Meg Brockie: I'm highly attracted to you. Why, when I look at you, I feel wee tadpoles jumping in my spine.

April 28, 2009 11:21 AM

I'm going to be auditioning for a musical theater role in a month, and could use some advice on how to prepare.

My theater group is going to be putting on Brigadoon this fall. I haven't auditioned for any theater roles in seven years (I've worked backstage), and there's a certain amount of pressure, as everyone in my theater group recently learned that I can sing.

I'm going to be auditioning for the role of Meg Brockie, and here's what I'd like to know:

1. What would be a good song to audition with? If I recall correctly, one doesn't audition with a song from the show one is auditioning for, but with one from a show and character with a similar style. I have The 16-Bar Theatre Audition - Belter (Mezzo-Soprano) so it would be easy to take a song from there, but I am open to all suggestions.


2. What are good resources for learning a Scottish accent? I have a good ear, so audio resources would be helpful, and I studied linguistics in college, so resources in IPA would be, too.


3. Have you seen a good performance of this role? If so, what did the actor do that made it work? (Meg Brockie seems like a character that could easily be played in an annoying fashion.)


Your expertise is much appreciated.

posted by ocherdraco to media & arts (10 comments total)

Regarding number two, you can figure out how different people sound when they say:
"Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station."
That website has both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
posted by Greg Nog at 11:33 AM on April 28 [2 favorites]

It's been a while, but I was in Brigadoon once. If I recall. Meg Brockie is so extreme because she's so passionate. So don't think of her as off the wall, think of her as the most passionate person ever, incapable of controlling herself.

Off hand, "Shy" from your book seems like a possible fit.
posted by stray at 11:57 AM on April 28

"Braveheart" would be a good example of something to watch to hear a variety of Scottish dialects. Pay attention to, and try to hear the music of the language, the cadence. That, rather than strict pronunciation, will go the furthest towards "selling" the accent to the listeners. Having said that, I have a bit of talent with dialects, but almost met my match with trying to produce a believeable Scottish accent for a play. It's tricky and counterintuitve, but with some work, I got there. It just takes a lot of hearing and repetition. Also, from "So I Married An Axe Murderer," Mike Myers' father (grandfather?) does a fully blown Scottish dialect. Listen to it for the music, then dial it back about seventeen notches. That should get you to where you want to be.
posted by Spyder's Game at 12:17 PM on April 28

Also, there are some who have had a great deal of success with the "Acting With An Accent" series. Here's a link to the reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Acting-Accent-Scottish-David-Stern/product-reviews/0926862057/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
posted by Spyder's Game at 12:22 PM on April 28

YouTube is your new best friend. You'll be able to find bootlegs of professional singers doing the role, as well as many, many anateur takes ranging from the horrifyingly bad to the sublime. Because it's a play and a movie, experiment with searching terms like Brigadoon + play, or +theater, or +theatre to get Brit and Canadian productions.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:26 PM on April 28

I have that book too and it's got good arrangements of the best chunks of songs. You're ahead right there.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:05 PM on April 28

"I Cain´t Say No," from Oklahoma, is apparently in your book, and in your vocal range. I think Ado Annie is a pretty reasonable analogue to Meg -- if you can sell sweet, flighty and desperate in one potentially goofy accent without drowning in corniness, it´s a fair bet you could do it in another.
posted by dr. boludo at 4:19 PM on April 28

We just finished this play at school a few days ago. What the girl that played Meg in our play did was they were as annoying/obnoxious as possible. The audience thought this was hilarious.
posted by Deflagro at 5:34 PM on April 28

Thanks for the help, folks.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:28 PM on April 28

Good luck!!!
posted by Spyder's Game at 11:32 AM on April 29