30 Days to a Better Book: Day 12 – Shiny and New: Using New and Original Work

Source: Warner Bros.

Acting and auditioning can be so vulnerable and exposed that it is often comforting to rely on the tried and true with our material.  It’s familiar.  It’s good.  There’s context.  It feels safe and appropriate.

But sometimes it’s refreshing to go out on a limb and try something new.  Really new.

NEW MUSICALS

You know how it feels like only big names get cast and the unknown actors don’t have a chance in hell?  Well take that feeling and multiply it by 1,000.  Now you know what it’s like to try to get a new musical produced.

But new musicals are out there.  In droves.  And they want to be heard.  (And they aren’t all movie adaptations.)

Using pieces from original, up and coming, and/or unproduced composers is a great way to have a piece that is singular and special in your book.  It also helps a fellow artist by performing their work in front of people that produce theatre.

How to access these pieces?

WORKSHOPS AND NEW MUSICAL PROGRAMS

Source: Broadway World

New theatrical work often goes through the workshop process wherein playwrights, lyricists, and composers get the chance to hear and see their work performed by actors, and have the freedom to edit, alter and rewrite based on what they are seeing.  It is a wonderful thing to be one of those actors.  No, workshops don’t usually pay much (if anything) but they provide connections and most of all, useable material, sometimes composed with you in mind!

In Chicago alone, we have big New Musical programs and projects as well as a long list of theatres that produce them.

Northwestern University hosts the American Music Theatre Project.

Light Opera Works hosts the Midwest New Musicals Workshop.

WEBSITES

Most composers have websites that allow you to listen to their work.  Some even provide the ability to purchase sheet music.  If they don’t, you can always contact them and ask if you can use a piece for auditioning or performing.

One major online resource for new work is:  NEWMUSICTHEATRE

COLLABORATION

You can even try teaming up with an emerging writer or team of writers by putting together a joint cabaret or showcase, pitching a show to a theatre company, or self-producing.  You could even commission a writer to compose a bespoke piece just for you.

Also, composers often have stand-alone pieces (much like I mentioned in You Need a Hero), that don’t have a home in any larger musical, but still deserve an audience.  They may be willing to loan such a piece to you for auditioning purposes.

SELF-COMPOSED

Source: Hello Giggles

A trickier area, but let’s talk about it.  Actors, like a lot of artists, usually have another art form or two up their sleeve.  If you are also a composer, your own work is not completely off limits.  Here are a few considerations:

• Self accompaniment – My rule (and you know how I feel about rules) is only when asked, whether in the posting or in the room.  Otherwise, utilize the accompanist.
• Charts or Fake Books:  Only provide an accompanist with complete sheet music.  No basic notation or charts.  If you can, make sure it’s not hand-written either.  Even the nicest handwritten sheet music is difficult to read.
• Identifying the piece:  Casting teams get a little twitchy and uncomfortable around self-written pieces.  Partially, this is because they want to see how you handle material that is written by someone else because that is precisely what they are hiring you to do.  Secondly, and I mean no offense,  most self-written work that comes through the audition door is not very good.  That doesn’t mean yours is bad.  That just means by identifying your piece as your own, you’ve made your job more difficult by making the casting team immediately skeptical.  While I don’t advocate lying to a casting team, you can be a bit coy if you need to.  Rather than identifying the composer right off the bat, just say the name of the piece and the name of the show.  If they like it, they’ll ask who the composer is.  Tell the truth.
• Unless a posting or your agent or another source makes it clear that self-composed and/or accompanied work is acceptable or encouraged, don’t lead with this piece for a general audition and be very calculating about when you choose to bring it in.  New work is one thing, self-composed is another.  Remember, they are looking for an actor first.  Not a writer.
• Hear the previous advice, but just know that it is merely advice, not a hard and fast set of rules.

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New Work is exciting and nearly demands attention because of it’s originality.  If your book is looking appropriate but somewhat staid and traditional, check out all of these resources.  Consider joining or auditioning for a workshop.  You never know where it might lead.

Posted by E. Morgan in 30 Days to a Better Book, Audition preparation, Career Development, Repertoire, Uncategorized Tags: Actor, Audition, Audition Preparation, Audition Repertoire, Auditions, career, Musical Repertoire, Musical Theatre, theatre, Vulnerability