DO NOT ASK FOR SPECIFIC AUDITION PIECES ON THE BOARD. I say this vehemently for many reasons that can be boiled down into the following statement:
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO PICK THE PERFECT PIECE FOR A PERFORMER HE/SHE HAS NEVER MET.
Plain and simple. Audition pieces should be chosen because the performer in question has a strong connection with the message of the piece, or the piece shows off that performer's talents particularly well...preferably both. While suggestions can be helpful, you will have a better chance of doing well at the audition if blood, sweat, and tears went into preparing for it. However, we can offer some guidelines as to what to pick and what not to pick.
In general, schools will ask you to have two songs -- one upbeat, one ballad -- and two monologues -- one contemporary, one classical. (Many schools also have a dance audition, but that is usually a combination taught to everyone on the day of the auditions, so on the whole, you won't need to have a dance routine prepared.) As always, there are exceptions, but this is the norm. A big thanks to nearly everyone on the board for their thoughts on this subject.
GENERAL
- While it is not a good idea do to a piece from a character you have already done, have some of your most notable stuff prepared just in case.
- PLAY TO TYPE. This is something a lot of people don't realize about college auditions. While out in the "real" theater world it can be refreshing for a casting director to see a new take on something, don't do it for the colleges. If you are a young attractive soprano, don't do King Lear and "Send in the Clowns." Pick something age-appropriate, and, yes, type-appropriate.
- Same goes for race-specific roles. Though this may be a touchy subject for some, it is an important point that needs to be brought up. A blonde boy with a surfer accent shouldn't be doing "Bess, You Is My Woman Now." Now, this isn't to say that if you are Asian, you should only do Flower Drum Song or if you are black you should only do Dreamgirls. Just make sure that your piece is played by a character that, with colorblind casting, you could portray. Think of Audra McDonald as Carrie in Carousel awhile back. She was perfect as Carrie. She wouldn't have done so well as Billy Bigelow, though I'm sure she could have sang "Soliloquy" wonderfully. Follow her (and the Tony voters') lead.
When in doubt, ask yourself, "As of this very moment, would I get cast in this role?" If the answer is, "Well, no, but I really make it my own out of context!" move on to something else.
SONGS
- For EVERY song that you sing, have a full-length version, a 32-bar cut, and a 16-bar cut. Some schools want more, some less, and for the ones that ask for less, you should have more available.
- Don't sing anything from something currently running on Broadway. It's a good rule of thumb. (I know that when this next audition season runs around, the adjudicators are going to groan when they hear "Defying Gravity" or "The Wizard and I," just like I wanted to tear my hair out when I overheard ANYTHING Thoroughly Modern Millie when I was auditioning.)
- Try not to sing anything too well-known. While shows like Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Cats, and West Side Story aren't running on Broadway, they are still too famous to do without the adjudicators groaning to themselves, "Oh, God, not again." Show them that you've done your homework. There is LOTS of good stuff out there, all you have to do is find it.
- When looking for a ballad, going with the standards is always a good bet: Kern, Rodgers and Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gershwin, Berlin, Porter, etc. Ballads by these composers usually have extended legato lines, which is difficult to sing and will showcase you well. Plus...they're called standards for a reason.
MONOLOGUES
- While looking for a monologue, be wary of monologue books. It is fine to go through collection books (101 Monologues for the Serious Actress, etc.) looking for some material, but if you find something you like, make sure it's from a play, and make sure you READ the play.
- When they ask for classical monologues, Shakespeare is always a good bet. While there isn't a lot of Shakespeare that hasn't been done over and over, do your best to show you've done your homework. For instance, instead of doing Juliet's "Wherefore art thou Romeo" or Hamlet's "To be or not to be," go for something a little less well-known.