The Audition, Part 2

As I sit here listening to the Next to Normal soundtrack, I realize I never did post a follow-up to the audition story... so to continue chronicling this journey of mine, here's how the second day of auditioning went.

I'll admit it - the second day was more nerve-wracking. I knew this was the day where they'd be testing your ability to pick up basic choreography and learn music. Having done mini-productions back in junior high school and having also been in an award-winning guys ensemble (haha, ok - so this was pre-puberty and in a competition of small Christian schools in the state), I knew somewhere deep down buried inside was the capability to "bring it". 

And then I walked inside and saw a girl in dancer's spandex and bending/contorting her body in ways that did not look comfortable to me at all... and that made me nervous. But all the kids/teens/adults around seemed fine. And I'd come to see we were definitely not going to be tested on our flexibility. 

Phase 1 of the night though was to pick up choreography. I've taken a few dance classes of the hip-hop variety and ballroom, and I'll say I'm in the DBNA-range when it comes to my capabilities in this arena, with the potential to be better after some liquid courage. But not too much - don't want to be sloppy! The steps we learned weren't too bad. The girls got it down rather easily, and I didn't feel so bad lumped in with all the guys. And luckily we didn't have to perform a dance solo! That would've been mortifying.

Phases 2 and 3 were learning songs from the show. Some people were obviously familiar with the music already. I mean, afterall it's Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice... serious theatre people tend to be familiar with their work. I, however, had no idea what was going on. I haven't held sheet music since 8th grade! So having to follow along with those pages took me back... phase 2 was seeing if we could learn to harmonize. Not bad, could do that before. Phase 3 was to learn a new song and sing it back solo, and to act it out. We had time to practice outside, so us guys went to practice. It was at this point that someone asked what high school I went to (Asians look young?) and if I played football (I guess I fill out my t-shirts better these days?)... anyways, when it came time to sing the solo, I didn't know that normally the song had a certain style to it... I just sang it straight/simple. I knew I could try to mimic what some of the other guys did, but then again, I wasn't trying to win a specific role. I just wanted to enjoy the experience and see how far I'd get in the process. 

And after that, night two was over and we were told we'd hear results the next day. And the next evening, I found out that I was cast as one of the brothers. It's a small part, but I do have a solo line to sing, and the brothers sing as a group quite a bit, so I still have a lot to learn! So far, it's been great. We've had two weeks of rehearsals now, and it's been exciting to be back in the thick of things. More thoughts on the whole process as the rehearsals progress!

The Audition, Part 1

As previously noted, I decided it was better late than never and that it was time to fulfill my 2009 goal of "go to an audition"... I've always kept watch of local theatre auditions, but never found one that I thought I should give a shot, until I saw an online posting from a local theatre company called Pickwicks Players for their upcoming production of "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat".

Never saw the show, but the listing said to prepare a 1-2 minute song and provided an email/phone # for more info... I emailed, stated how I have zero theatre experience, and they replied "no problem!" They consider themselves an educational theatre company, so having no resume whatsoever was not a problem. 

With my audition booked for Tuesday at 7pm, I started practicing to a song I knew very well... "All That's Known", from Spring Awakening. I found that it was comfortably in my range, and I love the show/song, so it was a good fit. Ordered the sheet music from Amazon, made a copy, and brought it with me. When I got to the audition, no one else was there yet, as you only show up for your time - you're not waiting around and watching everyone else. But since I didn't have a resume, I needed to fill out a quick form. While I did that, two girls came in with their resumes and headshots and each gave their audition. I didn't see, but I could hear from where I was waiting in the lobby... and they were really good and very theatre-voices. Also, a little Asian girl came in to audition too (around age 8 or 9), and even she had a headshot! So I felt unprepared, but I went about filling my form until they called me into the room. 

I gave my music to the accompanist as instructed, and he asked "so what tempo would you like me to play this?" I didn't know I had an option... so I believe my exact response was "Uhhhhhhh... the normal kind." What I didn't consider was the fact that this song isn't your typical audition song. It's not like "On My Own" from Les Mis, or some upbeat Broadway showcase song that everyone has heard before. Nope, I went with a song from the rock musical with swear words in it... at least this song is made to be played on the piano, so that worked. 

Singing to a live accompanist is a LOT different than just singing along to the CD... he started off much slower than the recording, so I had to adjust my singing on the fly to keep in step, meaning I had to think about my steps rather than just singing on autopilot. The song is normally 2 min even in length, but it dragged at the pace he was playing... my bad for not knowing, but now I know for any other future auditions. (I'll probably choose a different song though.) Anyways, I finished (hella nervous and shaky as I was) and they thanked me. As I walked away from the stage, the guy escorting me to the door told me "so they would like you to come back tomorrow." I'm guessing as my back was turned they gave him the secret signal of "yes", haha.

So that was night one. I wasn't expecting there to be a night two (which happened tonight - but more on that later), as my main goal was already accomplished just by showing up and doing it. And I'm so glad I did! I've missed this scene, and I'm happy to have put my fears aside. Officially crossed off the list!