs? they are allowed to do whatever they want - theres no law or anything against it. |
No one said there was a law against it. My point is that Rent auditions have always called for rock/pop songs and specifically prohibited MT songs. It's too bad that community theatres are not following that tradition.
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theatre4life
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| emilyp wrote: | | theatre4life wrote: | well, Im mostly baritone - i figured sayin that i wanna go for Benny or Collins would give help.
why would they prohibit musical theatre songs? they are allowed to do whatever they want - theres no law or anything against it. |
No one said there was a law against it. My point is that Rent auditions have always called for rock/pop songs and specifically prohibited MT songs. It's too bad that community theatres are not following that tradition. |
well, i was just bein sassy, lol. this isnt community theatre, tho. it's professional, but with open auditions and it's a small venue.
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Nettik
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If it has to be rock/pop from a musical theatre show, why not try something from Aida?
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theatre4life
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thanks to all for the suggestions. i believe Im gonna do Jamie's first verse from the song Bright Lights, Big City.
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Vichysois
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racesOriginal post mentioned something about them being open race-wise. Is there anything in the rights necessitating that Benny and Collins be African-American, or that Mimi and Angel be Latin-American or some such non-"white" ethnicity?
I ask because I've seen lots of character descriptions detailing specific ethnicities, and I wasn't sure if that was people imitating the original or if the rights mandates it. I believe the rights mandate the minimalist kind of set, akin to how the rights to Fiddler mandate the original bottle dance choreography.
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theatre4life
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Re: races | Vichysois wrote: | Original post mentioned something about them being open race-wise. Is there anything in the rights necessitating that Benny and Collins be African-American, or that Mimi and Angel be Latin-American or some such non-"white" ethnicity?
I ask because I've seen lots of character descriptions detailing specific ethnicities, and I wasn't sure if that was people imitating the original or if the rights mandates it. I believe the rights mandate the minimalist kind of set, akin to how the rights to Fiddler mandate the original bottle dance choreography. |
well, i only saw character descriptions to Rent once - for the current US tour. they specified the ethnicities of each character to resemble the original cast. however, they cannot madate that for community theatre, because there isnt always going to be enough of each race to audition - and i do not believe they even do it for professional.
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Brother Marvin Hinten, S.
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The rights to "Fiddler" mandate more than the original bottle dance. There's a reason that Jerry Robbins' choreography is tied to all his shows for life. He was a master of his craft, and had a smart cookie for a lawyer.
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Vichysois
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^ Certainly.
In an age where people attempt to modernize (contemporize, more accurately) a lot of shows, I appreciate that some shows have to get "frozen in time" to a certain extent. The thematic elements and subtext as well as the content of shows musically just don't always lend themselves to updating as well as others.
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emilyp
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Re: races | Vichysois wrote: | Original post mentioned something about them being open race-wise. Is there anything in the rights necessitating that Benny and Collins be African-American, or that Mimi and Angel be Latin-American or some such non-"white" ethnicity?
I ask because I've seen lots of character descriptions detailing specific ethnicities, and I wasn't sure if that was people imitating the original or if the rights mandates it. I believe the rights mandate the minimalist kind of set, akin to how the rights to Fiddler mandate the original bottle dance choreography. |
I don't know if they've changed this now that the rights have been released, I wouldn't be surprised. Prior to this, for all Rent auditions, the breakdown for the characters has been the same, and casting has reflected that almost 100% of the time. Pretty much the only deviation from that was that in one leg of the non-Equity tour, there was a Caucasian Alexi. For most of the summer stock theatres who are doing the show this summer, they shouldn't have a problem sticking with the traditional casting. There are enough college actors out there to fulfill those requirements. It's the smaller community and regional theatres, professional or not, who may have an issue.
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theatre4life
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| Vichysois wrote: | ^ Certainly.
In an age where people attempt to modernize (contemporize, more accurately) a lot of shows, I appreciate that some shows have to get "frozen in time" to a certain extent. The thematic elements and subtext as well as the content of shows musically just don't always lend themselves to updating as well as others. |
i agree with this. Im hoping to have a show or 2 that Im writing produced and out there and i hope to be able to keep em "frozen in time", as you say. 
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