culture: Dream Girls Korean production of “Dream Girls” New Musical Talent OD Musical Company Open Auditions
by johnnytalkback
Hunt for Hidden Gems
Applicants for the open audition for ‘‘Dream Girls” practice in a rehearsal room. According to the OD Musical Company, about 1,200 people applied for roles in the Korean production of “Dream Girls,” which will be staged in March next year. / Courtesy of OD Musical Company
Open Auditions Pave Way for New Musical Talent
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
Who will be Korea’s next top musical star? The answer may lie in on-going open auditions.
The open audition is becoming a good alternative to the current star-studded casting trend to recruit talented musical performers.
Recently, several local musical production companies are turning to reality TV shows to find new stars for their new musicals.
NDPK, one of the local major musical production firms, has just finished the fourth round of auditions to select the final seven leading roles for the Korean version of “Don Juan,” which will be staged in February next year.
Kim Yu-lee, an assistant manager at NDPK, said that more than 1,000 musical wannabes had auditioned.
“We’ve allowed all of the applicants to take part in the first round to give more opportunities to newcomers,” Kim told The Korea Times.
She said that 24 finalists spent three days June 22-24 in a workshop so that judges could observe each contestant thoroughly.
Applicants vary from well-known singers, actors and amateurs. But about half of the contestants are newcomers,” she said.
The NDPK puts high emphasis on singing ability among others and then impromptu tests requested by original creative team members such as Felix Gray in “Don Juan.”
“Recently, many people thought the open audition on reality TV show was just a promotion. But the open audition widens the scope of the musical fans and enhances transparency and fairness in the audition process,” said Kim.
She added that unknown musical actors can come into the spotlight through an open audition. “It is a different landscape from a year ago when we made the Korean production of `Notre Dame de Paris’ and we informally cast a big-name star for the main role. But the process is opening up to the audience and amateurs,” said Kim.
The NDPK will air its open auditions for “Don Juan” on a seven-week-long reality TV show on OBS TV starting June 27.
Also, the audition will be posted on the Internet portal of www.mgooon.com to give losers who narrowly failed in the final round another chance to win, through votes by the Internet users.
The portal site will provide opportunities for those who didn’t have the chance to participate in the audition through UCC files.
The process reflects the audience judgment through the diverse channels to attract more participation from the audience and non-professionals,” Kim said.
Recently, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” by the production company, Shownote, selected the 10th Hedwig through an open audition on a reality TV show.
Lee Joo-gwang, a rising actor, won the final round, becoming the 10th Hedwig. The audition was shown on Daum TV Pot with 13,054 Internet users participating in the selection process. The winner, announced on April 14, had to compete with other contenders in a two-month survival audition.
With the competition ratio of 400 to 1, he scored the highest in singing, acting and potential talent categories with unanimous agreements for the final winner through the three audition rounds.
Lee lost 14 kilograms to earn the role of Hedwig. “Lee’s enthusiasm was the most admired aspect in winning the audition. It is not easy to lose 14kg during the audition period. His passion for the role proves his potential. I am expecting a new enthusiastic Hedwig star,” Lee Ji-na, director of the musical, said.
The OD Musical Company is now launching auditions for “Dream Girls,” which will be staged in March next year.
According to the company, about 1,200 people have applied including renowned singers and movie stars, along with current musical actors. All the roles are supposed to be given to the winners who pass the auditions, according to the company.
The company held the first and largest open audition for its new production, “My Fair Lady,” which will go on stage in August.
The auditions for the musical are now airing on a cable channel, under the title of “Singing in the SKY,” sponsored by SKY, a mobile phone manufacturer. Twenty contenders compete for the approval of judges and viewers in this reality program that shows their hopes and frustration. Viewers can participate in the selection process by online voting.
Won Jong-won, musical critic and professor of Soonchunhyang University, who was a judge in the auditions for “My Fair Lady,” said that the open audition ultimately contributes to nurturing more musical stars.
“I saw one beautiful female contender who passed the first round but without much talent. We thought she would drop out soon. But surprisingly, she grew throughout the audition process and improved every week. She finally passed the final round,” said Won.
He said that the open audition is a thorough screening system to get a closer look at the potential of each participant over a longer period.
Won said the TV audition was a good medium to search for a star.
He said that the recent boom of relying on TV reality shows began with successful cases - BBC’s search for newcomers to play Oliver Twist and Nancy in the West End musical production of “Oliver” and renowned musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most recent production, “The Sound of Music.
“These open auditions are already gaining huge popularity on West End and Broadway. Such a trend is now emerging in the local musical scene,” said Won.
He said that the musical genre is an irreproducible content unlike other genres such as films and music. “Musical fans should go to the theater to see the production. The musical is the closest genre to the public. So it needs a star to attract them. The open audition helps the company generate new stars and train them,” he said.
“In that sense, the open audition through the TV reality shows is an alternative to the unstable pool of current musical actors. Just a handful of talented actors have fed the local musical industry. But such open auditions are giving a fresh impact on the local musical arena, in which a limited number of stars drove strong ticket sales. It will contribute to the quality of local musicals,” he said.
SM Art Company, a sister company of SM Entertainment and latecomer to the musical industry, will also launch an open audition to find a musical actress for the leading role of musical “Xanadu,” which will go on stage in September.