The Industry Guide to Musical Theatre Auditions: Interviews with West End Creatives on How to Get the Part

’When we’re seeing hundreds of hundreds of people, you just stood out, and now I’m intrigued.’
Laurence Connor, director

Be the one standing out in your next audition, through the insight and experience of an elite group of West End creatives who have cast hundreds of shows.

In The Industry Guide to Musical Theatre Auditions, sixteen directors, musical directors, choreographers, and casting directors, reveal what the casting panel is truly looking for. They discuss the whole audition process from submissions and first rounds to recalls, finals, and casting. They explain what makes an effective self-tape, how to stand out in a dance call, what song to choose, and how to work with a director. And they reveal the values that matter most to them when casting a performer so that you can be the artist and the professional they are looking for.

Get first-hand guidance and advice from Sir Matthew Bourne, international directors Laurence Connor, Rupert Goold, and Sir Richard Eyre, three-time Olivier Award winning choreographer Stephen Mear, Tony Award-winning musical director Sarah Travis, casting directors Jim Arnold (Wicked), Pippa Ailion (The Lion King), Stuart Burt (Cabaret) and David Grindrod (Mamma Mia!), and more.

This book is for anyone interested in performing in Musical Theatre, from students to professionals. It also gives valuable insight to teachers, coaches, and researchers, looking to shape Musical Theatre education to today’s industry standards.

Shaun Aquilina is a writer, director, and performer. He has taught on the Musical Theatre degrees of many of the UK’s leading conservatoires and universities. He is also the author of Musical Theatre for the Female Voice: The Sensation, Sound, and Science, of Singing.

Shaun Aquilina is a writer, director, and singer. He has taught at many of the UK’s leading conservatoires and is Course Director for Musical Theatre at Anglia Ruskin University. His first book, Musical Theatre for the Female Voice: The Sensation, Sound, and Science of Singing, was published in 2022.