Cohen Darren R. - The complete professional audition: a commonsense guide to auditioning for musicals and plays

Together we would like to thank our past and present students for asking us the questions that created the need for this book. We would also like to thank our colleagues, as well as the many industry professionals, casting directors, agents, actors, and teachers who helped in the guidance of this book.

Special thanks to Mari Lyn Henry for agreeing to meet with us on such a cold and rainy day, and for her advice and generous assistance in getting this project to Back Stage Books.

Thanks to Michle LaRue, our editor, who took this book to extraordinary levels by challenging us through her expertise, honesty, humor, and patience to go back (again and again) and find the right words.

Thanks to Mark Glubke, Senior Editor at Back Stage Books, for his full support and belief in this book, and for trusting us with the project.

Thanks to Rita Rosenkranz, our agent, for navigating us through the channels, and to Chad Thompson for his brilliant and hilarious illustrations.

Darren R. Cohen and Michael Perilstein

I would like to thank my close friends, family, and students for their constant support, and for pushing me to write this book. Thank you Bob Cline, Rich Cole Casting, Pat McCorkle Casting, Liz Ortiz-Mackes at Casting Solutions, Jay Binder Casting, Lesley Collis at Mattel Casting, Laura Richin Casting, Liz Lewis Casting Partners, Mark Simon Casting, Norman Meranus Casting, Stephanie Klapper Casting, Alan Filderman Casting, Cindi Rush Casting, Margaret Emory, John Simpkins, William Westbrooks, William Schill, Josh Pultz, Jeffrey Dunn, Bill Cox, David Caldwell, James Stenborg, David and Jan Martin, Michael Sartor, Elaine Petricoff, my accountant, Leanne Greenberg, and Mark Sendroff for his advice.

Special thanks to my sister Lauren Cohen, for encouraging me to keep writing.

Darren R. Cohen

Much thanks and appreciation go to the faculty of the University of Virginia Drama Department, particularly Kate Burke, Bob Chapel, Betsy Tucker, and Richard Warner. Thanks also to Colleen Kelly at the University of San Diego. Many of the ideas and exercises found in this book were directly influenced by their work as educators and actors, and to them I am most grateful.

Thanks to Scott Eck of the Laughingstock Company, for showing me there should always be something on the line, and that Tomato is funny, but Asparagus is funnier. Thanks, too, to Walleyed Productions, for their support, and to William Mastrosimone for his generosity. Thanks also to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, and to the faculty who teach there. I would be hard pressed to find a more professional group of dedicated, talented teachers.

I would also like to thank my parents and family for their unyielding encouragement and support. To whatever ideas I brought up to them they never said, Why?; instead they always said, Why not?

In addition, I would especially like to thank Robbie for having to endure my ongoing monologues throughout the process of writing this book. Im sure it all seemed endless. Her constant input and advice usually ended with her saying: Stop talking about it and start writing it.

And to Spalding Gray, who continues to inspire. Thank You.

Michael Perilstein

There are some actors, maybe one-tenth of one percent of all the actors in the theater, who can convince everyone of their talent and brilliance just by walking into a room. It doesnt matter what they say whether theyre well prepared, what theyre wearing, whether theyve slept in the last week, if one of their eyeballs is leaking pus all over the room; theyre still perfect and anyone can see it. This book is not for them.

There are some actors, maybe a larger percentage than the previous group, who will never work professionally unless they actually buy a Broadway theater. They could spend every day of the rest of their lives taking lessons, studying with coaches, eating right, working out, learning the perfect monologue, buying the best dance shoes; it doesnt mattersomehow they communicate cataclysm simply by waking up in the morning. This book is not for them.

Everyone else who auditions for the theaterthis book is for you. I have sat in front of thousands of actors over the last fifteen years, watching them all with the hope that theyll be the right person to breathe life into my character, and every one of those thousands of people could have benefited from at least one of the succinctly written and well-considered pieces of advice that Darren and Michael offer in these pages. Some of those auditioners actually could have benefited from every single piece of advice in these pages.

No one in the theater knows everything, and there are in fact times when it seems that no one in the theater knows anything at all, but Darren and Michael have prepared a very valuable guide to the torturous process of auditioning. I see so many talented and wonderful actors who loathe auditioning so much that they freeze up or project their bile every time they have to go in. Lots of other actors are just confused and disoriented by having to show their stuff on command in less-than-perfect settings. And plenty of other actors walk out of every audition feeling like they could have, should have, would have done better if only, if only, if only. Heres something you might not know: we on the other side of the table dont love auditions much either, and as soon as someone figures out a better way to cast a show, well be the first ones to sign up. Until then, when you as an actor are called upon to expose yourself and your art for a brief instant in the hope that youll be considered right for the job, I think you can rely on The Complete Professional Audition to support you through that process. To risk a clich, Break a leg!

Jason Robert Brown
Los Angeles, California
March 2005

If you browse through the Performing Arts section of a bookstore, you are likely to find many books that focus on auditioning for the theater. So, why write this one? Do performers really need another how-to book?

When researching the different kinds of books on the subject, I found dozens of volumes on musical theater and on nonmusical theater. What was missing was a book that combined bothin great detail.

As a musical director and vocal coach, I have learned that singers hesitate to audition for plays, either because they are afraid to or because they simply dont know how. Conversely, I have also met many nonmusical theater actors who sing well, but are afraid to audition with a song because they dont know how to prepare.

The Complete Professional Audition: A Commonsense Guide to Auditioning for Musicals and Plays addresses the fears and concerns of both kinds of performers, by explaining in detail the similarities and differences between musical and nonmusical auditions. When you have finished reading this book, you will have a thorough understanding of the audition process, from finding material to signing a contract.

offers practical information that applies to both types of auditions and lifestylessuch as putting together a rsum and finding an agent. This section also explores many networking options and tactics, and suggests various ways to support yourself in the business. Because Michael and I are based in New York City, weve referred to many resources there. But since weve also worked in the outer regions and on the road, we know that with a little imagination and resourcefulness, youll find similar opportunities in whatever metropolis you choose to live, audition, and take center stage.