Thursday, August 27, 2009

So, another audition story. I've been determined lately to wait around until a non-theatre related blog topic came to mind because I don't want to bore you all with my redundant themeage here. However, this one's too unique to pass up and frankly I want to be able to go back, read this and remember the bizarre experience. So feel free to consider this a self-indulgent blog for my memory's sake and not for any of you. Anyways, it was an audition for A Chorus Line. If I were to get a part it would be my third time doing this musical. One might say I'm addicted to the show. Ironically, I don't love the show itself. But, it has a lot of great parts and is one of very few shows out there where I feel like (in pre-professional theatre land) dance wouldn't hold me back from getting a role. I always knew the music and the general idea of the show but when I first saw it however many, many years back I remember thinking "okay... there are five people in this show I would love to play at some point" (do you know me? can you name them? haha). I consider myself lucky to have been able to play one of them already. This time around I'm hoping for one of three of the remaining four. (One too many numbers in that sentence there.... haha... one too.... one two....) Anyways.

I get there all prepared in my "I'm a dancer but not trying too hard" outfit, my dance bag full of 8 different kinds of dance shoes and my sheet music for a song that's slightly different from the style of the show but shows off both a lighter side as well as the big old belt, i.e. some variety and range all packed into 16 bars. I'm a little nervous, as always, and a bit frazzled because I was 5 minutes late for when the "optional" warm-up was supposed to start. However, nothing had begun yet and everyone was just sitting around so it was all good. My friend Janice was there too so I was very happy to know someone else there. About 8 of us showed up for the warmup. Now, I knew going into this that the choreographer was a ballet guy. Didn't know what to expect or how that whole ballet background thing would go over with this show or the audition. The warmup was a ballet barre. Okay, that's fine. Don't get to do much stretching really, but I can do that before the actual dance audition bit, right? Let me say that the fact that this was called an "optional warmup" was kind of silly. After the ballet barre we went center floor and then did stuff across the floor. Essentially he was assessing our basic skills. Turns. Kicks. Jumps. It was a Dance 101 class, "show me that you have the essentials down". I seriously bet that anyone who wasn't there for this "warmup" was at a huge disadvantage. Especially once we found out what the dance part of the audition would consist of. At the end of the warmup he threw on some salsa music, taught us one little cha-cha type step that we did a couple of times. I figured he was just trying to see if we could move a little more freely, with some personality. Then he tells us we're to do that salsa step and then improv for 16 counts. Fine. I can do that. Throws me off a bit but whatever. Then we're told we can leave and they'll call us in one by one in a bit. Naturally, I go and choreograph my 16 counts of "improv". Well.... I'm called in and the 16 counts goes by and then there's another 16 counts, and another, and some more.... in the end I ended up having to improv for about 3 minutes all while the choreographer shouted things like "show me something!.... and jump!... turn out of it... start from the top!" (the top of improv?). It was insane-o. Considering I haven't had an actual dance class in 2 years and that the basic ballet 101 warmup deal that brought me back to 4th grade nearly killed me, I was dead after 3 minutes. I'm out of practice and out of shape. But I did it and I did it as well as I possibly could, considering it was improv. Today, day after, I have that sore but strong thing going on... it feels good. Anyways, as each person was coming out of this 3 minute improv thing we all started talking, wondering if there would be an actual combination to learn, a legit dance audition if you will. I had a feeling that the improv would be it. I couldn't imagine going through 3 minutes with everyone to then teach and perform a combination as well. My guess was right. The salsa improv was the dance audition. I really think all they could have gathered from that was whether you had rhythm, some level of confidence, some personality, and I suppose some basic technique... assuming with your improv you decided to do some actual dance stuff versus all salsa stylistic things. When I list it out like that it does seem to cover the essentials but I didn't mean it to be a positive statement. haha. I just mean that a huge part of this show is technique and that wasn't necessarily seen unless some auditioner is an excellent improver. As for me, I decided mid move what I would do previously... my body was behind my mind. Wait... reverse that... mind behind the body. As a result I'd be prepping for a jump and deciding on my way up what jump to do and wondering on the way down what I just did. But I feel like I committed to everything, even if my mind was confused. Commitment is essential. On to the singing/acting component...

This part of the audition was a little more standard but very brief and still a little bizarre. The group of 8 of us or however many were all called in at once. We're told we're each going to read from the show and sing. They say "you're all singing from the show right?" to which everyone else responds with an immediate yes except Janice and I who look at each other, look back at them and then say "well, we can!". I guess with this place you're expected to sing from the show and that's pretty much it. Good thing I know the music. As I'm announcing what part I'd like to read for and sing I'm deciding which part I will read for and sing. Though I intended to ask to read for Val, I asked for Kristine at the last second, mainly because I'm nervous and you can be nervous when reading for her but Val has to be beyond confident. And then I sing Val's song. The accompanist played it literally about one-eigthth of its normal speed. No, that's not right. Much slower. It was painfully slow. Painfully. We didn't get a chance to set the tempo beforehand and I hate those auditioners who look at the pianist all panicked and annoyed like trying to get them to speed up. I had a feeling he wasn't going to follow if I sped up anyways... I halfway attempted it during one of the lines that's spoken but then ended up just having to wait for the music to catch up to me. So I sang my 4 bars or so of Dance 10, Looks 3 as a ballad. All's good. That's right, it was about 4 bars. Sure I'm an exaggerator and I'm exaggerating a bit here too but it was really short. And that was the audition. 3 minutes of improv dance, 10 seconds of singing, 8 seconds of dialogue. And from that they pick the line. How? I have no idea. I was going into this thing already with a "we'll see what happens" kind of attitude rather than a "I need to get this or I will cry with disappointment". Partly because 2 of the last 3 shows I did were Chorus Line so it wouldn't KILL me to not do it again so soon, partly because it is a long drive to rehearsals, partly because I'm already in a show right now, partly because I know other shows I could audition for instead if I don't get this and partly because I'm learning more and more to not put all my hopes into auditions because it usually leads to disappointment. Really, at this point I'm just curious... curious how this show will be run, curious how they'll cast it, curious as to what parts they may consider me for even if I'm not offered one (which I'll presumably find out when callbacks are announced). We shall see...