Your 16 Bars.

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 2:10pm

Since it's become the fashion of broadwayworld.com folk to start these frikkin' "laundry list" threads, how about one that might be helpful to all those aspiring little performers out there?

PERFORMERS: what 16 bars to you use at auditions? Mine were:

"Hurry It's Lovely Up Here!" from CLEAR DAY (belt)
"Age of Not Believing" from BEDKNOBS/BROOMSTICKS (ballad)

I'll have to think on the others...it's been a loooong time.

[Kitzarina]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 2:24pm

"Stepsister's Lament" from Cinderella (character/fast piece)
"A New Life" from Jekyll & Hyde (belt/ballad)

[sheekala]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 2:24pm

"He Touched Me"/"High Anxiety" (comedy belt) and for drama, well some red wine usually does the trick.

[TheBalladeer]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 2:28pm

Well, I tend to do some overdone things, but they usually go well. My philosophy is to do something that shows off your vocal talents best without taxing you, and that shows your acting abilities well...Also, depending on the tempo of your song, 32 bars or more can sound like 16 bars. Also, most auditioners, if they are familiar with the song you are singing, will be gracious and allow you to finish a whole verse even if it exceeds 16 bars. Also, I cut bars of extraneous music and focus more on bars that actually include singing.(All of this was mentioned for the younger performers) So with that in mind, here's my selections:

Uptempo: "All I Need Is The Girl" starting from "Got my tweed pressed...."


Comedy: "I Like Them Fat Like That" and "Miracle of Miracles" once in a while "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" - the last verse. I also made some of my own custom cuts, so that it comes out to 16 bars of singing.

Ballad/Legit: "Being Alive" last verse, "The Only Home I Know" last verse, "On The Street Where You Live" from the last "People stop and stare...." "Oh, Is There Not One Maiden Breast" (usually the last verse, to get in that High Bb.)

Wildcard Selection: "Some People" from the very beginning until "But some people ain't me..."

Pop/Rock: "Corner of the Sky" (audition death - SO overdone, but I do it anyway) and "Heaven On Their Minds"


Cheers,
The Balladeer

[robbiej]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 2:32pm

I have used:

BROTHERHOOD OF MAN (HOW TO SUCCED)
WITH YOU (PIPPIN)
LATER (NIGHT MUSIC)
HERE COMES MINE (KING OF HEARTS)

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 3:12pm

I'll use many of these for 16 bars or full songs:

If I Loved You - Carousel
Lucky to Be Me - On the Town
Orange-Colored Sky
Easy to Love - Anything Goes
With You - Pippin
Young and Healthy - 42nd Street
It Would Have Been Wonderful - Annie Warbucks
Heaven - Carrie
I Know About Love - Do Re Mi
The Museum Song - Barnum
Love I Hear - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
And They're Off - A New Brain

Just a bit of audition advice from my personal experience on both sides of the table (do with it what you wish):

When it comes to 16-bar (and no, 16 bars does not always literally mean 16 bars) auditions, it doesn't matter if the song is overdone. Most of the time, they just want to hear the quality of your voice and intonation (in most cattle calls, they also want to evaluate your "look"). Full-song auditions is where the selection choice becomes a little more crucial. I've assisted in casting a number of shows using both full song and 16-bars. Personally, I don't care what you sing as long as you perform it well (singing and acting). One thing to remember when it comes to full songs - START STRONG! A weak start is difficult to forget when the auditors are listening to people for hours on end. With 16 bars - you have little time to show off, so choosing something with a broad range is in your best interest, but be sure that every single note is SOLID. Voice teachers are great for the technical aspects of singing, but coaches that specialize in musical theatre will help your performace and interpretation of the material. I had an amazing coach (who was also an amazing voice teacher and accompanist) and I've worked as an audition coach for several years.

