auditioning for Rapunzel!

vintagequalslove · auditioning for Rapunzel!

In a few months, my high school will be putting on Into the Woods. When I first found out, I was thrilled and decided I wanted to be Cinderella and that I would do whatever it took to get that part. Haha, well.. there happens to be a girl who wants Cinderella as well. She will be a senior next year and I will be a sophomore soo that kinda isn't too great. I think she has a great voice and is an okay actress, and I'm not saying I would be better for the part (actually, I would probably suck at Cinderella), but still I don't like her that much.. and she's not too friendly, which sucks. But it's guaranteed she'll get the role.

Anyways, I decided to settle on Rapunzel mainly because she doesn't sing much and is a soprano. Our musical director (and my choir teacher) is always talking about all of my "problems" with my voice and it gets really annoying. So that's caused me problems with previous shows that we've done, and I didn't want a huge singing part anyway.

I'm 5'4", with long, dark brown hair. I was just wondering what advice or suggestions about any part of the Rapunzel role any of you could give me. I would appreciate anything at all! Like what did you sing at auditions?
Also, this might sound like a stupid idea to some haha, but I was considering going blond. Not completely for the role, partially because I've always wanted to, but I was thinking that could possibly help at auditions. I mean, I would have to wear a wig anyways, but I'm afraid my dark hair might rule me out as a possible Rapunzel if the physicalities are all wrong, especially if there are a lot of other girls who want the part.

ANYHOW, now that this is super long! sorry, anything about the role or your production of Into the Woods that you would like to share would be reallyy great. Thanks so much! Very Happy

what_the_heck013

First, if you settled for Rapunzel because you think she's less of a singing role, you are wrong. All she does is sing. She only has a few speaking lines.

I definitely agree with going a bit more blond. It'll help them see you as Rapunzel.

As for Rapunzel auditions songs...
For a Sondheim song, "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" from Sweeney Todd or "Take Me to the World" from Evening Primrose.
For a more classic song, "My White Knight" from The Music Man or "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Disney's Snow White.

vintagequalslove

Well, I think she def. has more singing to do vs. speaking, but I mean she doesn't have any whole songs or anything, and I'm pretty sure I can do the "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" thing.

And thanks for the help! Very Happy

what_the_heck013

It depends on your production, but they might add in the song "Our Little World". In this case, you will have your own song (and it's an excellent one. it really shows Rapunzel's character).

IwantheGoldenTicket

my friend got the part of rapunzel when we just did it and she sang Mr. Snow from Carousel i think.

i think that you shouldn't just do rapunzel because you think you won't get cinderella, i say shoot big. why not go for baker's wife? i think that anyone can do anything they put their mind too. but if you're set on rapunzel, i'm sure you'll do amazing at your audition. break a leg

Kaiana

I just finished playing Rapunzel in my youth theater production. I would first like to say that it is a heck of a lot harder than one would think. The ah-ah-ahs follow a generally easy pattern that is constantly changing. There are very few times when it's actually the same as the one before it. Also, the main thing is that the accompaniment is generally incredibly unhelpful unless your conductor decides to add your note in. Sondheim seems to think it's funny to play a clashing chord without Rapunzel's note in it and then expect her to pick out a high b-flat. I hope you're comfortable with b-flats. You sing the high one about 3 times. Rapunzel is a fun role though in that she gets to be deliriously happy and completely devastated. She also gets to be funny. Yay! Also, "Stay with Me" is really fun to do because you get to be beaten up the witch. Oh. And the wig (at least the one I had) is freaking annoying. It's incredibly long and heavy so it hurts your neck. We'd ordered one online but it never came so my directors had to make one. Which sucked. So I barely got it in time for dress rehearsal. And the stupid detachable parts were constantly falling off. OTHERWISE, really fun role and break a leg in audition. Oh. And you have to scream a lot. Be careful with your voice or the screaming and b-flats will become dangerously close. Laughing

vintagequalslove

thanks soo much for everyone's help !!

