How to Prepare for a Universal Studios Japan Audition

Universal Studios Japan has started accepting audition applications too!

Overall, I feel like auditions across the entire performer industry have been starting earlier this year.

So, let’s talk about how to prepare for an audition.

There is one thing I can say for sure:

You cannot expect to pass an audition if you only start preparing after the audition announcement comes out.

Why?

Because, for example, this year’s USJ audition started about two to three months earlier than usual.

Some of you may have assumed, “It’ll probably be around the same time as always,” and thought you still had plenty of time.

And now you might be panicking because it turns out you didn’t.

I always tell my students this:

Singers, dancers, and actors are skilled professionals.

As performers, our dream is to become professionals who make a living by selling our skills.

So, when you think of other professions that require specialized skills, what comes to mind?

Sushi chefs, swordsmiths, chefs, painters, carpenters…

There are countless others.

But what all of these professions have in common is that they require years of specialized training and practice.

Imagine there were a competition to determine the best sushi chef in the world.

Do you think those chefs would start training just two months before the competition?

Or would a carpenter start practicing three months before they were supposed to build and sell a house?

If that were the case, you probably wouldn’t have very high expectations for the final product.

What we want is something authentic.

Something highly skilled.

Something that can move people.

And that is exactly what companies are looking for, too.

A piece of sushi made by a craftsman who has spent years studying and practicing every single day.

A house built by someone who has gained years of experience through countless trials and errors.

Don’t you think those kinds of things have a much greater ability to move people?

The same applies to us as performers.

You cannot become a true skilled professional by simply preparing one song over a short period of time.

Whether your audition is 16 bars or one minute long, all of the effort, experience, and training you have accumulated throughout your life will inevitably show up during those few minutes.

I know this sounds harsh, but simply getting one song ready is not enough to get you hired.

This industry is extremely competitive, and the opportunities are ultimately available to only a small number of people.

And I’m sure those people may never say it out loud, but they have probably spent years working harder and more consistently than the people around them could ever imagine.

That is the kind of result this profession requires.

Now that it has become harder to predict when auditions will be announced, you need to develop the skills to be ready whenever an opportunity comes your way.

“Wow, you were lucky.”

“You just had perfect timing.”

That doesn’t really work in this industry.

When an opportunity comes your way, you need to have the skills to live up to the expectations that come with it.

Otherwise, that “luck” won’t actually become an opportunity for you.

But if that lucky break does come your way and you are ready for it, then maybe it isn’t really luck at all.

It is the result you earned through all the hard work you put in beforehand.

Keep working consistently, little by little, every single day.

That is not just the key to passing a Universal Studios Japan audition.

It is one of the most important principles for succeeding in any industry.

So, how are you going to spend this limited time you have right now?

The choice is yours.

Mayu