[Elphie]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 3:14pm

The four I have used in the past:
NOTHING- A Chorus Line
I ENJOY BEING A GIRL- Flower Drum Song
SIXTEEN GOING ON SEVENTEEN- The Sound of Music
ALL THAT JAZZ- Chicago

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 1/16/04 at 11:26pm

The one I usually use is
This is Not Over Yet-Parade

[Elphie]

Posted: 1/17/04 at 9:22am

Parade! I love that show so much. I wish I got to see it. Does anyone have the playbill book- I'm too lazy to go to my room to see the title- but its like of all the theatres and says what played there untill the publication of the book. Oh I think its all At This Theatre or something. I dont like how they degrade shows in that book! They are like Parade was a dissapointment, Side Show was unsuccessful- it goes on and on with amazing shows. Just because the show closed rather quickly, doesnt mean they are bad. If I am correct Parade won Tony awards for the score and book right? I dont think they should put such an opinion into it.

[jesseeinstein]

Posted: 1/17/04 at 4:44pm

It's my favorite show! I have that book, and I've learned alot about different theaters from it, but I do agree that some of the wording in it is interesting. It looks down on Parade, but then again, It ran for a VERY short period of time (although not as short as this years "The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" hehe... anyways, Parade has it's little crowd of admirers and I can only hope that it's revived someday with me as Leo

[newyorkuniq]

Posted: 1/17/04 at 5:26pm

Some of my 16 bar audition stuff is:

Funny Girl
I Enjoy Being A Girl
Take Or Leave Me
Lullaby Of Broadway
Something Wonderful
In My Own Little Corner

[JoizeyActor]

Posted: 1/17/04 at 5:53pm

"Luck Be A Lady" - Guys And Dolls
"Leaning on a Lamp Post" - Me and My Girl

Those are the two I use most often.

[shermanslave]

Posted: 1/17/04 at 5:56pm

This is Not Over Yet, from Parade
Out There, from the Hunchback of Notre Dame
High Flying Adored, from Evita
I'm Calm, from Forum
Bigger Isn't Better, from Barnum
so many more...
shermanslave productions

[BroadwayBaby3]

Posted: 1/17/04 at 8:28pm

my latest is "forget about the boy". i also use "don't rain on my parade a lot. i can't wait until the "wicked" sheet music comes out so i can do defying gravity,popular,etc.

[Megan Marie]

Posted: 1/18/04 at 11:09am

Thats pretty crazy Elphie cuz I've used "Nothing" "I Enjoy Being A Girl" and "All That JAzz" as well over the years. Funny stuff.
I'm trying to figure out some other songs to do because I'm auditioning everywhere this spring since Im graduating. Everyones given me some really good ideas. :)

[DefyingGravity2]

Posted: 1/18/04 at 11:12am

i love wicked. so much. but the female music in that show is gonna get put on the "over used at auditions" list SO FAST. oy.

A chunk of "The Trolley Song," "Home," "life of the party."

I have all different things depending on the role i'm auditioning for, what the setting is, upbeat ballad, new old. you can't go in there w/ all of one type of thing.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 1/20/04 at 1:45pm

Ooh, fun thread!
Since I've been having so much more success in chorus calls over EPAs recently (maybe I'm a budding chorus boy now), I've really had to re-evaluate my 16 bars.
My strongest cuts have always been:
I Met a Girl (bells are ringing)
Proud of Your Boy (cut from the Disney cartoon Aladdin)
A Little Bit of Good (for those ubiquitous cross-dressing soprano roles)
Hear My Song (from Songs for a New World)
Martin Guerre (really rocks as a 16 bar cut for all the modern musicals).

The hardest thing to do in a chorus call, though, is cut down to 8, which seems to happen so very often these days. that's a real challenge.
And I also agree with the person who mentioned cutting out extraneous music interludes in your cuts. I cut and paste bars together then copy out a clean sheet so that my cuts are all on one to two pages with no crossed out bars or weird skips...and I always run them with a pianist to make sure it works (you know, no funky chord shifts due to skipping bars).

[BroadwayKate]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 11:34pm

Christmas Lullaby- Songs For A New World
Life Story- Closer Than Ever
On The Steps of the Palace- Into the Woods
Back to Before- Ragtime

kate

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/21/04 at 11:50pm

Starting at "Hear The Beat of dancing feet" from 42nd STREET.

Got me two principal parts in the only two musicals I ever auditioned for.