Theatre Auditions

The other night I had gone to KLPAC for the Ismail Audition that has been circulating around on kakiseni and of course on the KLPAC grounds. It was quite a scare heading in to audition for my drama teacher Joe Hasham. Why? Probably because this where he is no longer posing as teacher anymore but rather as that person who auditions you. Very different from the teacher in class where if you make a mistake it’s not so bad, just do it again and again till you get it right. Auditions for a performer is the real world. It’s just like a job interview. You go in not knowing what to expect, you have to be quick on your feet, you have to think real fast… of course you answer accordingly with your body. Where they will ask you to show you what you got. Usually at theater/musical auditions this is what they will ask you to do:

1. It’s most likely the will ask you to DANCE first. Either they will give you a choreography which ranges from very simple to ridiculously complicated. Or you have to come up with your own routine already prepared from home and your own music. The latter of course sounds nicer, but you never know when sometimes you may forget your own choreography.
2. Next up in line is they will ask you to SING. Have a song already prepared that you are comfortable with. Either have a minus one version, a piano sheet or have your voice really ready with accapella. But I noticed that some musicals prefer that you have some background music, and you may put them off if you go in with accapella. After singing your song, or prior to it. They may make you follow along with certain notes on the piano just to see your range or your ability to follow notes through.
3. From there, they may hand you a SCRIPT and give you a role to try out for. Some may allow you to read from the script, others will insist that you memorise the script, which I hate! I’m already in enough stress as it is, stop making remember lines! But you have to be professional about it and pull through.

Those are the main things they would ask you to do. Another thing to be prepared for is, if you screw up on the first go at an audition, there is the likelihood, they will actually say stop..thank you very much and you free to leave now. Ouch! That means, sorry my dear you didn’t impress enough on the first go, so rather than wasting our time and yours we don’t to see what else you have to show. It’s harsh… :sniff: Thankfully I made it through for the Ismail auditions call back along with Min Li whom I met that same day. So we auditioned in the same group. Phewww. All the best to the both of us for next Monday.