West End Calling is a national competition for musical theatre performers giving opportunities to young people all over the UK. Each year, we audition thousands of young performers in cities across the country to find the best talent the UK has to offer. After auditioning, successful contestants sing in live performances leading up to the Grand Final in a West End Theatre.
Our audition round is a great way to experience what professional auditions are like and get feedback from our expert panel on how to improve. This feedback is invaluable in the development of young performers and is the main reason we see so much improvement throughout the competition. Our panels are made up of West End performers who audition all the time as part of their job, so their expert advice is second to none.
Gaining experience is the best way to build confidence and we offer a safe space for performers to grow and develop.
Why take part in West End Calling?
COMPETITION OVERVIEW
The audition is in front of a panel of West End experts where you will sing a musical theatre song of your choice, before receiving feedback. They will then make a decision as to whether you have successfully gained a place in the heat round and you will be notified of this by email. Auditions last about 5 minutes per person.
The competition culminates at our Grand Final, at a theatre in London’s West End, where our final acts get to perform to a bigger audience to impress our Judges, who will select our Winner.
We have various awards available in the final including Best Vocal Performance, Best Acting Performance and of course our overall Winner!
THE AUDITION
The first round of the competition is the Audition. Here contestants will take part in an hour long workshop before going into their private audition to perform for our panel of West End judges, accompanied by our musical director on the piano.
For the Auditions, contestants are asked to prepare a 90 second audition cut of a musical theatre style song. They will need to bring sheet music for the pianist and will have a chance to talk through tempos and any cuts before they sing. After the audition, contestants will receive in-the-room feedback as well as having written feedback emailed out!
The add-ons available at the auditions are:
-
Professional Headshots
-
1:1 Workshop
What do I need to bring?
All you need to bring is your sheet music but feel free to bring some water with you, too!
Can I warm up in the audition?
Just like in a real audition, we don't guarantee space to warm up so make sure you warm up before you come!
How long does it take?
The group workshop lasts an hour and then the audition will take 5 minutes. Contestants will book a specific time slot when signing up.
Can a parent watch the audition?
As this initial round is a private audition, parents are unable to watch. However, friends and family can watch the heats!
AUDITION WORKSHOP
All auditionees will take part in an audition prep workshop included in the membership fee
HEADSHOTS
Contestants have Professional Headshots taken at the audition rounds.
1:1 WORKSHOP
A 15 minute 1 to 1 session with one of our team before your audition.
THE LIVE ROUNDS
The Live rounds are made up of the Regional Heats and the Semi-Finals. In these rounds, performers are asked to prepare a 3 minute cut of a musical theatre style song. Much like the audition, they will perform to a panel of West End judges and receive feedback on their performance, but this time there will also be a public audience! These rounds will be performed to backing tracks.
These regional heats typically have 20 performers in and are grouped according to age where possible. The judges will select who goes through to the next rounds along with an audience vote for 1 person per show! You will find out if you are successful via email, after the event.
The add-ons available at the live rounds are:
-
Professional Video
-
1:1 Workshop
-
Group Workshops
What do I need to bring?
You will have sent your backing track in advance so all you need to bring is some water
How long does it take?
Contestants will be with us for about 4 hours including rehearsals and the show
Do parents stay with contestants?
Once we sign in the contestants, they will be chaperoned until after the show so parents can go and come back at show time!
Will we use microphones?
Yes we have head set microphones.
Can I sing a pop song?
You can sing whatever song you like but part of the judges marking criteria is story telling so something in the style of musical theatre is best!
Do we need to wear a costume?
Generally contestants don't wear a full costume but a hint of your character in your outfit is sometimes nice.
GROUP WORKSHOPS
Various group workshops are available in the live rounds
PROFESSIONAL VIDEO
All of the performances are professionally filmed for use in showreels
1:1
WORKSHOP
A 15 minute 1 to 1 session with one of our team before your audition.
