Music, Musical Theatre & Dance: Musical Theatre/Opera

Musical Theatre Song is a handbook for musical theatre performers, providing them with the wide-ranging skill set they need for success in today's competitive musical theatre environment. Breaking down the process into knowing how to select your song material based upon your individuality and how to prepare and perform it in a manner that best highlights your attributes, Stephen Purdy provides a succinct and personalized trajectory toward presentation, taking the reader through a series of challenges that is designed to evoke original, personal and vibrant song performances. Written by renowned Broadway and West End vocal and audition coach Stephen Purdy, Musical Theatre Song is a must-have guide for all performers who are looking to succeed in the musical theatre industry.

The easy-to-use handbook Get the Callback: The Art of Auditioning for Musical Theatre offers practical advice on all the facets of auditioning, walking the reader step by step through the audition process, explaining what to expect, how to behave, and how to prepare for a winning audition. It also coaches the actor through the ins and outs of pursuing a career in musical theatre. Through his professional and teaching experience, Jonathan Flom presents the material in an easily accessible way. Get the Callback proceeds chronologically through the audition process, beginning with finding auditions and reading and interpreting casting calls. Flom discusses many facets of preparation, including selecting songs and monologues to suit your voice and the audition, organizing and arranging your music, working with the accompanist, and presenting yourself to the directors. He gives a detailed description of the actual audition performance and even offers advice on how non-dancers can survive a dance audition. The book includes valuable information on callbacks and how to field job offers, providing advice on contracts and negotiations. Further information on getting professional headshots, designing a quality resume, and writing winning cover letters is also included, each with examples. Unique to this volume is a chapter on auditioning for college training programs. The book concludes with three appendixes: a list of recommended dos and don'ts, and two lists of appropriate audition repertoire by genre and by actor type, as well as a glossary of terms.

Musical theatre is a tough and over-crowded industry. Yet, despite the huge competition, many performers find auditioning difficult with little knowledge of what the directors, creative teams and producers are looking for, or how to win the panel over with their unique talent. As a leading international casting director, Neil Rutherford has seen thousands of hopefuls audition over the years. Uniquely, he also understands what it is like to audition from his years as a professional actor in musical theatre.This book provides a unique perspective on the musical theatre audition process and how to improve the chances of landing a role. With wit, humour and insight, Neil Rutherford guides the reader through the crucial elements of musical theatre auditions, opening up the process of casting and auditioning to the thousands of hopefuls trying to secure work in this industry every year, as well as anyone involved in musical theatre. With a foreword by Tony-award-winning director Bartlett Sher, the book also contains contributions from some of the world's leading directors and musical directors, including Sir Richard Eyre and Jerry Mitchell, adding further valuable insight from those at the centre of the musical theatre world. This book is a vital tool for anyone hoping to improve their audition chances and survive in the world of musical theatre.