MUSICAL THEATRE AUDITION WORKSHOP

with Julie O'Brien and Michael Williams
August, 2008

9 August, 9.00am-6.00pm                                                                             $75 (including GST if booked and paid before 31 July)                                  $85 (after 31 July)                      

For more information

For enquiries and Bookings please contact Julie O'Brien on 021 377 192 or (04) 380 8886 and download a Registration Form

Musical Theatre Audition Workshop

How can I choose the best audition song for me? Should I learn 16 bars or the whole song? How do I choose the best 16 bars? What should I wear to the audition? How should I prepare my music for the acoompanist? What should I say to the accompanist and when> Who typically are the audition panel? What might the audition panel ask me? How do I prepare for 'cold reads'? What dance classes should I take? What's the best formant for my resume and head shot?

Julie O'Brien's career spans over twenty years. She has worked in New York, Britain, New Zealand and Australia performing in shows as diverse as ‘Chess’, ‘Evita’, ‘The New Rocky Horror Show’, ‘Grease’, ‘Me & My Girl’, ‘Anything Goes’, ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ and ‘Oliver’.

She has worked in concert as a backing vocalist for Rob Guest and has presented the cabaret shows ‘East Of The West End’, ‘The Dating Game’ and ‘In Her 40^th Year’ in Sydney. She also has her own one woman show ‘Julie & Friends’ – a fast change show in which she performs as fourteen outstanding female vocalists.

Julie was an original Australian cast member of ‘The Witches of Eastwick’, performing alongside Marina Prior, and received personal praise from Cameron MacIntosh when she played several performances in the role of ‘Felicia’, for which she was first understudy.

Most recently, she played the role of Rosie Greenwich in ‘Leader Of The Pack’, at Crown Casino, Melbourne. Julie has trained extensively in the Estill Method for Voice. In 1995 Julie returned to New Zealand and took up the position of Senior Tutor, Music Theatre at The Wellington Performing Arts Centre. She has appeared in television commercials in Australia and NZ, and also works as a freelance director, choreographer and voiceover artist.

Michael Williams was born in Petone and studied Music at the Wellington Polytechnic. He made his professional debut as Musical Director in 1983 with Tom Foolery at Circa Theatre. Since then he has been responsible for productions throughout New Zealand including Side by Side by Sondheim, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aunt Daisy!, Trafford Tanzi, Judy, and his own show, Dead Tragic.

In 1988 he was Musical Director for oNZtage at Expo 88 in Brisbane. He spent the following year in Sydney where he was Assistant Musical Director for Evita and repetiteur / alternative 1st keyboard in Chess. He returned to New Zealand in 1990 and since then has been Musical Director of National Tours of Ken Hill’s Original Phantom of the Opera, Blood Brothers (also in Australia), The New Rocky Horror Show and Boogie Nights.

He has been Assistant Musical Director/Conductor on tours of Cats, The Secret Garden and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (New Zealand and Asia). He has composed scores for several productions including Blithe Spirit and Elizabeth: Almost By Chance A Woman, and has completed two original musicals, Lonely Heart (chosen for the 2005 Adam Playreadings) and Dress.

He was Musical Director of Downstage Theatre’s acclaimed production of Sweeney Todd, and was Assistant Musical Director of Mamma Mia in Melbourne. Two years ago he was touring MD of Once Were Warriors and assistant MD of Evita before touring to Japan as MD of Ken Hill’s Phantom of the Opera.  He recently finished Md-ing Cats.

Michael is married to actor Emma Kinane and they have two children, Barnaby and Claire.