The Theatre Talkback: Choosing Cuttings

A reader recently asked me: how do you choose your cuttings? Are they always the same? Under what circumstances would you switch it up? Have you ever been asked to sing a different part of your song, or is that even something that could happen?

First of all, thank you for the questions! And thank you a million times for reading! 🥳

Second of all, these are excellent questions. Let's talk about them, shall we?

When it comes to choosing cuttings, for me personally (**and I say personally because this answer will change depending on who you ask**), it mainly boils down to what part(s) of a song make me the most excited to perform it. As we've talked about before on the ol' blog, I will always advocate for putting songs in your book that you enjoy singing, period. So even if that means having a few songs that the industry would warn you is overdone, shrug it off and blow them away with your rendition of those "overdone" songs (all songs are overdone at this point, there are no such things as hidden gems anymore). So in terms of cuttings, finding those moments within my favorite songs that I am just desperate to perform for a captive audience or that show off what my voice does best is where I start my search. Whether it be a song's most emotional moment in which I resonate with the lyrics or the song's most vocally demanding (and/or impressive) passage, identify what about a certain song makes you confident in your ability. That section is almost always your cutting.

Another element I take into consideration is whether the cutting tells a complete story out of context from its start to its end. Yes, all songs are overdone and there's nothing new under the sun; however, that doesn't mean you should shoot yourself in the foot by starting a cutting in the middle of a character's thought, even if the creatives could fill in the blanks with their knowledge of your music.

As a specific example, let's talk about the song "The Boy Next Door" from Meet Me In St. Louis. I have this song in my back pocket as an alternate cutting option (i.e. it doesn't live in my vocal book at all times, I will add it in when a very specific kind of audition comes up that it'd be right for). In its complete form, the song starts with two verses before getting into the chorus. Verse 1 is "The moment I saw him smile / I knew he was just my style / My only regret is we've never met / Though I dream of him all the while". Verse 2 is "But he doesn't know I exist / No matter how I may persist / So it's clear to see there's no hope for me / Though I live at fifty-one-thirty-five Kensington Avenue / And he lives at fifty-one-thirty-three".

I'm hopeful you can see where I'm going with this. If I have a limited cutting where only one of the verses can stay, I would undoubtedly choose to keep Verse 1, skip Verse 2, and go straight into the Chorus because the story that I'm telling in an audition -- a space outside the confines of Meet Me In St. Louis -- still makes sense without the explanation in Verse 2. We're storytellers first, so if it comes down to it, find a satisfying beginning, middle, and end. And in general, avoiding starting a cutting with the word "But" is probably a good idea.

With all that in mind, in regards to the question about whether my cuttings are always the same, yes and no. I have different cuttings within one song to be prepared for the various lengths requested on an audition notice (i.e. 16-bars, 32-bars, etc.), but I very seldom, if ever, change each cutting once I set it. I will have only one 16-bar cutting and one 32-bar cutting of a song; I mainly do this to avoid confusion as the last thing I want to be worried about when I'm in the room is what I'm singing, one of the few things I can actually control about an audition.

And that brings me to your final two questions, which I can roll into one answer: the only circumstance in which I would be willing to switch a cutting up would be if the creative team asked me to in the room. I cannot say this has ever happened to me, nor have I ever heard about this happening -- but that certainly does not mean it couldn't happen. I have, however, heard maaaaaaaany instances of the creatives asking for a completely different song / requesting a different option from the actor's book. That happens fairly often, actually. For that reason, it's best that you don't put anything in your book that you're unsure of because if it were to be selected in a situation like this? You better hope you remember it. BUT, on the bright side, the table would be much more forgiving since they sprang it on you. BUT BUT, don't use that as an excuse or crutch: know your material if it's in your book. Ultimately, anything can happen in an audition room -- you just never know -- so make like a boy scout and be prepared.

I hope that answered your questions, Dear Reader; thank you again for reaching out! Do YOU have any questions you'd like me to address in future iterations of The Theatre Talkback? Leave a comment down below or shoot me a message through the Contact form. I can't wait to hear from you.

Thanks for reading, #DreamTeamHLJ, and sing the cuttings that spark joy!