Before she won a Tony as the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone, Beth Leavel was pounding the pavement in search of a reliable song that would consistently book her work. As she readies for her next Broadway endeavor in Bandstand, she takes us through her days of auditioning and remembers the songs that resonated with her in (and out of) the room.
Take me through your audition repetoire from your early days? What's in your book?
Beth Leavel: It鈥檚 so interesting because when my soul needs healing, I will teach, so I鈥檓 around all of this amazing energy [from] kids coming into the business anew with their fresh eye, and I look at their books, which wasn鈥檛 a thing when I was auditioning when I moved to New York. It took me forever to get my audition song鈥擨 like to call it my 鈥済o-to鈥� song, the song that really resonated with me and was getting me work. But I didn鈥檛 have a 鈥渂ook.鈥� There was one song that always got me work. A friend of mine, who was a musical arranger, got me a rendition of 鈥淚鈥檝e Got Rhythm鈥� [from Crazy for You], where I can just sit there and hold that C at the end of it, and that seemed to get me a lot of work. I kept using that song over and over again until a director went, 鈥淏eth, it鈥檚 so good to see you鈥濃攊t was for some summer stock audition鈥斺淵ou鈥檙e not going to sing 鈥業 Got Rhythm,鈥� are you?鈥� I was like, 鈥淗a, ha, no鈥�!鈥� Then I knew I had to expand my repertoire.
Now that you do have a book, what鈥檚 in there? When you started to find new songs, what were they?
I always try to find songs that are good for storytellers, and I鈥檓 not saying that I don鈥檛 have an 8-bar and a 16-bar cut, [but] that would be a different kind of audition. I remember auditioning for SETC, Southeastern Theatre Conference, where literally I had eight bars, and I sang [鈥淣obody鈥檚 Perfect鈥漖 from I Do! I Do! I just belted for six of those bars. But if I now have the privilege of singing an entire song, I like storytelling songs that have a beginning and a middle and an end (A lot of those are comedy ones. I do 鈥淓verybody鈥檚 Girl鈥� [from Steel Pier]) and that also serve the purpose of, 鈥淚 know I鈥檓 going to have to belt an E,鈥� or, if it鈥檚 a soprano role, [showing] my upper register. To find your go-to song, find what鈥檚 going to get you the work, what song makes you happy, what song really shows off your gift. When I found 鈥淚 Got Rhythm,鈥� before I overdid it, I [thought], 鈥淥h my gosh, this is me! This feels really good. This is going to get me work.鈥� And it did.
You said you teach. What advice do you give to students on finding that 鈥済o-to鈥� song?
One: it serves their voice. That鈥檚 the bottom line. We鈥檙e storytelling through our song, so it has to sound good in your voice. And, number two: I like when you can connect with the author鈥檚 intentions through your vehicle, really showing me why I need you to be the one to tell me that story through this song. I would rather see a really amazing actor perform the song than someone who has amazing technique.
You said that the audition scene is very different from when you first finished college. How have you seen it change? How have you gone into auditions differently throughout the years?
I鈥檝e seen a lot of showcases. We didn鈥檛 have that back when I came to New York in the 鈥�80s鈥� [Today鈥檚 aspiring actors] have these opportunities to come into these showcases and to present themselves to people in the industry, and I鈥檓 like, 鈥淲ow, what a privilege that is.鈥� They have a head start. I learned more in the moment when I moved to New York. You鈥檒l get to see what roles you鈥檙e getting cast in, so that鈥檚 [your] type. I鈥檓 still learning by trial and error, but I know the parts I鈥檓 going to be cast in. It changed for me after I won the Tony Award. I was presented with opportunities that I didn鈥檛 have to audition for, but I was established in what my type was. But people think I don鈥檛 have to audition after that, and that鈥檚 not true at all! I still audition a lot.
Do you think that type is diminishing, or do you think it鈥檚 still a big part of booking a job?
I think of myself as a certain type, but that doesn鈥檛 mean that I can鈥檛 do something else. Initially, when you鈥檙e just starting out in the business, it probably would behoove you to have roots in a certain type. Once you start working and getting a paycheck, then I think, 鈥淗i, whatever!鈥� I think 鈥渢ype鈥� has become a dirty word, and I鈥檓 not sure that鈥檚 necessarily true.
Where do you look for inspiration in new songs?
I get inspired by the work. I remember listening to [鈥淪he Cries鈥漖 that Jason Robert Brown wrote鈥攍istening to it and crying. When it viscerally affects you so deeply like that, I don鈥檛 have to do homework; I just have to step into that world, and it does it for me. I just have to be available for whatever the author鈥檚 intentions are鈥攚hatever the lyricist wants me to do. When I read a script, and I go, 鈥淥h my gosh, I want to sing about that emotion. I want to sing about that feeling. How do I do that?鈥�
Do you have a terrible audition story, or was there a song you used that you鈥檇 never use again?
Speaking of Jason Robert Brown, I brought 鈥淪urabaya Santa鈥� into an audition a long time ago, and that was so unfair to do to the accompanist 鈥� and it was unfair for me to go in unprepared. Note to self: Just go in there, and really know your stuff.
