Your 16 Bars.

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

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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

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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.

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

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

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

Those are the two I use most often.

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.

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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.

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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

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