When preparing to showcase to agents, selecting material can be stressful! Should you use something from a role you’ve played? Should you sing the song you love to sing in the shower? Which piece do you pick? What do you stay away from?

Use the tips below to help you determine the best Showcase Pieces for YOU!

1. Find something that showcases your natural essence. This is their first experience of you! Let your personality out. Embrace who YOU are in this piece so they can see an authentic performance AND get a glimpse of who YOU really are.
2. Pick material that allows you to have fun making specific choices. Specificity is KEY! You should enjoy playing with your choices and getting them more and more specific. You should be able to identify who you are talking to and what you want. The more clarity the better.
3. Make sure the character/role is something you can play RIGHT NOW. Showcasing material that you can’t actually be cast in right now is a waste of time. Agents want to know how you can start working right now and what roles they can book you in TOMORROW– not 5 or 10 years from now. Think of the popular movie line– “Show me the money!”– show them the money! The money they can be making right now with YOU on their roster! In order to effectively do this– you need to make sure you are well aware of the types of roles that are out there for you.
4. Avoid anything very overdone or currently super popular. Something popular or overdone comes with lots of preferences or could cause you to be unfairly compared to another performer. It is always better to do something that will feel refreshing to your agent panel.
5. Use material that allows you to show range in both voice and emotion. Your piece should have a journey. Make sure it has levels. Showing one emotion gives off one trick pony vibes. Show emotional depth and creativity. When singing, make sure the piece shows good range– but be careful not to select a piece that has a note that you can’t always reach. You need to be confident that you can always hit the top or bottom notes.
6. Remember that the piece will never show EVERYTHING you can do. And that is ok. No one expects it to. You couldn’t ever possibly show everything in your tool kit in a single showcase piece and ALL INDUSTRY KNOW THAT. You are leading with your wheelhouse and with what you are best at.
7. If doing two pieces– make sure they really CONTRAST. They should show two very different styles, emotions, characters or vibes.
8. It should leave the audience wanting more of you. It never has to be long. It just needs to be good!

Hope these tips help you pick the piece that is best for you and that you enter your showcase with confidence!

Colleen Finnegan Kahl is an accomplished Theatre Arts Educator, author of this article, and President of Actors Connection. Colleen is an expert helping aspiring actors prepare for auditions and tryouts with Casting Directors and Talent Agents. Contact Colleen for more information. Photo provided by @jcruzweb.