As a voice teacher in New York City, I work with many newly arrived actors packing tons of talent, great training, and a whole lot of misconceptions about their audition books.
I recently conducted interviews with industry experts, from Broadway actors to casting directors, and what I learned might surprise some new to the city…even some who aren’t. Here are eight of the most common audition book myths out there.
1. A typical audition book has around 20 songs. The experts agreed that the best audition books have a total of 6-9 songs, max. “At some level, that’s the number of songs a performer could have ready at a moment’s notice,” says casting director Michael Cassara. A huge book is a red flag that the actor won’t be prepared on songs they themselves brought in, something Merri Sugarman of Tara Rubin Casting says, “drives me insane.”
2. You need songs from every era of musical theater.Many recent grads think they need to pack it all: Gilbert and Sullivan, Tin Pan Alley, hip-hop, etc. That’s just not true. Your everyday book should have a handful of versatile contemporary MT, traditional MT, and pop/rock songs that show what you do best, and that’s it.
Leave a Reply