SETC Audition Tips
or...
"What Bugs SETC Professional Companies During Auditions!"

When planning your SETC Audition, please keep in mind some feedback that we received from the companies who were surveyed at the Fall 2001 SETC auditions in Charlotte regarding monologues, songs and other issues that "bug" them pertaining to SETC auditions. Here are the results from that survey:

Monologues That Are Done Too Much:
"Anal Probe" | "Jockstrap" | "Tuna Fish Sandwich" | "Jesus Picture"

Avoid material that calls attention by the use of foul language, sexually explicit shock value or graphic scatological humor.

Stand-up type of material that only goes for laughs and hits only one note.

Monologues that only go from one description to another or one laugh to another with no through-line


About Songs:
Do’s - What the companies would like to hear more of:
Cole Porter | Burton Lane | Cy Coleman | Rogers and Hart
Jerome Kern | Harlod Arlen | Other standards

Don’ts
Don’t do Sondheim in the general auditions (unless you’re over 40 and have been through what the lyrics imply, or can control the phrasing).

For the same reason, don’t do "Being Alive" or "Johanna"

Try to avoid "Vanilla Ice Cream." It’s just done as a delivery vehicle for the money note at the end and no one acts through the lyric as they should.

Don’t do "Naughty Baby"

Don’t do "Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man..."

Don’t do "victim" songs - "Mr. Cellophane" is the classic example of this. Songs about how lousy a person you are make you weak on stage.

Extra Tips:
Ladies, try to keep your skirts at knee length or below. Also, try to keep your hair off of your face during your audition - wear it tied or neatly pulled back.

Time yourself! Make sure that your audition does not run over the allotted time.

Cut your song down. It only takes 16-24 measures to know if you can sing.

Make a photocopy of your application before you submit it. If it’s too dark - change it!

Try to be aware of your speech. Specifically, do not drop your "r’s" or final consonants. Do not attempt accents - use your real voice.

Proofread your applications and information. It speaks loudly to see you were in "A CHOROS LINE" or played the role of "Huddle" in FIDDLER.