When preparing to submit your musical theatre songs to a cabaret or festival (like our Musical Writers Festival or a New Works Cabaret), it’s important to make sure it’s performer-ready.  This step-by-step guide will help you audit your completed musical theatre song submission from multiple perspectives. Most importantly, the changes you make as you work through each audit will elevate your song’s professionalism and performability.

What is “A SAD Elevator”? (And what does it have to do with song submissions?)

“A SAD Elevator” is an acronym that outlines five essential audits for your musical theatre songs:

  1. A = Actor’s Audit
  2. S = Singer’s Audit
  3. A = Accompanist’s Audit
  4. D = Demo Audit
  5. E = Elevator Pitch

Working through each of these audits, one by one, to help your song connect with performers, resonate with audiences, and suit most performance and submission needs.

A = “Actor’s Audit” for Song Submissions

Evaluating your song from the actor’s perspective ensures it supports their emotional journey and storytelling. A well-crafted song will feel actable and compelling.  Answer the following questions to reveal opportunities for improvement in your song lyrics.

  1. Why does the character NEED to sing right now?

    Songs in musicals often arise from heightened emotions, or serve purposes like world building, conflict expression, or comic relief. Define WHY this moment needs music. If you struggle to answer this question, you may want to re-evaluate your song-spotting, or consider a rewrite.

  2. Do the lyrics reflect the character’s identity and current situation?

    Read your lyrics like a monologue. Do they align with the character’s voice and the musical’s world?  Evaluate aspects like vocabulary, complexity, metaphors, and rhymes. Stephen Sondheim himself is on record expressing regret over some of his lyrics in “I Feel Pretty” because they do NOT authentically reflect Maria’s background or identity — would a non-native English speaker like Maria say “it’s alarming how charming I feel”? Probably not.  Make sure your character’s lyrics align with their character traits and experiences.

  3. What journey does the singer/audience undertake during the song?

    Clarify the character’s obstacle, tactics, and resolution. Identify shifts in emotion or strategy for repeated sections. What is the character trying to accomplish with the words they are singing?  Even though the character motivation is clear for you, does it come through on the page from the lyrics alone?

  4. Would the lyrics feel more natural without worrying about rhymes or meter?

    If your rhymed lyrics feel stilted or forced, try rewriting lyric sections without musical constraints. If the rewritten lines feel stronger than the originals, see if you can elevate your rhyming and metering skills to come up with a better musical version?

For further reading and “Actor’s Audit Improvements,” check out the article Writing Lyrics: With a Song in Their Hearts

S = Singer’s Audit

Before submitting your song, it’s important to ensure that its vocal lines are sing-able and appropriate for its intended performers. Are you primarily writing for trained professionals or untrained students? Regardless of your song’s intended performers, the following questions are relevant:

  1. Are the highest notes song on open vowels?

    Avoid placing difficult vowels like “eee” or “ih” on high notes.

  2. Does syllable emphasis feel natural?

    Check that melodic phrasing aligns with natural word stress.

  3. Are the vocal ranges reasonable?

    Ensure harmony parts and ensemble sections – and solos, though those are easier to transpose if needed – are achievable for the voice types you intend to sing them.

  4. Does the song’s difficulty align with its intended purpose?

    Evaluate factors like range, tessitura, leaps, dissonance, breath support, and ease of memorization.

For more information, check out these articles: Writing for Today’s Musical Theatre Performer, How to Identify Your Voice Type and Range

A = Accompanist’s Audit for Song Submissions

Your Piano/Vocal score is often the first impression your song makes – and often the first and only thing that will be evaluated when submitting your songs for an opportunity like a MusicalWriters New Works Cabaret. A clear, professional score helps ensure your song is performed accurately and efficiently.

  1. Do you have the proper number and labeling of staves?

    Two piano lines (right and left hands) and necessary vocal lines (written in the treble clef) are standard. A lead sheet or lyric sheet is NOT enough.

  2. Have you added chord symbols?

    Chord symbols make your score easier to play, by piano accompanists and other added instrumentalists.

  3. Do you have a stylistic guideline included with your song tempo at the beginning of your score?

    Tempo descriptors like “exuberantly,” “tentatively,” or “like a crouched tiger, waiting to pounce” help set the tone for the music and the performance.

  4. Are your musical lines playable?

    If you are using a transcription tool to create your accompaniment, it is possible that your score might include unplayable lines, mismatched key signatures, or overly complex rhythms. If you are not a piano player yourself, make sure that someone who is at least moderately good at piano attempts to play through your score, letting you know what parts are overly confusing or unplayable.

