2015: Musical Theatre Audition #4: LSMT

The fifth, and final, of this years drama school auditions was for LSMT (London School of Musical Theatre )- if you hadn't worked that out from the title already! The first round is pretty unremarkable, but slightly different to other schools, in that you only sing. After singing your two songs, the panel will decide if they want to recall you and they (as far as I know) will tell you if they want to give you a recall that same day.

The recall stage was pretty similar to the first rounds at other schools. I sang my two songs first, and as I was losing my voice it was not fantastic. Not as bad as it could have been, but I was running at about 60% capacity, so it was nowhere near the performance I would like to have given. Still, it was much worse when I woke up that morning so I am relieved it went as well as it did.

After singing, I performed a (modern) monologue, and then some people were asked to sight read an extract from a novel (these were provided by LSMT on the day). We were then free to go until the dance component of the audition, which took place that afternoon. As usual, I tried my best in dance and pretended to be enthusiastic about the routine, despite getting about half of it wrong. It was a (very) quick routine to "Thoroughly Modern Millie", followed by a few corner exercises to check our technique. As usual there was a real mix of dancing levels, from the clearly trained to the even-worse-than-me, so don't let that intimidate you from auditioning, if that's the fear that's holding you back.

LSMT don't give too much info on their website, but I think the application deadline is in March, with the last first round auditions taking place in April. Currently, you have to apply by post, so make sure you allow plenty of time to apply before the deadlines.

LSMT let you know the result of the deadline via post, a couple of days after the audition. Unfortunately my letter was a no, but I wasn't too disappointed.

I guess this concludes my posts on the actual events of the auditions for now, but I'm going to continue writing about my journey and advice that I have picked up on the way. Keep reading for more stagey-ness!

Thank you so much to all of you for tuning in!

the postgrad-app  

Presenting your sheet music, for dummies

Far too many times I have turned up to an audition to see other auditionees presenting the pianist with sloppy music. This is deeply uncool, both for the pianist and for you!

It makes it harder for the pianist to read, which may affect how well they can accompany you, and therefore how well they perform. Additionally, the pianist may be part of the audition panel so it's worth keeping them sweet by making sure your music is clear and well laid out. Here's what you ought to be doing when preparing your music for an audition.

Mark any cuts clearly in your music so the pianist knows exactly where to go from and too (and if you cut part of a song with a key/temp change, make sure to make a note of the new key or time signature). Also make sure that you have practiced this cut, rather than just singing along with the cast recording, or you'll be in for a nasty shock come audition time.  I would always advise practising a few times with a pianist anyway, just so you can get a feel for how it is performing with another person rather than a recording, and also to check that there are no wrong notes in your sheet music. It goes without saying that your music should be presented in the key you want it played in, and that you must take the time at the start of an audition to go through the tempo,dynamics and any cuts you would like with your accompanist.

When actually laying out music, I favour the concertina fold. You can achieve this by laying the pages of music (obviously page 1 next to 2 etc) flat next to each other so that the longest sides are just touching,  then taping the edges together on the back. This enables you to keep the pages either folded like a book, or to expand them concertina style.

Some of my finest work...

I've seen people try various other methods, but I'm not convinced by them- particularly being a pianist myself! I've seen people just bring loose pages...seriously don't do this. I saw a girl get told off in front of everyone at Mountview for doing this, it's such a pain for the pianist and so so easy to lose a page! Another popular method is a binder folder with the sheets in plastic wallets. I wouldn't recommend this either, for two reasons. 

1) You have to buy a tonne of plastic wallets

2) The shiny plastic wallets can reflect the lights, making it hard for the pianist to read the music

3) The plastic wallets are also far more awkward to turn than paper

However, you don't need to throw out your folder just yet! I have one, but it's where I keep all my audition music. Each song goes in an individual wallet, after I have concertina folded it, and I keep the music in an organised order so that I can find it quickly.

I hope these tips are helpful, auditions can feel like such a scary thing, but if you lay out your music well, you'll make the pianist's life that much easier, and hopefully get them on your side. Remember that they (and the rest of the panel) want you to do your best, so don't let a silly thing like poorly laid out sheet music get in the way!

Until next time!