lydbrown

i just finished playing Rapunzel at a theater company, so ill tell you my experience. i have extremely dark hair, so changing your hair color may or may not help, depending on how well the directors can visualize you with a wig on. for my audition i sang "what good would the moon be" from street scene (which can really show off your high notes!). as for the role itself, it was a lot of fun, but mainly because there was a lot of singing. however, the singing is not difficult at all because there is always some way to find your note - just study the score closely with your musical director. also, i would recommend making a recording of yourself screaming (or a few, so its not obvious) and playing those back. i only did 2 real screams every performance, the ones where i was on stage, and that was tough enough since its impossible to scream correctly. when you go to audition, just be confident and dont worry about anyone else. youll do great! Very Happy

Doublev7

i just finished playing Rapunzel as well at a summer theatre company, and my experience was very similar to everyone elses. First of all, I am a very dark brunette as well, so it was quite the chore to lighten my eyebrows every night, but it was rather fun to be blonde for a change! I didn't lighten my own hair at all, and I don't feel that there is any need to experiment. If the director likes your voice, your appearance should not be an issue. Clearly it wasn't for me! as for screaming and hitting the high notes, that was indeed difficult. i found myself to be a better screamer than singer, haha. theoretically, i'm a alto/mezzo at best, so the fact that i was cast as Rapunzel in the first place is insane, but nonetheless, i was able to reach those notes, with help of a vocal coach. i found that screaming did tend to make me hoarse, but you can keep your voice by drinking lots of water and making sure to warm up before each performance. i agree that "my white knight" would be a great audition piece. also, if you do get the role, make sure that you do go over the "ah's" with the musical director because each one of them is different than the other, as was previously mentioned. my musical director did not seem to care much about the technicality of my performance, so i had to seek him out, and i suggest you do the same if that happens to you. just have fun with the part, it is such a blast to be crazy. i definitely played up that aspect of the role, and it is rewarded with plenty of laughs. good luck to you and keep us posted with updates! oh and good luck with the wig, i agree it is quite cumbersome, regardless of the type that you get!

