Broadway pianist and music director, Austin Cook, is guiding you step by step through building the perfect musical theater audition book. In this 4 part series, you will learn how to choose the right songs for your book, why you should choose them, how many to have, how to assemble them, how and why to mark cuts and notes for the accompanist, and how to rehearse and ultimately audition with your book. In part four, Austin finishes the series by showing you how to mark the music for dynamics, special markings, cuts, start and stop points, and gives general advice for preparing the music for a successful collaboration with your audition accompanist.

This episode was a long time coming. Self-tapes are now an industry standard, and it's expected that you submit a professional one. There are so many areas to discuss concerning self-tapes, and we've hit them ALL in this 48 minute video! If you stand a chance to book the role of your dreams, you need to stand out in the crowd. Let's get your self-tape updated and ready for success!

Broadway pianist and music director, Austin Cook, is guiding you step by step through building the perfect musical theater audition book. In this 4 part series, you will learn how to choose the right songs for your book, why you should choose them, how many to have, how to assemble them, how and why to mark cuts and notes for the accompanist, and how to rehearse and ultimately audition with your book. In part three, Austin continues the series by giving his advice on how to act a song.

In part two, Austin continues the series by helping you with where to locate the right style of sheet music for your audition. He shares his favorite sites for locating music and demonstrates how to print and assemble them. Then, he shares his equation for determining the correct number of bars to sing for your audition type. Last, he shares his thoughts on constructing the best arc for the audition cut.

There are a lot of things out of an actor's control, but there are a few things that are. Not doing the right things in your audition can cost you the job! On today's episode, Austin is giving you 10 ways to NOT book the audition.

Broadway pianist and music director, Austin Cook, is guiding you step by step through building the perfect musical theater audition book. In this 3 part series, you will learn how to choose the right songs for your book, why you should choose them, how many to have, how to assemble them, how and why to mark cuts and notes for the accompanist, and how to rehearse and ultimately audition with your book.

We've all been there. You work really hard on prepping for your audition only to have the audition accompanist wreck your hard work! How do you respond in the moment and how do you prevent it from happening ever again? This week Austin is revealing his top 10 tips to deal with a bad audition pianist. Let us know how you respond to this situation in the comments!

We've upgraded our setup for you! We are very excited to launch our new series "10 Audition Tips" where each week, Austin will give you 10 of his best tips for different aspects of your musical theater audition. On this week's episode, Austin is helping you nail your collaboration with the accompanist! If you implement these tips, you are guaranteed to have a much better experience with the dreaded audition pianist!

Broadway is BACK y'all and we are 100% in! We went to see Antoinette Nwandu's Pass Over at the August Wilson theatre, directed by Danya Taymor and we are giving our review. Spoiler Alerts throughout... so if you have plans to see the play, wait to watch this episode after and give us your thoughts! So glad we got a chance to see this show before Adrienne went back to The Lion King!

Watch as Adrienne Walker (Nala in The Lion King) and her husband Austin Cook (Hamilton music associate) chat about their opening night experiences!

BROADWAY is BACK ya'll! Let's celebrate! We thought you might enjoy a play by play of what the rehearsal process is like for the re-opening. Thanks for watching and sharing!

Broadway actor Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) is asking Broadway pianist and music director Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) 25 questions that every musical theater actor is dying to know! In part three, we continue answering questions that you have submitted to us over the last few weeks, as well as asking the hard questions that every actor wants to know about their auditions, casting, rehearsals, first impressions and so much more.

Broadway actor Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) is asking Broadway pianist and music director Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) 25 questions that every musical theater actor is dying to know! We are answering questions that you have submitted to us over the last few weeks, as well as asking the hard questions that every actor wants to know about their auditions, casting, rehearsals, first impressions and so much more.

Broadway actor Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) is asking Broadway pianist and music director Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) 25 questions that every musical theater actor is dying to know! In part two, we continue answering questions that you have submitted to us over the last few weeks, as well as asking the hard questions that every actor wants to know about their auditions, casting, rehearsals, first impressions and so much more.

Broadway actor Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) and Broadway pianist and music director Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) are sharing their favorite Broadway shows on today's episode of Broadway Banter! It's so hard to choose favorites, and this list is sure to change!

Broadway actor Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) and Broadway pianist and music director Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) are sitting down to discuss 30 things that every musical theatre actor should know. Of course, there are hundreds of things that could have made this list, but we are discussing some of our top picks. A working actor should be in constant pursuit of sharpening their skills and tools.

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to discuss the world of online submissions. Because of Covid-19, most auditions moved to an online format. With that move, came thousands of actors submitting themselves for roles. As the casting agencies sift through submissions, how do you stand out and get seen. On today's episode of Broadway Banter, we are discussing everything you need to know about giving a great online audition submission.

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to discuss their experiences with agents over the years. Adrienne is currently represented with an agency while Austin is not. They are giving you both sides of the argument on today's episode of Broadway Banter. Whether you are looking for an agent or unsure if you are with the right one, we are breaking down everything you need to know!

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to discuss the pros & cons of being a union actor. While being a union actor is great, there are many reasons why it may not be the right decision for you. Join us in the conversation!

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to discuss the pros & cons of being a non-union actor. While being a union actor is great, there are many reasons why it may not be the right decision for you. Being non-union gives you many opportunities to hone your skills and prepare for the future.

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to discuss the eight worst audience members they witnessed as both an audience member and an actor. Don't be this person!

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to share with you their 6 worst survival jobs! Over the years, they have worked a lot of random jobs while they waited for the phone to ring in hopes of landing the next great role!

It was a long and difficult journey that took years of trial and error. On today's episode of Broadway Banter, Austin is all alone telling you the story of how he made it to Broadway, conducting Broadway's biggest show, Hamilton. The journey was long and hard, full of missteps, luck and close calls. We hope his story encourages you to keep going and continue on your own journey, wherever you are headed. Who knows? Your dreams may be just around the corner!

The time has finally come! Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to talk about their lifestyle change in their nutrition, diet and exercise! It has been a long and difficult 18 months, but now that Broadway has announced their return. Adrienne and Austin are sharing their plans to prepare and that begins with the food they consume and exercise goals. In this episode of Broadway Banter, Adrienne shares the many fad diets she has tried over the years and what she and Austin are doing now to making lasting changes.

It's mail day! Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to open the mail you have been sending us. Thanks for the continued love and support. Get out your pen and paper, 'cause we are answering the questions YOU asked! Keep 'em coming. Leave us your comments and questions and you may be featured on the next episode!

It's happening! Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to talk about the return of Broadway! Many shows have made their announcements on their return, and we have thoughts! It's been a long 14 months and we have another 4 months before the first shows return on September 14th.

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to talk about understudies! Covers, Standbys, Swings, it's all here. They have both been understudies themselves in multiple productions and are giving you the scoop on what to do, how to approach it and what it takes to be an understudy.

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down for his first solo show of Broadway Banter to tell you how to make the perfect 32 Bar Cut for your auditions! It's not as simple as just picking 32 bars to sing and sounding good. You really must put in the prep work and rehearse!

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to prepare you for your 1st day of rehearsal! The 1st day of rehearsal can be overwhelming if you aren't prepared ahead of time. Luckily, Adrienne and Austin are giving you their tips and tricks for having a successful first day of rehearsal.

Broadway pianist and MD Austin Cook (Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen) is sitting down with Adrienne Walker (The Lion King, Kiss Me Kate) to watch her original audition tape for "Nala" in Disney's THE LION KING on Broadway! They are watching this video with you for the first time together!