BSR Audition Tips

For all you gorgeous singers prepping for BSR Auditions next month, here are some tips distilled from my previous posts and some new thoughts to help you focus your efforts. I've audited loooots of BSR auditions and listened to the comments auditors make afterwards, so read on for the insider scoop.

Resumes/Pictures: The most important thing to keep in mind when preparing resumes or picking headshots for auditions are the words "glance" and "scan".  Here's what the panel does when a singer is announced: Glance at picture. Scan resume. Glance back at picture. Watch singer walk into room. Listen and scan resume. Some time afterwards, glance at picture to try to place which singer that was. So...

• Pictures: I think when picking headshots, we often stare at them for ages while analyzing every detail, but that's frankly now how they get looked at in the audition room. The best pictures are the ones that, at a glance, look like the singer who walks into the room, show the singer's true personality, show just enough of the singer's body that you can tell how they would read onstage, and have a pleasing perspective. Glamour shots are totally fine if that's what a singer looks like IRL. Glance.
• Resumes: The best resumes are easy to scan, so avoid paragraphs and elaborate fonts. An auditor should be immediately able to see who, what, where, and when. Your name, phone number and email should be the biggest thing on the page. Consider avoiding anything that reads as filler, like master classes and special skills that aren't really special, because it's super distracting and wastes that precious scan-time. Remove any non-singing/performing activity, like your full-time job or other activities in the arts (like directing, etc.) unless it's something that can go in the special skills section. I mean, auditors don't need to know what you do to pay the bills. They just need to see your singing background, whatever it is. If you don't have a formal music degree, then list all your individual training in the education section. Scan.

For more details, read A Few More Audition Tips, Resumes, Emails, and Websites, Oh My, and A Few More Helpful Resume Tips

What to Wear: Nice, neat, professional, put together, and elegant is always the most effective approach, so make sure hemlines are long enough, skin is covered, clothes aren't too tight (trust me, auditors do not want to be able to see everything moving when you breathe), all jiggles are controlled, and everything is pressed and shined. The quick and easy way to catch of all of this:

• The Blazer Test for Women: could you put a black blazer on over your outfit and be taken seriously at a corporate job interview?
• The Tie Test for Men: could you add a tie to your outfit and be taken seriously at a corporate job interview?

For more details, read Auditions: What Not to Wear

What to Sing: In a Venn diagram with what you sing best in one circle and what the auditors are hiring for in another, pick pieces from the overlapping center circle. If you don't have any in the center, err on the side of what you sing best. And by this, I don't mean what you're going to sing really well next year. Sing what you sing best now, even if you think the auditors will be underwhelmed artistically. We might, sure, but we're most interested in hearing you at your best and more likely to be underwhelmed by a display of what's not in your wheelhouse yet. Check the pitches for accuracy (this is the #1 thing that will knock you out of consideration), especially on descending passages. If possible, avoid arias that are from shows and oratorios that no one performs at your level of hirability.

For more details, read Audition Rep!

How to Act: Smile. Relax. Say hello to the panel and pianist. When singing, avoid the stressed-out fixed-point stare at the clock over our heads and instead widen your focus to a gentle scan of the room and panel. Time your piece or pieces, and end well before your four minutes is up. Never ever ever go over the time, and if for some reason you do, never ever ever keep singing past when it is called. Seriously! It looks rillyrilly bad. Always thank the pianist and the panel. Hold your head up high and smile at the panel on your way out, because some of us (and by some of us I mean me) may be waving to you.  And of course, don't take it personally if no one makes eye contact with you in return or yawns or something: remember, panels are usually really tired and the ability to respond socially often goes out the window after the 50th person in a row. (I think this is probably why celebrities out in public often come off as being so rude to people, like JLo telling her assistant to tell the flight attendant she wanted a diet coke: there's just no emotional energy left to engage anymore. But I digress. Don't take it personally.)

