Discover exactly what top Broadway casting directors, actors, and accompanists really think about audition books in this new free course from TheoryWorks.
Too many actors walk into the audition room with messy cuts in poorly organized books. Before even singing a note, they've shot themselves in the foot. Knowing how to prepare, organize, and select music for your audition book can give you a critical leg up in presenting yourself as a pro and tells everyone that you are someone to be taken seriously.
In this free course, created by TheoryWorks, we'll hear from a host of casting directors, vocal coaches, accompanists, and actors on how to put together the audition books that get the gigs. In the process, you'll learn how to choose the music for your book, how to mark your music for your accompanist, and how to organize your book.
TheoryWorks is a company founded by voice teacher/actor Amy Marie Stewart and designed to help working actors gain the music and theory skills they need to succeed in today's competitive theatre world. TheoryWorks trains actors to be musically literate, autonomous, and confident. Sign up at theory-works.com to hear about new courses, tutoring sessions, bootcamps, and other projects on the horizon!
This course is specifically targeted at helping auditioning actors and singers put together stronger audition books. It could be useful for experienced actors who might have neglected this part of their craft, or beginner actors just getting started.
This course features interviews with Broadway actors James Monroe Iglehart (Hamilton, Aladdin, Spelling Bee) and Amy Justman (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, The Phantom of the Opera, Company), casting directors Merri Sugarman (Tara Rubin Casting), Michael Cassara, and Cindi Rush, and music director and vocal expert Andrew Byrne, as well as a panel of working actors.
There are no course requirements. But students should come into this course with an idea their repertoire of songs that could be included in an audition book.
You'll be able to get through the videos and readings in this course in about an hour and a half.
You'll learn how to select the right songs for you, how to mark your cuts to support your accompanist, how to organize your book, and much more.
This course is created by TheoryWorks, a NYC-based organization started by Amy Marie Stewart that supports actors by teaching them music theory. If you enjoy this course, you should take our Mainstage courses Music Theory for Broadway Actors and Sight Singing & Harmony Essentials and get hands-on support preparing better audition materials through music theory.