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Monday shall be a first for me. That's right, on Monday, I will encounter my university's theatre auditions for the spring semester mainstage productions. I bypassed the auditions in the fall, and I did not need to audition for the showcases I was a part of this semester. So coincidentally, as my finals come around the corner, the auditions jump off the beginning of the most stressful and busiest week for any college student. I have a 30 minute presentation and 15 page term paper on "Henry V", I'm going to be initiated into Alpha Psi Omega (theatre honor society), and I will be working at the High School Drama Festival. On top of all of that, the department demands the perfect one minute monologue (which we all know is actually 50 seconds) and the perfect 16 bar song? How selfish of them.

In all of this sarcasm, there lies this fear that I have not come across before. Sure, I have auditioned for community theatres and high school before, but the pressure feels so much more weight-bearing. My "competitors" are people I am in class with every day that has accumulated the same amount of passion I have for the stage. Since I am from this tiny town who had never seen so many theatre-enthralled people until college,I wonder, "How do I start? Where do I stand out?" There are so many questions with all of this, and I haven't been around long enough to answer any of them yet.

I'm quite thankful for a couple of my senior friends to help me pick out a monologue (which was also loved by my acting professor, so I know they weren't leading me astray). However, I am having the hardest time finding just the right song.I know I'm very musical, and I can sing (even belt if I'm in the right moods), but I know dozens that are singing in hopes of getting a part in "Urinetown", our semester's musical.

"The songs are mostly upbeat, so you should pick an upbeat song."
"Make sure to find a song that isn't going to be heard 6 times tonight."
"Sing in your age range."
"Your song should be opposite of your monologue's tone."
"Make it exactly 16 bars or less, you don't want to be annoying."
"Nah, it doesn't matter if you're over 16 bars, just stay within your 90 second time limit."
"Don't find a song too difficult for the piano accompaniment."

I mean, really, these are only a handful of tips that I've heard from all of the department. Some of them are even contradictory!

So, I was wondering what you guys do to prepare for an audition? How do YOU find that oh-so-perfect monologue or song for just the right production?