Be Aware of When and Where You're Singing: Some rooms are more forgiving than others for certain voices and repertoire (ask around). If you're early in the day, the auditors' ears are fresh. If you're at the end of the day, the ears (and the auditors) will be tired. This isn't to say that it's bad to sing at the end of the day. Some of the most excited reactions I've ever seen have been for the very last singer because the panel was thrilled that someone %^&ing BROUGHT IT and GAVE US LIFE. They earned our undying love and admiration. But be aware, consider your rep, energy and approach to the room, and don't take it personally if the panel looks like they're literally melting before your eyes into irritated exhausted puddles who cannot even with another g-d Handel aria. We don't really feel that way. We just look like we feel that way.

The Aftermath: No matter what, keep in mind that it was only four minutes of everyone's life. Mostly what I remember as an auditor from BSR auditions is an overall impression of a singer, or a single moment they called to my attention (either fabulous or not so fabulous). Just moments. So even if something went wrong, let it go and know that no one will remember it as clearly as you do - or even at all - especially if you smiled and looked confident! Stuff goes wrong for even the best and most prepared singers. And if you don't get any calls from the BSR auditions, don't worry about it. A big part of the experience is being introduced or reintroduced to a bunch of your colleagues in the area, both inside the room and outside in the waiting area. And speaking as one of them, I can't wait to see all you beautiful people in April and September!

Angela Jajko, mezzo-soprano, is the Editor of the BSR Blog. A popular performer of opera, operetta, musical theatre, and oratorio, she has been praised in such publications as the Boston Globe and the Herald for her “peaches and cream” voice and dramatic delivery. Her recent performances have included acclaimed appearances as a featured soloist with Cape Symphony in "Passport to England" in the Barnstable Performing Arts Center, as a featured soloist in Longwood Opera's New Year's Eve concert, as the alto soloist in Handel's Messiah with Maplewind Arts, as the alto soloist in Mozart's Requiem with Boston Cecilia at All Saints Brookline, and in the role of Prinz Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with the North End Music and Performing Arts Center Opera Project in Faneuil Hall. Angela has also appeared as Miss Hannigan in Annie with Crescendo Theatre Company, The Lady of the Lake in Spamalot at Theatre at the Mount, selections from Carmen in The Greater Worcester Opera Gala in Mechanics Hall, Tessa in The Gondoliers with The Sudbury Savoyards, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with New England Light Opera, Carmen with Greater Worcester Opera, Offenbach’s Island of Tulipatan with New England Light Opera, the roles of Ruth, Buttercup, Phoebe, Katisha, and The Fairy Queen in concert with the New England Gilbert & Sullivan Society, and as a featured soloist in concerts with Opera on Tap, Masstheatrica, FIRSTMusic, Ocean Park Festival Chorus, Parish Center for the Arts and New Hampshire Opera Theatre. Her performances have also included the roles of Carmen, Theodorine, Augusta, Marcellina, Hermia, Savitri, Pirate Jenny, and La Zia Principessa. She has also performed with Odyssey Opera, PORTopera, Granite State Opera, Longwood Opera, BASOTI, Harvard University, and the International Lyric Academy in Viterbo, Italy.  She has been honored by the American Prize competition and holds degrees in Vocal Performance from The New England Conservatory of Music and the University of California at Los Angeles.  She is currently the Associate Executive Director of NELO, an artist coordinator for Opera on Tap Boston, a Board Member of the New England Gilbert & Sullivan Society and a Board Member of L’Académie, a critically acclaimed orchestra specializing in performances of French Baroque music in health institutions. She has served as Costumer for a number of productions with companies including Guerilla Opera, Company One, NELO, BASOTI and Longwood Opera. She has also served as a Director for NELO’s Rising Stars program and in other productions as Assistant Director, Stage Manager, and Props Master. She has extensive experience in administration, office management, and event management in a variety of industries. Visit her at http://angelajajko.com/.