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As an actor it can often be really tricky finding the right piece for any audition. Here at actor hub we like to help with occasional lists of audition pieces which we know work, these are pieces we have witnessed at auditions and have been humdingers!
At a musical theatre audition it is really important that you choose a piece which not only shows off your vocal ability but more importantly which demonstrates your acting ability. If a director just wanted great singers in a show then it is unlikely they would be approached you or your agent, they would choose someone who had spent years at a classical school perfecting their voice! They want an actor who can tell a story, and show a character out there on stage, and your audition piece should do just that.
When you are presenting a song at an audition you want to know that the accompanist can play the song, so don’t choose something madly obscure or too tricky. Don’t worry yourself endlessly about choosing something which they haven’t already heard that day, yes you want to be memorable but if you sing something that your competition has just sung, don’t fret, just know that you will be interpreting it completely differently.
If you are certain that a life on the musical theatre stage is for you then you need to be building your repertoire and learning about musicals all the time. Go to shows (at present loads of fringe theatres seem to be doing musicals, so you wont have to break the bank), search youtube, visit forums, get listening on itunes. The more familiar you are with the different styles, genres and periods of musical theatre the more prepared you will be for any audition which comes your way.
Remember to be bold, be brave and to go in as an individual and make the choices you want to make. If you slip up or fail, that’s ok, laugh it off and do it in style.
Audition Songs for Men
The songs below are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to male audition songs. I have chosen these as they demonstrate both your vocal ability but also your acting skills. They should also introduce you to some songs or shows you didnt already know or that you might have overlooked. I will keep adding lists as I find new songs. If you find something else, or have a favourite you would like to share, let us know via Twitter @actorhub and we can add your choice to one of our lists.
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Everybody says Don’t (click to view video)
Anyone Can Whistle
Anyone Can Whistle is set in an imaginary town which has gone bankrupt. The only place which is doing well is the local sanitorium, known as ‘The Cookie Jar’.This song comes at the end of Act Two, the ‘Cookies’ have escaped and are hiding amongst the townspeople, but no one can tell who is mad and who is sane. Fay Apple a young nurse with the help of Hapgood, one of the Cookies, decide to tear up the inmates records and let them be free.The song is sung by Hapgood as the freed ‘Cookies’ dance. It is a delightful song full of careless optimism, Hapgood is an ‘idealist’ and this delight for life and opportunity shines through in this song. -
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Footloose (click to view video)
Footloose
The eighties movie Footloose was terrific (I remember it at the cinema … yes, Im that old!) in 1998 a stage musical opened and has played both Broadway and the West End.It tells the story of Ren a Chicago teen who moves to a small town in which, as a result of the efforts of a local minister, dancing and rock music have been banned!This song opens the show (and the movie!) Ren is dancing off his stress of his long work day on his last visit to his local dance club before he moves to the small town of Bomont! -
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I Wish I Could Go Back To College (click to view video)
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is an hilarious musical which has puppets alongside actors. If you went looking for Sesame Street and got lost and ended up in the wrong neighbourhood you might just find yourself in Avenue Q!By Act Two all the characters have fallen in and out of love and like with each other and lament happier times with the terrific song I Wish I Could Go Back To College.It is easily made a solo song, and features in a number of audition song books. This number would make a great audition song, and is completely age appropriate for a younger actor who has recently graduated. Play it for the truth, not just for the funny. Really try and think of how exciting times looked when you were still at Uni and how you can look back with rose-tinted glasses on those times. Whatever you do, don’t mime that you have a puppet on one hand … play the character, not the puppet! -
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Stay (click to view video)
Do I Hear A Waltz
Do I Hear A Waltz was conceived as a small chamber musical and is one of Broadway’s lost gems.The story deals with the loves and lives of a group of visitors to and the inhabitants of Venice.Stay is sung by the character of Renato di Rossi who has fallen in love with New York secretary Leona Samish.It is a strange but beautiful ballad which needs to be delivered with total honesty and conviction. It is a proposal from a married man, who is totally laying his cards on the table:“I am not the dream come true – But stay – Not perfection, nor are you – But stay” -
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Class (click to view video)
Saturday NightSaturday Night was Sondheim’s first musical which was written in 1954 but was never produced until 1997 due to an unfortunate set of events!Set in 1929 in Brooklyn a group of friends spend their Saturday Nights restless because they have no dates. Gene, who works in Wall Street in a menial job dreams of escaping Brooklyn and becoming a member of the exciting Manhattan society.The group have decided to head out for a Saturday Night and Gene has arrived in elegant clothes which has impressed everyone. He tells them how his smart clothes will be the ticket to the beautiful world and people of Park Avenue!This is a terrific mid tempo number is charming and a great opportunity for a singer to be cheeky, fun and likeable. -
Musical Theatre Actor Hub Advice
