Why don't casting directors want to hear songs from the show that's being auditioned?

Seeing all these "what should I sing" threads has made me wonder - Why don't they want people to just sings songs from the actual show?

I obviously don't know much about the professional audition process, and I understand that they want to see people's ranges/versatility, but how much does that matter compared to how good they sound/look doing the actual role in question?

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Actually, when you are called in to audition for a Broadway show through your agent - 4/5 times they provide you with sides and music from the show to sing. They WANT to hear you sing from the show.

Rath is right and that is probably the #1 reason. Another is that going in with a song from the show could screw up your chances if your interpretation is 180 from what they have in mind.

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So is it understood that it's frowned upon in open calls? Or does it just hurt your chances, like Jerby said.

And thanks for all the responses, btw. Very interesting.

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Updated On: 1/23/07 at 09:43 AM

That is an old Equity wives tale: "don't sing from the score at an open call." Not true anymore. Just be able to give a performance level audition if you do sing from the show you are auditioning for.

Actually give a performance level audition regardless of what show you are singing from. Thats the number one mistake I've seen from most people in an audition room. They half ass it.

Updated On: 1/23/07 at 09:46 AM

Rath beat me to it -- but if everyone sang a song from the show it would get pretty monotonous. It is good to sing something in the "style" of the show, but not necessarily "from" the show. As an auditionee you want to make your performance memorable so the casting director remembers you. If you were just one of 100 people singing the aforementioned "On My Own" then your chances of standing out are slim.

Of course, if you are called back as a finalist for the role of Eponine at some point they probably WOULD ask you to sing "On My Own" before handing you the part.

Also, there may be several roles in a show that you are eligible for and by choosing to sing something unrelated you prevent yourself from being pigeonholed into one specific role.

...and obviously if you are auditioning for a new work, music from the show probably isn't readily available.

Of course there are exceptions -- some directors -- mainly on the school and community level -- want to hear songs from the show. I know several schools (mainly junior highs) that do pre-audition workshops where they teach the male and female auditionees separate songs from the show (in a group setting) that they will then sing alone at the actual audition. Of course, a lot of the reason for this is because many of the students would be unable to prepare an appropriate audition song on their own.

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I say, "right on!" to what you are saying. And, of course, if you are a bad ass, it doesn't matter ultimately what you do. But as a rule, don't do it. This has been taught to me by actors, producers, etc. It isn't gossip in the Equity lounge.

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Everyone has brought up valid points. Essentially, what you "should" and "shouldn't" do all depends upon the casting director and artisitic team with whom you are auditioning. Many times, audition notices will specify whether or not they want to hear something from the show.