On the morning of Barrett Doss鈥� first preview for Groundhog Day鈥�in which she stars as Rita Hanson鈥攖he actor chatted with 半岛体育 to reflect on the road of auditions to her Broadway principal debut. Here, she takes us through her book of songs and shares how she thought 鈥渙utside the box鈥� to find material with an arc to bring her joy in the audition room.
What song did you sing to book this job?
Barrett Doss: I only had to sing from the show for my Groundhog Day audition, so I feel pretty lucky because this music is really actable, which is what I look for in an audition song. I first auditioned for a different role in the show, so I got to sing a couple of different songs for the show over the course of the whole experience.
What are your go-to audition songs you sing? Take me through your book.
One of my favorite songs to sing at an audition is 鈥淎ll for You鈥� from Saturday Night [by Stephen] Sondheim. It鈥檚 really short鈥攚hich is nice to have a short, quick song to get in and out of鈥攁nd all of the story is already packed inside this one beautiful, little package. The whole [song] is like 36 bars, which is kind of a perfect cut. I love to sing 鈥淜eepin鈥� Out of Mischief鈥� from Ain鈥檛 Misbehavin鈥�. That always feels like a really luxurious song to sing, so I enjoy that, and it鈥檚 really easy to take it from the bridge to the end of the song in a nice solid cut that has authority and big notes, if that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e looking for.
When you first started auditioning, what were you looking for, in terms of great pieces to present at auditions? How do the songs in your repertoire speak to you?
As a young, black musical theatre actress, you sometimes feel really confined to a certain number of shows, and I always had a lot of fun thinking outside the box and trying to do things that weren鈥檛 just from The Wiz鈥� That being said, I learned the song 鈥淲hite Boys鈥� from Hair really early, and I always loved singing that, and I still do pretty frequently. But I was always looking for something that had not only story, but that I had fun singing鈥攖hat I knew that if I got in that room, and I was feeling nervous, as soon as I got through the first couple bars of the song, I was going to start having fun singing it.
Any advice on finding the perfect cut? Do you work with a rep coach?
I used to work with Steven Lutvak, [the composer and co-lyricist of] Gentleman鈥檚 Guide. I鈥檝e known him since I was 16 years old, and he used to coach me. I generally like to take a bit from the beginning and middle and end of the song and sort of mash it together. 鈥� I always want an arc, and sometimes you can get that going from the bridge to the end, so that鈥檚 also a nice option.
When it comes to genres other than musical theatre, what do you sing at auditions?
It鈥檚 funny, I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e gone to a musical theatre audition in a while that has asked me for anything other than a pop/rock song. I think it鈥檚 a real challenge. But I love looking for [songwriters] who are kind of theatrical. I used to use a lot of Sara Bareilles, actually, before Waitress, which makes a lot of sense now that she鈥檚 written a musical because she writes [songs that] really want to get a point across. I also love using Lady Gaga. I think she鈥檚 an amazing songwriter.
Something that I realized recently is that when I鈥檓 listening to pop music or R&B, I find it really helpful that if you hear something you like, go see if they have an acoustic version on either guitar or piano. A lot of pop singers do that at some point. I remember the first time鈥攍ike ten years ago now鈥擨 saw Lady Gaga singing 鈥淧oker Face,鈥� just her and the piano, I was like, 鈥淭his is an amazing song.鈥� It鈥檚 great when you hear it on the radio, but you can鈥檛 hear it, so I realized if you look for acoustic versions of big, high-production pop songs you like, you might find some really nice surprises in there. Don鈥檛 restrict yourself to songs [by] gender. I started singing [John Mayer鈥檚] 鈥淢y Stupid Mouth鈥� before the album that Audra McDonald sang it on came out, and [then I thought], 鈥淥f course she sang it鈥� because it鈥檚 really a great song.
Where do you look for inspiration? How do you keep your book fresh?
I love getting recommendations from friends. I have a lot of friends who are ballet dancers, and I always feel like they have amazing taste in music. I love folk music, too. I also like to look for singers who change genre, like a soul singer who might try a country song and record it. India.Arie did that Don Henley song [鈥淭he Heart of the Matter鈥漖 on her album [Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship] years and years ago. 鈥� I like to take inspiration from that, too.
Do you have a terrible audition story, or was there a song you used that you鈥檇 never use again?
I auditioned for Holler If Ya Hear Me, and they asked for a rap cut, and I had never rapped or tried rap, so I taught myself Left Eye鈥檚 verse from the song 鈥淲aterfalls鈥� [by TLC], and it was pretty awful. It was very awful! But it turned into my go-to karaoke song. I don鈥檛 love karaoke, but when I do go, that is the one song that I will sing because I get to show off that one verse, and I got my from it, so that was an awesome find!
