AUDITION GUIDE
Auditions can be intimidating, but all-in-all they are simple. Just come prepared with a monologue and/or song, and perform them. If this is your first audition, this guide will hopefully answer any questions you may have about the process. If you are an experienced auditioner, this guide may simply provide a few helpful links or tips. Reading this entire guide is in no way a requirement – feel free to bounce around and use anything that is helpful.
What happens at a Turpin Theatre audition?
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Before the audition date, you need to sign up for a specific audition time.
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On the day of the audition, you need to arrive at the auditorium at least 10 minutes ahead of your scheduled audition time.
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When it is your turn to audition, you will be invited into the auditorium.
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You will go on stage.
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First, you will slate, which means to say your name and the monologue and/or song you will be performing. (ex. "Hello, my name is Alec Bowling and I'll be performing a monologue from Seminar by Theresa Rebeck.")
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You will perform your monologue and/or song.
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After your performance, the directors may ask questions, or give notes; or there might be nothing further required.
What should I wear?
Dress nicely, like you are going to a job interview.
What do I need to prepare for a Turpin Theatre audition?
Audition requirements vary depending on what specific show we are casting for. Specific audition requirements can always be found on the Auditions & Stage Crew Interview pages.
But the general rule is this:
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If we are casting a play, you need to prepare 1 monologue.
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If we are casting a musical, you need to prepare 1 monologue and 1 song.
What's a monologue?
A monologue is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes also to directly address another character or the audience. Basically, a big section of dialogue, spoken by one character. Here are some examples – (NOTE: please do not use either of these for a Turpin audition).
COMEDIC MONOLOGUE
DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE
from His Luck by Horace Holley
from Fat Cat Killers by Adam Szymkowicz
Where can I find a monologue?
The internet is full of monologues, so make Google your best friend. Here are a couple of places you can start –
What monologue should I pick?
That is entirely up to you. But there are a couple of guidelines that you should observe:
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If you are auditioning for a comedic play/musical, choose a comedic monologue. If you are auditioning for a dramatic play/musical, choose a dramatic monologue.
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If you are auditioning for a contemporary play/musical, choose a contemporary monologue. If you are auditioning for a classical play/musical, choose a classical monologue. You can refer to the Auditions page to know whether the show you're auditioning for is contemporary or classical.
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Your monologue should be somewhere between 1-2 minutes in length. If it's shorter than 1 minute, that's okay, but it will give you less time to showcase your talent. If it's longer than 2 minutes, we may cut you off to keep auditions moving along.
Do I have to perform an entire song?
You do not. You only need to perform 16-32 bars of your chosen song.
Okay, what does '16-32 bars' mean?
16-32 bars equates to somewhere between 30-90 seconds of a given song. You can perform any 30-90 section of a song that you would like; you don't have to start at the beginning if you don't want.
At the audition, how will I play the backing music for my song?
You have several options for backing music:
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Option 1 – use a digital backing track. This could be a YouTube video, .mp3 file, song on Spotify, etc. We will have a speaker with an aux cord. If you choose this option, please come prepared with the song on your phone and any aux-adapter that you might need (depending on your phone).
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Option 2 – use sheet music & and an accompanist. We will have an accompanist on piano at auditions. If you wish to use this option, you need to bring the sheet music for your song and provide it to the pianist.
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Option 3 – no backing music at all, you sing a cappella. We do not recommend this option.
Where can I find a backing track?
YouTube is a great option. After you pick a song, just search something like "SONG TITLE backing track," or "SONG TITLE karaoke," or "SONG TITLE instrumental." Here's one example –
Where can I find sheet music?
Again, Google is your best friend, but the best option is MusicNotes.com. NOTE: sheet music typically costs money, somewhere between $5-$10.
Does my song have to be from a musical?
It doesn't have to be, but it should be.
How do I pick a song?
There's no one correct way to pick a song, but there are a couple of guidelines that you should observe:
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If you are auditioning for a comedic musical, choose a song from a comedic musical. If you are auditioning for a dramatic musical, choose a song from a dramatic musical.
What is a theatre résumé?
Your résumé is a one-page list of your theatrical experience—stage roles, training, education—plus your basic info, like your name and contact information. Click here for more info on résumés.
What is a headshot?
A headshot is a printed photo of yourself (in color or black-and-white), that is at least 5"x7".
What are callbacks?
Callbacks are the second phase of auditions, where we work through scenes from the specific shows for which we are casting. This gives the directors an opportunity to see you perform specific roles, and it gives you another opportunity to showcase your talent.
Please note that an invitation to callbacks is not a guarantee that you will be cast. Similarly, if you are not invited to callbacks, this does not guarantee that you won't be cast.
If I'm invited to callbacks, what should I prepare?
Callback materials depend on what type of show we are casting. If we are casting a play, sides will be provided to you from the script, and we will run these scenes. If we are casting a musical, you will be given songs to rehearse and perform, in addition to sides.
In both cases, you do not need to bring or prepare anything beforehand. You will have time to work on both scenes and songs at callbacks.
What if I still have questions?
If you still have questions, either reach out to Mr. Loebker (JoeyLoebker@foresthills.edu) or reach out to a friend.