Travel Hacks for Auditioning Singers
Travel Hacks for Auditioning Singers
5 Tips for Picking Audition Cities
I’m writing this as I sit on the plane on my way to NYC for my third trip of the year. I find that even though I’ve only been through 4 or 5 audition seasons, I’ve learned a lot about how to manage the financial, emotional, and physical stress that it takes to do all of this unpaid work. Here are a couple tips for those who might be new to the game!
1. Figure out which audition cities have the cheapest direct flights from your airport. I live in Denver, CO and needless to say, there are not many auditions that come through here or really anywhere nearby! Therefore, I have to fly out to audition for anything. I have not done an exhaustive search on cities and prices, but I do know that pretty much all auditions come through NYC and since I have a lot of points through Delta right now, I can book a roundtrip flight to & from JFK for as little as 25,000 points. So far this year, I’ve flown to and from JFK 3 times and booked the same schedule each time: Get to the airport at 10am, eat breakfast at the lounge, depart at 11:45am and get into NYC at 5:40pm, take the train to the city, eat dinner, sleep, wake up, warm up & audition, take train back to the airport to get a cocktail & dinner at the lounge, leave JFK at 3:30pm, get back to Denver around 6pm get a pizza with my husband and watch our favorite TV show:) Delta has the 11:45am flight pretty much every day so anytime I book to NYC I already have a routine in place! This has been really helpful for me as I’m traveling all the time, just some kind of predictability and routine.
2. Think about choosing cities where you know someone you can stay with. Hotel costs ADD UP. If you know you’ve got family or friends in a particular city, try to choose that option! Not only will you get a free place to crash, but you’ll get to see some familiar faces, get a few hugs, and feel more comfortable moving around the country which will inevitably help your body feel more at ease in your audition. I have a few friends in NYC and I love getting dinner or having tea the night before an audition! It puts me in a good mood and helps me feel loved & safe before heading into a potentially anxious situation.
3. Find cities nearby that you can potentially fly in and out of the same day. Again, this takes a little research and prior knowledge of flight schedules and prices, but if there is a city nearby that you can fly in and out of the same day, you won’t even have to worry about spending the night! In past years I’ve flown from Denver to Des Moines in the same day, leaving around 9am in the morning and getting back around 10pm - and it wasn’t bad! You also have to make sure it’s a company where they let you choose your audition time or a place that lets you swap audition times with other singers if the timing doesn’t work out. In any case, if there’s a chance you could fly in and out in a day with only a backpack, it can be very cost effective (esp if you’re flying airlines like Frontier or Spirit where they only let you bring a personal item).
4. Take transportation costs into consideration. You can save a lot of money if your audition city has good public transit to and from the airport. If you plan on taking an uber/lyft, make sure it’s widely available in the area! I once flew to a city (again, Des Moines) where I planned on taking an uber/lyft 15 min into town from the airport only to find out there were none available - none! So I had to rent a car for a day for $50. Just keep in mind that flights are not the only transportation costs!
5. Be wary of audition times near holidays. Flights around Thanksgiving or Christmas are much more expensive, just keep that in mind when choosing an audition city you have to fly to :)
In the end, these are just some helpful things to keep in mind - go out there and figure things out for yourself as well! So much of this process is learning on the fly and from your mistakes. Mistakes WILL happen and if you’re smart you’ll learn for next time and keep on keeping on! I hope my experience can at least alert you to some things that will help you save a bit of money and mental stress :)