What not to sing

My post on song choices proved more popular than I imagined so I thought I'd do a follow up on specific songs to avoid. Firstly though I'd like to thank all of you that read that post and my other blog entries, it means so much to me that someone is actually reading this!

So without further ado, I'd like to present my personal list of songs you should probably avoid at an audition, and those which might be a bit risky. Please bear in mind the following when reading this:

a) This is just my personal opinion of what I probably wouldn't chose to sing

b) This is quite UK centric, I know that auditions are very different in the USA and elsewhere

c) This is more for drama schools/NYMT auditions etc. clearly if you're auditioning for Les Miserables and they ask you to sing a song from the show, you should

d) Some songs on this list are here because they are ridiculously overdone, but if you think you can absolutely kill the song then by all means perform it. Perform the song practically perfectly and the panel may forget just how many times they've heard it

AVOID

• Anything from Les Mis- way way way overdone at auditions (except possibly "Drink with Me"). Only consider doing a Les Mis song if you're confident you can smash it out of the ball park. 
• Anything from Wicked- ditto (with the possible exception of "Wonderful")
• "As long as he needs me" from Oliver!- ditto
• "Send in the Clowns" from "A little night music" - ditto
• Most Andrew Lloyd Webber-off the top of my head Phantom, Joseph, Cats and Evita contain songs that are very overdone. Other less performed musicals/songs may be okay though
• "Tomorrow" from Annie- annoying, particularly if you're not a 9 year old girl 
• Songs from jukebox musicals; "We will rock you", "Mamma Mia!", "Never Forget" etc. - I know that technically songs from these are MT songs, but if an audition is asking for a MT song they're really looking for a song that isn't originally and more well known as a pop/rock song etc.
• Anything from "Chicago"
• "What I did for love" from "A Chorus Line"- yes it's beautiful, but it's also kind of a cliché...

RISKY

• Signature songs- "Don't rain on my parade", "Over the rainbow" etc.- again perhaps worth a risk if you can do it brilliantly, but the comparisons between you and the original artist will always be made
• Dance 10, looks 3- it's a bit like doing a monologue from the vagina monologues...it feels like you're trying to shock for the sake of being shocking. I love "A Chorus Line", but I'm not sure how appropriate it is to sing a song where the comedy value is derived from you singing about T & A 
• Waiting for life to begin- I've noticed so many girls performing this at drama school auditions, so be warned that it is an extremely popular song at the moment. Incidentally all of the girls I've seen performing it were white. This isn't necessarily a reason not to do it, but just be warned that it can make you look like you don't understand your casting type
• Songs from Miss Saigon- again just be cautious that if you don't look South East Asian, performing a song from Miss Saigon makes it look like you don't understand your casting type
• "Summertime" from "Porgy and Bess"- this just looks like you have no imagination
• Most Jason Robert Brown songs- just be warned that a)it's overdone and b) the piano parts are often quite a bit more interesting than the vocals. I've been drawn to listen to the piano part rather than the vocals in an audition before so don't let that happen to the audience if you're performing it!
• Songs from Sondheim musicals- I am a big lover of the S. Man but just be aware that some of the piano parts for his songs are fiendishly hard...make sure you know the accompanist at the audition will be up to the job (same applies for Jason Robert Brown Songs)!

So there we have it! This is by no means a definitive list, but I hope it'll be helpful for some of you when you're selecting audition material.

Until next time!

the pg drama-app

Vocal health tips!

I've mentioned my struggles with the pre-audition sore throat in the past many times, so I thought I'd share with you all some of the tips I've acquired along the way for dealing with throat problems

• Vocal Rest- this is the big one, and I can't emphasise it enough. It's annoying, but a lot of the time the best thing you can do is to do nothing. Think of your voice in the same way you regard the rest of your body; you wouldn't run a 10k if you'd pulled a muscle, would you? Most of the time I would recommend you sit it out as it's not worth the risk of doing further damage to yourself. However, if you have an audition for drama school etc. that absolutely can't be changed (I have been in this situation, see: http://journeytodramaschool.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/drama-school-audition-2-mountview.html) and you think you'll be able to do your songs justice without hurting yourself, then proceed with caution. Make sure you sing a song that won't strain your voice and drink lots of water. This brings me nicely onto my second point...
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate-I pretty much always have a bottle with me, and am constantly taking sips from it. I used to be in a constant state of dehydration just due to forgetting to rehydrate, but having a bottle near me makes it so much easier to monitor how much I've been drinking. Also keep in mind the major side effect from drinking a lot of water, and make sure you know where the nearest available toilets are if you know that you need to go a lot!
• Steam- I always feel some much better after inhaling steam, it helps to clear the sinuses and you can really feel its effect on the vocal cords. You can inhale it from a steamer, a bowl full of hot water or simply in the bathroom when you're shower room.
• Warm up thoroughly- if you have to sing, make sure you warm it up properly. You really don't want to strain yourself and damage your voice permanently 
• Gargling with salt- soothes pain and apparently kills bacteria. Can't go too wrong with that, but make sure not to swallow it!
• Honey- I get relief from drinking hot water with or without lemon with a generous helping of honey (any type). I've heard Manuka honey is amazing, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet so I'll report back later with my findings.
• Avoid alcohol-(sob) you might find that you're not that affected by drinking, but personally I know that I am highly sensitive to the affect of alcohol on my voice. I try to avoid it for at least a week before a big audition and when I'm having a drink make sure I'm also having water so my vocal cords don't get dried out

That's all I've got to report on, though I know other people have reported success with sore throat lozenges and decongestants, amongst other things. Feel free to let me know what tricks you have to help with a sore throat and if you're seriously worried about your voice/throat GO SEE A DOCTOR. I can't emphasise this last point enough, it's not worth damaging your voice in the longterm!

Until next time!

the pg drama app 

Everything's changing

I've made a bold change in my life recently; I've quit my job! I've mentioned before the struggles about finding the right job to suit you and your career (http://journeytodramaschool.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/an-actors-problem-as-old-as-timethe.html) and my job's inflexibility and am pleased to announce that I've quit! It was a great way to earn money whilst things were very quiet on the audition front, but now things in my life are moving on I've been able to give it the boot too.

I had wanted to leave for a while, but hadn't been able to as I didn't have anything else lined up, but I'm pleased to announce that I'm going to be starting a new job that hopefully will provide me with what I need from a resting job. I'll keep you posted about this, and give you more information once I've worked for them for a bit, but needless to say I'm very excited!

Also I sent off the first of my applications, to RAM. This is probably the school that I'm most intimidated by, but I'm hopeful that my application was strong and that I'll be able to show my potential should they audition me. Found out I've got an audition since I started writing this post- so if you're reading this and wondering about applying to RAM be aware that they are quite prompt!

I'm currently prepping the 3 songs and 1 monologue that are required for my RAM audition. I'll let you know what they are in a future post on the off chance that someone from RAM is reading this! In the mean time I am singing like crazy, taking ballet classes like it's going out of fashion and single handedly keeping the honey industry in business. 

So that's me for now, hope you're all way! Best of luck to those of you auditioning in the next few months! 

Yours faithfully,

The post-grad app