The Audition

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flickr:4946114680
easy.png
players.png ~7-10
time.png 15 min

Quick solo improvised performances are auditioned to create 3 duo sets. The duos compete against each other to win the best performance. All conducted within a seamless stretch of music.

Setup

Choose one conductor.
Then make groups of 3 players each. If needed, depending on how many players there are, an occasional group of 4 will work.

Form

Seamless music throughout
Group #1:
#1 SOLO (30 sec) -> #2 SOLO (30 sec) -> #3 SOLO (30 sec) -> #1 DUO (2 min) ->
Group #2:
#4 SOLO (30 sec) -> #5 SOLO (30 sec) -> #6 SOLO (30 sec) -> #2 DUO (2 min) ->
Reject Duo (2:00)
END
VOTE

Gameplay instructions

In this example, we have 7 people. 1 conductor. 6 players with 3 players in Group #1 and 3 players in Group #2.

Start with Group #1.
Give each player in the group 30 seconds to individually solo improvise.
Keep the music going between players. When the 30-second mark approaches the conductor will point to the next player. That player comes in as the previous player stops playing. A bit of "bleeding" can carry over from one player to the next, similar to a crossfade - it doesn't have to be a strict jumpcut.

Continue until all 3 players have auditioned.

During each solo audition the conductor should be considering which 2 players would work best together.

Near the end of the 3rd player’s auction the conductor will choose and point to 2 of the 3 players. Leaving 1 out - The Reject.

Conduct the 2 chosen players to come in together.
The appointed players improvise together as a duo for 2 minutes.

So far the form will look like this:

Group #1:
#1 SOLO (30 sec) -> #2 SOLO (30 sec) -> #3 SOLO (30 sec) -> #1 DUO (2 min)

Nearing the 2 minute mark the conductor points to Player #4 in Group #2 to solo improvise as the duo stops playing. Repeating the same process as Group #1.

At this point the form will look like this:

Group #1:
#1 SOLO (30 sec) -> #2 SOLO (30 sec) -> #3 SOLO (30 sec) -> #1 DUO (2 min) ->
Group #2:
#4 SOLO (30 sec) -> #5 SOLO (30 sec) -> #6 SOLO (30 sec) -> #2 DUO (2 min)

At the end of Group #2’s duo (2:00), the conductor points to the 2 previous players who were left out, The Rejects. They play for 2 minutes at which point the conductor conducts them to stop. The playing part of the game is over.

The final form will look like this:

Group #1:
#1 SOLO (30 sec) -> #2 SOLO (30 sec) -> #3 SOLO (30 sec) -> #1 DUO (2 min) ->
Group #2:
#4 SOLO (30 sec) -> #5 SOLO (30 sec) -> #6 SOLO (30 sec) -> #2 DUO (2 min) ->
Reject Duo (2:00)
END

Game end

Now it’s time to vote for the best duo. Everyone votes, including the conductor. You can't vote for your own duo. The duo with the most votes wins!

If you like, you can change conductors, shuffle the groups, and play the game again!


Variants

Larger groups are possible.
This particular version focuses on duos. You can try trios or even quartets.

For a longer game with 6 players and 1 conductor, you can keep going after The Reject Duo.
Near the end of The Reject Duo, the conductor points to 3 players.
The Reject Duo is conducted to stop at the 2:00 mark and the newly appointed trio comes in and plays for 3 minutes.
The conductor conducts them out after the 3:00 mark and conducts the remaining 3 players in to improvise together for 3 minutes.
Finally, this final trio is conducted out and the playing part of the game is over. Vote on the best trio. This trios extended version is about 16 minutes in length, including 1 minute for voting.

Designer-composer

Marcus Staniec (notrightmusic)


alias: The Audition


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