Tag: Auditions

5 Questions with Broadway Casting Director – Patrick Goodwin

Posted on by Marc Tumminelli

pat-goodwinOver the past 10 years, I have had the amazing fortune of working with a ton of brilliant casting directors in this industry. Personally, I have gained so much knowledge by sitting next to these amazing guests. Working with casting directors who have witnessed thousands of auditions has informed me and provided me with expertise as both a director and as a teacher.

I have taught so many master classes alongside of Patrick Goodwin of Telsey + Company. He has always been so generous with actors; especially kids. Pat is so smart and has helped many of our Broadway Workshop students reach their greatest potential. He is not only a great casting director, but also such an amazing teacher. The amount of time he took with every child auditioning for the revival of Annie was truly inspiring to me. That’s a lot of listening to “Tomorrow”.

Pat Goodwin has been with Telsey + Company Casting for over a decade. He has been directly involved in the casting of the Broadway productions of Waitress, Finding Neverland, Pippin, Annie, Radio City Christmas Spectacular and the Broadway bound productions of The Spongebob Musical, The Honeymooners. Telsey Casting is responsible for the casting of shows like Hamilton, Wicked, Fiddler on the Roof, The Color Purple and the upcoming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Anastasia and Hello Dolly and the NBC musicals The Sound of Music Live, Peter Pan Live and Hairspray Live.

As we prepare to bring Pat back to Broadway Workshop for a KIDS ON BROADWAY workshop, I asked Pat to answer a few questions about the casting process. Check out “5 questions with Broadway Casting Director Patrick Goodwin,” and we hope to see you at Pat’s KIDS ON BROADWAY workshop next Sunday!

5 QUESTIONS WITH A BROADWAY CASTING DIRECTOR
1) What is your favorite project you have worked on?
It’s so hard to pick a favorite, because I’ve loved all the projects I’ve been fortunate to work on. But if I had to pick one, I think I’d have to say Waitress. I love the style of the music and the challenges of finding the right people to fit the very specific roles in the show.

2) What is the most interesting thing you have seen an open call?
What I find most interesting in open calls are people who really know what their strengths and are very comfortable in their own skin.

3) What is your favorite audition song?
There’s SO many, I can’t pick a favorite, but I will say that it’s very dependent on the person. What works for one person will not be a wise choice for another person because there’s so many different types that people fall under.

4) What is the biggest mistake you see from kids and parents at auditions?
Not being prepared. Your preparation is the one thing you have control over in auditions, so don’t come in unprepared. Do your homework!

5) What is the biggest challenge of your job?
The biggest challenge is also the biggest reward- discovering new talent by thinking outside the box and using non-traditional avenues to find new people.

Bonus Question:
What was your first Broadway show?
RENT!

Pat Goodwin is set to teach a KID ON BROADWAY workshop on Sunday November 13th. This workshop is geared for students ages 8-13 and will take place at Ripley Grier Studios. For more information on this class CLICK HERE!

Marc Tumminelli is the owner and director of Broadway Workshop in NYC – 11/4/16

So you want to go to college for musical theatre…

Posted on by Marc Tumminelli

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YAY! It’s time to go to college! Because you are happiest when you are performing, you’re taking the big leap and you’re going to spend 4 years majoring in Theatre. So, basically, you picked a hard profession… but every profession is hard. At least you are doing something that is so exciting you can’t imagine doing anything else. (And you have awesome parents that want to support your dream!)

I have been coaching students for the past 10 years for college auditions. I do not know it all but I am happy to share things that I think are important and some things that I have learned along the way!

  • Make a spreadsheet with ALL of the info for ALL of the schools that you are auditioning for. I am talking: NAME OF SCHOOL, DATE OF AUDITION, DUE DATE OF PRESCREEN, MUSICAL PIECES NEEDED, ACTING PIECES NEEDED – ANY info that you need to keep track of.
  • Pick good material and be prepared. Every school has different requirements but you will track that in your spreadsheet, mentioned above – you’re welcome! For the most part, you need to have 2 contrasting Musical Theatre Songs and 2 contrasting Monologues from PUBLISHED PLAYS. I would suggest you have around 4-5 songs ready (full songs and 16-32 bar cuts) and 3 monologues. You need to find songs and monologues that work for you and that are not too mature for you.

On Finding Songs – For some help finding great songs, check out my BLOG from two weeks ago.

On Finding Monologues – Yes, monologues are hard to find. You have some options though. Go to a coach or spend a day at the Drama Book Shop. The staff at the Drama Book Shop will help you look through plays to find something that will work! Or just pull plays off the wall and read the back. If you find something that has characters your age, keep reading. If it says “16 middle-aged women go on a camp retreat” put it back. Get it? I would avoid monologues from “monologue books” – even if the monologues are from published plays. Make sure you read the play and you feel comfortable talking about the author and the play itself. Do the research. Do the work.

  • Learn about the school – You should make sure you know a lot about the schools: What is campus life like? What opportunities will you have as a student? What is the closest big city? Can you see yourself spending four years there? Etc. Many programs do not let you perform for the first year. If you are not okay with that, well, maybe that school is not for you. Research the schools’ alumni. This will give you some good background of the students that have come out of that program.
  • Keep an audition log – You are going to audition for a bunch of schools. You should keep a record of who you have auditioned for: What did you perform? Did they ask you any questions in the room? What did they ask you? Did they give you an adjustment? What did you wear? What was your impression of the school? Did they pay attention to you? How did you feel about your overall experience? Etc.
  • Be yourself –They want to meet YOU. Have fun, show them who you are and have a great time in the room, Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. There is only one you! You are going to get into a school so show them who you are and why you are a big ol’ star!
  • Get help – Broadway Workshop has a team of coaches that can help you prepare for these auditions. We have another One Day College Audition Intensive coming up on December 18th. Stay tuned for that info.

 

We hope this helps you on your College Audition journey!

-Marc Tumminelli – 10.6.16

 

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