This past February, Arielle Jacobs returned to Broadway as Jasmine in Disney鈥檚 hit stage adaptation of Aladdin at the New Amsterdam Theatre. She joined the New York cast of after starring in the 2016 Australian premiere of the musical. Jacobs made her Broadway debut in Lin-Manuel Miranda鈥檚 Tony-winning In the Heights, where she played Nina鈥攁 role she played on tour. Prior to Aladdin, she played Nessarose in Broadway鈥檚 Wicked, and has played leading roles in productions of Rent, Disney鈥檚 High School Musical, and Into the Woods.
Jacobs opens up her rep book to sing through some of her favorite songs, and reveals what she looks for when it comes to selecting the perfect pop song for an audition.
What do you look for when selecting an audition song? What in the material tells you that it will be successful?
Arielle Jacobs: I have to feel really confident in my voice, that it鈥檚 showing off what I want to show, but I also need to feel like it鈥檚 telling a story. It鈥檚 great if you pick a song that shows a lot of different colors, and it鈥檚 ideal if you can pick a song that might be similar to the emotional journey the character you鈥檙e auditioning for is going through. (If they don鈥檛 let you sing something from the show.) I try to pick a song that matches the emotional energy and whatever struggles the character is going through that I want to play.
What was the song you sang for the audition that booked your very first professional job?
鈥淚鈥檓 Not Afraid of Anything鈥� from Songs for a New World.
What did you sing when you auditioned for Aladdin?
For my very first audition for Aladdin I sang 鈥淗ome鈥� from Beauty and the Beast.
If given the option to pick a song of your own choosing, what are your go-to audition songs?
Most of my auditions, I get sides from the show itself. But sometimes they鈥檒l say, 鈥淪ing something that you love to sing.鈥� And when they say that, it鈥檚 usually a Jason Robert Brown song or a Stephen Schwartz song. I love 鈥淪park of Creation,鈥� and I used to sing 鈥淪tranger to the Rain鈥� a lot, both from Children of Eden. And I sing Sondheim sometimes. I sing 鈥淭ake Me to the World鈥� or 鈥淚 Remember鈥� from Evening Primrose, there are such beautiful visuals you can see during the song. And I also do a jazzy version of 鈥淏lue Moon.鈥�
What were some of the songs that you worked on when you were just starting out, or in school, that have remained with you?
鈥淗ome鈥� I鈥檝e sung since high school. 鈥淚鈥檓 Not Afraid鈥� I鈥檝e sung since college. And 鈥淧atterns,鈥� from Baby, I sing quite a bit. And also, 鈥淢uch More鈥� from The Fantasticks.
What鈥檚 the ideal warm-up for you ahead of a big audition? How do you make sure your voice is ready without overdoing it?
I like to do a short vocal warm-up right when I wake up. Five to ten minutes of humming and lip trills just to get my voice flexible. Then I stop singing and I鈥檓 quiet for a while. Maybe an hour or two later I鈥檒l do a full vocal warm up, which is maybe 25鈥�30 minutes, and then I鈥檒l sing through the song I鈥檓 going to sing at the audition later that day. Then I stop, and I鈥檓 quiet again until right before the audition. Depending on where the audition is, I will try to get there 45 minutes to an hour early and rent a studio for 15 minutes to sing through the song one more time and then I鈥檓 ready.
What song have you wanted to sing for an audition that you haven鈥檛 been able to?
鈥淵our Daddy鈥檚 Son鈥� from Ragtime. I sang that when I was in high school, and I love singing that song. I don鈥檛 know if I鈥檒l ever get to sing it.
Do you remember the first time you heard it?
I loved the cast album. In high school I used to listen to Ragtime. Sunset Boulevard was my favorite. Also Into the Woods and The Secret Garden.
What is your favorite pop song to sing at an audition?
鈥淭aking Chances鈥� by Celine Dion.
What makes a good audition pop song for you as an actor?
Well, in 鈥淭aking Chances,鈥� she sings, 鈥淲hat do you say to taking chances?鈥� So she鈥檚 talking to someone specific, so I can really create a story that makes sense for this song so I can actually act it as if I鈥檓 talking to somebody.
Is it hard to find pop songs that do that?
Yes. With a musical theatre song, the song is written to help the character figure something out. They are working through something in the lyrics in order to come to a decision about something. And those are the best songs to sing because they鈥檙e active. But a pop song, because it鈥檚 so repetitive, they鈥檙e not trying to figure something out. They鈥檙e just saying, 鈥淭his is how I feel. This is how I feel,鈥� over and over again, which isn鈥檛 very exciting to watch or to play as an actor. So it is very hard to find pop songs that l can connect with like that.
Accompaniment in the video above provided by Ben Moss.
