A few weeks ago, I talked about auditioning in this blog. In it, I jokingly took a dig at accompanists—a move I feel a little guilty for. One of the most commonly abused people in an audition room is probably the accompanist. Having been on both sides of the piano, I know it's a tricky relationship: no other person in that audition room has as direct impact on how your audition goes. If an accompanist plays poorly, it's very challenging to still give your best of a song—and even when you do, it still affects how the piece sounds and is taken by the director/casting personnel. Conversely, I've heard numerous actors huff and puff out of an audition blaming everything on how the accompanist “doesn't know how to play” when there were a bevy of other reasons they didn't give their optimal performance.

Below are some things to keep in mind to try to make your accompanist your best friend rather your worst enemy.

0) Practice with accompanists.

Before you even get in the room, make sure when you're preparing that you practice with live accompaniment whenever possible if that's what you'll have to sing with at the audition. Don't just practice with a CD or a capella, then walk in expecting the piano to sound the same or not throw you off! Practice with the sheet music. At the very least, know what the accompaniment sounds like!

1) Say hello!

You'd be surprised the number of times I've gotten actors who come in, warmly greet the people at the casting table, then toss their sheet music onto the piano and don't even look at me. Then they get angry if I don't play things at the exact tempo they wanted.

Talk to your accompanist! Say hello, politely hand them your music, clarify anything that is important--this is a ballad, this song has a swing beat, or there's about 6 key changes in this cutting (a bad idea, by the way—more on this later). Don't snap in their faces to show them the tempo. Also, don't assume they've heard your song before. I'm never offended if in trying to communicate a tempo, an actor hums a few bars. At the same time, don't be condescending.

2) Be organized.

Have your sheet music photo-copied, double sided, hole-punched and in a binder. This makes page turning SO much easier. Original books are okay, but sometimes are a pain because they don't stay open to the page you want. Loose pages, if there's not too many, are fine if you keep them in a folder and the accompanist can lay them out to not have to turn pages at all—but generally, the binder is the way to go. Also, have your music clearly marked if you're singing a cutting. Always have it in the right key; few accompanists would be able to transpose on sight-reading, and exactly ZERO want to.

3) Leave your Sondheim and Jason Robert Brown at home.

Don't get me wrong—I love both of those composers. They write gorgeous music—but they can also be extremely challenging to sing, and to sight-read and play. Don't take the risk. I've been the “bad accompanist” and stumbled over some of Sondheim and JRB's stuff, and I've been the singer falling off rhythm in a patter song because the accompanist took a slightly different tempo or rubato on a section. Not fun in either position. There's plenty of other great music that shows off your voice that won't kill the accompanist; bring that instead.

4) If things go wrong, keep going.

When I taught at Valley Youth Theatre, nothing was funnier to me than when the kids glared at the piano if they messed up. Not me—the piano—as if the inanimate instrument was personally out to ruin their chances.

Firstly, if you “mess up”, don't telegraph it to the casting people! Keep going. Accompanists are trained to follow and find where you are. I had an actor jump a whole verse once in an audition and not even realize until we talked about it in rehearsals for the show.

Keep these little tips in mind and you'll have longer, healthier relationships with your accompanists. Do you have any other tips you can share? Horror stories or stories of triumph? Share them in the comments!

~Y