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vintagequalslove	auditioning for Rapunzel! In a few months, my high school will be putting on Into the Woods. When I first found out, I was thrilled and decided I wanted to be Cinderella and that I would do whatever it took to get that part. Haha, well.. there happens to be a girl who wants Cinderella as well. She will be a senior next year and I will be a sophomore soo that kinda isn't too great. I think she has a great voice and is an okay actress, and I'm not saying I would be better for the part (actually, I would probably suck at Cinderella), but still I don't like her that much.. and she's not too friendly, which sucks. But it's guaranteed she'll get the role. Anyways, I decided to settle on Rapunzel mainly because she doesn't sing much and is a soprano. Our musical director (and my choir teacher) is always talking about all of my "problems" with my voice and it gets really annoying. So that's caused me problems with previous shows that we've done, and I didn't want a huge singing part anyway. I'm 5'4", with long, dark brown hair. I was just wondering what advice or suggestions about any part of the Rapunzel role any of you could give me. I would appreciate anything at all! Like what did you sing at auditions? Also, this might sound like a stupid idea to some haha, but I was considering going blond. Not completely for the role, partially because I've always wanted to, but I was thinking that could possibly help at auditions. I mean, I would have to wear a wig anyways, but I'm afraid my dark hair might rule me out as a possible Rapunzel if the physicalities are all wrong, especially if there are a lot of other girls who want the part. ANYHOW, now that this is super long! sorry, anything about the role or your production of Into the Woods that you would like to share would be reallyy great. Thanks so much!
what_the_heck013	First, if you settled for Rapunzel because you think she's less of a singing role, you are wrong. All she does is sing. She only has a few speaking lines. I definitely agree with going a bit more blond. It'll help them see you as Rapunzel. As for Rapunzel auditions songs... For a Sondheim song, "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" from Sweeney Todd or "Take Me to the World" from Evening Primrose. For a more classic song, "My White Knight" from The Music Man or "Someday My Prince Will Come" from Disney's Snow White.
vintagequalslove	Well, I think she def. has more singing to do vs. speaking, but I mean she doesn't have any whole songs or anything, and I'm pretty sure I can do the "ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" thing. And thanks for the help!
what_the_heck013	It depends on your production, but they might add in the song "Our Little World". In this case, you will have your own song (and it's an excellent one. it really shows Rapunzel's character).
IwantheGoldenTicket	my friend got the part of rapunzel when we just did it and she sang Mr. Snow from Carousel i think. i think that you shouldn't just do rapunzel because you think you won't get cinderella, i say shoot big. why not go for baker's wife? i think that anyone can do anything they put their mind too. but if you're set on rapunzel, i'm sure you'll do amazing at your audition. break a leg
Kaiana	I just finished playing Rapunzel in my youth theater production. I would first like to say that it is a heck of a lot harder than one would think. The ah-ah-ahs follow a generally easy pattern that is constantly changing. There are very few times when it's actually the same as the one before it. Also, the main thing is that the accompaniment is generally incredibly unhelpful unless your conductor decides to add your note in. Sondheim seems to think it's funny to play a clashing chord without Rapunzel's note in it and then expect her to pick out a high b-flat. I hope you're comfortable with b-flats. You sing the high one about 3 times. Rapunzel is a fun role though in that she gets to be deliriously happy and completely devastated. She also gets to be funny. Yay! Also, "Stay with Me" is really fun to do because you get to be beaten up the witch. Oh. And the wig (at least the one I had) is freaking annoying. It's incredibly long and heavy so it hurts your neck. We'd ordered one online but it never came so my directors had to make one. Which sucked. So I barely got it in time for dress rehearsal. And the stupid detachable parts were constantly falling off. OTHERWISE, really fun role and break a leg in audition. Oh. And you have to scream a lot. Be careful with your voice or the screaming and b-flats will become dangerously close.
vintagequalslove	thanks soo much for everyone's help !!
lydbrown	i just finished playing Rapunzel at a theater company, so ill tell you my experience. i have extremely dark hair, so changing your hair color may or may not help, depending on how well the directors can visualize you with a wig on. for my audition i sang "what good would the moon be" from street scene (which can really show off your high notes!). as for the role itself, it was a lot of fun, but mainly because there was a lot of singing. however, the singing is not difficult at all because there is always some way to find your note - just study the score closely with your musical director. also, i would recommend making a recording of yourself screaming (or a few, so its not obvious) and playing those back. i only did 2 real screams every performance, the ones where i was on stage, and that was tough enough since its impossible to scream correctly. when you go to audition, just be confident and dont worry about anyone else. youll do great!
Doublev7	i just finished playing Rapunzel as well at a summer theatre company, and my experience was very similar to everyone elses. First of all, I am a very dark brunette as well, so it was quite the chore to lighten my eyebrows every night, but it was rather fun to be blonde for a change! I didn't lighten my own hair at all, and I don't feel that there is any need to experiment. If the director likes your voice, your appearance should not be an issue. Clearly it wasn't for me! as for screaming and hitting the high notes, that was indeed difficult. i found myself to be a better screamer than singer, haha. theoretically, i'm a alto/mezzo at best, so the fact that i was cast as Rapunzel in the first place is insane, but nonetheless, i was able to reach those notes, with help of a vocal coach. i found that screaming did tend to make me hoarse, but you can keep your voice by drinking lots of water and making sure to warm up before each performance. i agree that "my white knight" would be a great audition piece. also, if you do get the role, make sure that you do go over the "ah's" with the musical director because each one of them is different than the other, as was previously mentioned. my musical director did not seem to care much about the technicality of my performance, so i had to seek him out, and i suggest you do the same if that happens to you. just have fun with the part, it is such a blast to be crazy. i definitely played up that aspect of the role, and it is rewarded with plenty of laughs. good luck to you and keep us posted with updates! oh and good luck with the wig, i agree it is quite cumbersome, regardless of the type that you get! [img]http://uic.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30839273&id=32808468[/img]

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auditioning for Rapunzel!