The Audition

This is a photo I took at an audition last week for part of the 7 Days project over on Flickr (it's fun! you should play!).  Since I knew I had an audition right in the middle of the project, I had this idea for a photo in mind.  Think of the end of the opening number of A Chorus Line, when the auditioners line up across the stage, holding their headshots in front of their faces.  That's the general idea.

Once I played around with the color a little bit, this was the end result.  And I'm kind of obsessed with how it turned out. It's not perfect.  I'm in a bathroom, and you can pretty much tell there's a toilet behind me.  The centralized color is the best I could do with the free version of Picnik.  Ideally, you wouldn't be able to see me holding the camera.  But that's okay...because I think all of that is kind of symbolic of an audition.

Rarely is the audition perfect.  If you give perfect auditions, please, write a book and make millions sharing your secret with the rest of us goobers who sweat and shake and stammer and do our best to keep from getting cotton mouthed or short of breath right before a high note in a song!

So how did this audition go? I feel like it went really well.  I always set personal goals when I go into an audition, and the weight and number of goals varies with each circumstance.  Sometimes I know that the audition is purely for audition experience.  There may not actually be a viable option for me in a particular production, but I will go....either because I want to try out a new monologue or song, get my face in front of a certain director at a certain theatre, or just to test the fates and make a director say, "Huh...she is not what I had in mind at all for this show, but let's see what she can do." 

But I also love this photo because it's a bit symbolic.  Ideally, you look very similar in person (aka "in real life") as you do in your headshot, but hopefully your headshot kind of rocks.  When you walk out of the room, you want to leave with them a tangible bit of you that reminds them "Hey, I was the short, curvy girl with the hair that you weren't sure was red or blonde or some magical combination of the two!"  But really, you're leaving them with just an image.  A small piece of who you really are as a performer.  You hopefully add to that with your audition, whether it's a monologue or a cold reading or 16 bars (carefully selected to include a slow section, maybe part of the bridge and at least one good money note), but even still...they're only getting a piece of you.  It's just up to fate (also known as The Production Team) whether or not what they see is enough to bring you back for more...or offer you a place in the production.

You know? I almost think I'm starting to like the audition process.  It's such a personal challenge. You basically get a chance to, for a few minutes, have all eyes on you. It's your chance to sell yourself.  That's why I will never understand those who walk into auditions unprepared (not having read the script of the show beforehand, not having a song selection, etc.).  YOU control those few precious moments, so do as much as you can with them! 

And at a callback or a cold reading?  You're getting the opportunity to play this role, even if it's just for a few minutes and a line or two. Make the most of it!  Make choices.  Look at your scene partner or, if you're alone in the scene/reading, really make strong choices! Even if you're wrong, let the director see that you are making an effort and, if you're cast, he or she will steer you in the right direction during rehearsals. (All of this is expanded upon in a GREAT book called, appropriately enough, Audition, which I highly recommend.)

One thing I also noticed at this last audition...please, for the love of everything good and holy and pure...shut up.  Watch what you say in the lobby.  Watch your language.  Don't analyze every second and every note of your audition loudly so that you ensure everyone around you hears about it.  Because frankly?  Nobody cares.  I know that sounds rude, but it's true.  Everyone else is concerned about one person there: their own self and their own audition. 

....not sure where I'm going with all of this really.  I've just been thinking about auditions a lot lately as the next round or two comes up for me, personally.  And I've just been kind of bullet-pointing things that are on my mind about them:

• Be confident
• Make choices
• Think about what you're wearing before going (especially if movement may be involved).
• Be nice to your accompanist.  Introduce yourself, ask his/her name, THANK them.
• Thank everyone, for that matter.
• Be pleasant the entire time you're there.  You never know who is watching/listening.
• Be prepared.

....what would you add to that list?

Outside the Box

"Talking of Michelangelo" image (originally uploaded to FightBoy Theatre)

Due to the recent surge in some of my closest friends and colleagues encouraging me to step outside the box, leave my comfort zone, try something new, etc., last week I went to two auditions that pretty much scared the hell out of me. But, due to the strong desire to have something other than the two (wonderful!) Denton musical theatre companies on my resumé, I swallowed my fear and got my audition materials ready for the week.

The first audition was for a concert version of Show Boat at Lyric Stage in Irving, TX, which will not even begin rehearsals until January of 2010. Lyric is a highly respected company in this area, due to their diligence in producing beautiful productions with full, lush orchestras. The thought of working with a theatre of this caliber, especially after performing my last role to a recorded orchestra, was too wonderful to pass up. I don't have high expectations for this one, especially due to it being my first audition outside of community theatre, well,....ever. I just wanted to feel as though I did my best and gave a good audition. I think that I achieved that. The jury is still out on casting, as far as I know, but overall I'm pleased with the experience and am very glad that I got my first audition for an equity theatre out of the way. It will only get easier, right?

The second audition was for a straight play, which I have not done since high school. I won't even tell you how many years ago that was, but suffice it to say, I'm a little rusty and anxious when there is no big musical number (or several) for me to fall back on! The play is called Talking of Michelangelo, and it is an original work by FightBoy Theatre founder (and friend of mine) Joshua Scott Hancock. This audition was so much more intense - but relaxed at the same time - than most musical theatre auditions, and I really had to step outside my comfort zone a few times. It was incredibly fun - and liberating! - and the eclectic group of talented people that showed up to auditions made me feel very comfortable, and not quite as vulnerable as I was afraid of feeling.

I ended up getting cast as an ensemble role in the play, and our first rehearsal/read-through is this evening. This will be a very short and intense rehearsal process - the show opens on October 21st - and I'm very much looking forward to it.

Finally, I'd like to say congratulations to another of Denton's indie theatre companies, Sundown Collaborative Theatre. They opened Nina Raine's Rabbit this past weekend and have been receiving great reviews so far, both from my colleague Gina Robertson of The Column as well as Mark Lowry from Theater Jones. I hope to catch a performance this weekend, and I encourage you to do the same and support the indie theatres!

Now - read it like a one-eyed monkey in a blizzard.

A college friend of mine posted the above YouTube clip on her Facebook page today, and it's definitely worth a watch. Kate Winslet, on an episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio," was asked by an audience member to recall a time in which she had to improvise. Her story is pretty entertaining and of course, she's adorable in her re-telling.

As primarily a singer, cold readings at auditions simply terrify me. Whenever possible, I try to have read the script beforehand so I at least have an idea of the story, the characters, and possibly even my own ideas of things to try should I be asked to read for certain characters. However, that's not always possible, nor is it helpful once the director starts asking you for other things.

Don't get me wrong -- I very much appreciate being given direction in an audition during the reading portion. It's just that my lack of experience in reading auditions or - god forbid - just plain old improvisation/movement auditions simply renders me terrified. Usually, I try to just swallow my fears of inadequacy or looking foolish and give it the ol' college try (with varied results).

I'm curious, though -- what is the strangest thing you've ever been asked to do at an audition, whether it be to read the side again in a different way, to improvise, etc?