  5. Have you eliminated odd spacing or extra empty lines?

    Make adjustments to your line breaks as needed to avoid having many empty lines on a page.

For more information, check out these articles: How to Integrate Your Script and Score, What Music Preparation Is and Why You Need It

D = Demo Audit

Many song submission opportunities require the submission of a musical demo. While this does not necessarily have to be a professionally-recorded cast album, you should still take what steps you can to ensure your demo recording is easy to listen to and helpful for potential performers.

  1. Are your files accessible for their listener without having to log into a specific account?  

    Sharing audio files via Google Drive, for example, works well, but it’s easy to forget to modify your sharing settings. Try accessing linked audio files in your browser’s incognito mode to ensure they are playable by everyone you need to listen to them.

  2. Did you follow all submission guidelines for file types and naming conventions?

    If you are submitting an mp3 file, you may be asked to include specific information in the file name of that mp3, such as the composers name. Or you may be asked to strip all identifying material from the file. Make sure you read the song submission guidelines carefully, and follow given directions when it comes to how your demo files are shared.

  3. Have you used any DAW Software to enhance or layer your recording? 

    There are many cheap and free tools available (like GarageBand or SoundTrap) for creating and enhancing audio recordings.  Even a recording made on a cell phone could work for a song submission, especially if it’s cleaned up a bit in a DAW.  If you are not comfortable using audio editing software, you may want to consider outsourcing your demo production to someone else.

For more information, check out the article Sharing Musical Demos and Videos Online (via Google Drive)

E = Prepared Elevator Pitch for Your Submitted Song

No matter the event where you are submitting your song to be performed, having a well-crafted pitch can be incredibly helpful. This pitch may be something that you – or another performer – shares verbally before a song is sung, or it might just be something you include via text when sending in your song for consideration. When creating your song pitch, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. What is my goal with this submission or performance?

    Are you hoping the audience will choose to purchase or download your sheet music? Maybe you want to drum up interest for an upcoming production.  Maybe you just really want to hear your song performed. Whatever your motivation, state it clearly for yourself before crafting your own submission pitch or performance intro. What is the best case scenario that could come from this reading or performance?

  2. What barriers are likely to get in the way of this goal?

    Is it possible that your piece wouldn’t be selected because it is too high or too difficult for the available performers? Maybe the audience wouldn’t be moved by the performance because they don’t understand the backstory between characters in the song. Is it possible your listener might be so focused on your groovy chorus that they wouldn’t listen to the bridge that you’re hoping for feedback on?  Make a note of any of these potential barriers.

  3. What information can I include in my pitch to overcome these barriers?

    You’re not writing the pitch yet, but coming up with a list of possible things to include, such as: “Lower key available upon request,” “It’s important to know that these characters have long-standing feelings for each other, but are never able to act on them due to circumstances beyond their control,” etc.

  4. How can I concisely and memorably combine the important information and points I’ve listed above into an appropriate and effective pitch?

    Keep in mind any constraints given for the pitch – like word count or time limit.  You may have to pick and choose between elements on your list to fit in these constraints. You may even want to use an AI tool like ChatGPT to help you craft the most compelling pitch you can in the least amount of words or time.

For more information and tips, check out the article Pitching vs. Submitting – What’s the Difference and Are You Ready?

Conclusion

While any one of the audits shared in the article can help you improve your song  – and the chances of your pitch or song submission being successful – we’d encourage all composers to work through the entire framework.

As a reminder, it is:

A = Actor’s Audit
S = Singer’s Audit
A = Accompanist’s Audit
D = Demo Audit
E = Elevator Pitch

By auditing your songs through this “A SAD Elevator” framework, you can help ensure that they are actable, sing-able, playable, and memorable!  This will help your work stand out to cabaret and festival selection committees, while also resonating with performers and audiences alike.

For More Help

If you are interested in outsourcing some of these audits or improvements, consider MusicalWriters.com’s variety of coaching and audit services, including a Piano/Vocal Score Audit and a Pre-Submission Prep & Review.

Click HERE to view and learn more about all of our audits and support services.

And if You’ve Made It This Far…

Please consider joining MusicalWriters as a Member! MW Members have the opportunity to submit to many different performance opportunities throughout the year, including our annual Festival and various New Works Cabarets. Selected works are performed by amazing Dallas-area singers, and – in addition to the performance credit – you’ll have a high-quality video recording of the your selected songs to share on social media, YouTube, etc.

Submissions due Monday, March 3rd for our next New Works Cabaret!

Selected songs will be showcased on April 25-26, 2025 in Arlington, TX.