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?

Actors Giving Back

Click on the image to see a larger version.

In a few days, I will be participating in something very exciting. As some of you who are close to me and talk to me on a daily basis may already know, I'm participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure in Dallas this November. Each individual walker must commit to raising $2,300 in order to participate.

For a still newly wed gal on a budget, that number was incredibly daunting. But, this cause is incredibly important to me, so I didn't let the fear or awkwardness of asking for money slow me down.

I had to stop and think, and ask myself some questions. What are my assets? What are my strong points? How can I use these things to aid my fundraising efforts? Thus, Headshots for the Cure was born.

Here's the official blurb:

“Headshots for the Cure is a fundraising event that was created by Mandy Rausch, an individual participant in the 2010 Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure (Dallas, TX) in collaboration with the photographers of Fresh Focus Point, a Dallas-based photographer collective. The event is being created in order to provide high-quality, professional headshots for actors, performers and/or corporate individuals with all proceeds from the event going directly towards Ms. Rausch’s fundraising goals for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The Komen foundation is the global leader of the breast cancer movement in its goals to increase awareness; empower patients, survivors and family members; and ultimately help find a cure.”

The photographers of Fresh Focus Point have agreed to take a Sunday afternoon out of their already busy schedules and offer headshots to actors at an incredibly low price. For only $75, these folks will get 3 high-res, professional images for their personal and professional use. This is a steal, with most headshot packages going for upwards of $150-175.

Since the event was made public here on Facebook, my friends in the theatre community have really come out of the woodwork and helped me to raise....

*drumroll*

$1,275

In addition to the generous donations of other friends and family, this makes my total fundraising amount to date $2,255.

I am incredibly overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of my friends in the D/FW theatre community for supporting me and the cause I care so much about.

If you're interested in getting some headshots for yourself, please let me know. There are still plenty of slots available! Visit the Facebook event for more information.

Last but not least, I want to say a HUGE thank you to the participating photographers and the makeup agencies that will be on hand making this happen:

Lynn Michelle Photography

Engaged Studio

Simple Moments Photography

Rego Visual Arts

Imaginography

Blue Issue

The Clutts Agency

Wheelhouse of a Dream

Thanks to Jack Sutter for the photo. Pictured: Jack Sutter (L) and Buster Maloney in the title role of Denton Community Theatre's Cyrano de Bergerac (R)

My husband, the brilliant opera singer I married, said something recently that really stuck in my mind with regards to performing and performers. He's currently rehearsing for Music Theatre of Denton's middle show of it's 2009/2010 season, Pirates of Penzance (which opens this Friday, by the way!). He's playing the role of Frederic, naturally, and when we were talking about how rehearsals were going one night, he said the following:

"It's going really, really well. This is the kind of singing I really should be doing. It just sits right in my wheelhouse."

I must have looked at him a bit funny, because he continued, "It just feels right in my voice. This is the kind of [non-operatic] musical theatre where I really can show what I've got. I don't really have to struggle."

Now, I may be a bit biased when it comes to him, but I tend to think he's been pretty dadgum awesome in other roles (most recently: Billy Flynn in Chicago, Paul in Company, Hysterium in A Funny....Forum, and Cliff in Cabaret to name a few), but I know exactly what he's saying.

Because I'm a total nerd, I looked up the word wheelhouse on Dictionary.com after that day. It was defined as "an enclosed structure on the deck of a ship from which it can be navigated."

Huh.

So what he was telling me was that he is essentially owning this role, and he feels like he is in control, at least vocally. This is where he's most confident, and where he feels that he can make decisions more easily within the role because he's not struggling to make it work within his voice or his range. To keep the ship captain analogy, it means that he knows his surroundings and is comfortable, as opposed to say, putting a deckhand in the wheelhouse of a ship and telling him to steer it. Eventually the deckhand will figure it out – probably because he has to. It would be, quite literally, a "sink or swim" situation.

How often do we feel that confident in a role? If we're lucky, it happens a couple of times. We'll walk into an audition, nail it, and get cast in a role that fits us like a glove. But let's be honest – more often than not (especially in community theatre where the human resources are much more limited) we feel more like the deckhand in that wheelhouse rather than the captain. For one reason or another we won't be cast in the role that we could sing or act the crap out of easily, and we have to work (sometimes really hard) to get it into our muscle memory and perform it to our fullest potential. The results when we do work that hard can be really rewarding, even if the process is exhausting and/or emotional.

Does this mean that it's any less rewarding to play a role that sits right in our wheelhouse? Absolutely not – at least, I don't think so. When a role fits you like a second skin, whether because you can sing it effortlessly or because you can just really identify with the character, it allows for all that much more exploration and delving within the subtext and intricacies of the script and/or score.

It's also a helluva lot of fun to watch an actor perform a role that sits right in his or her own wheelhouse!

Recently, my husband and I went to see our local theatre's production of Cyrano de Bergerac because our good friend Buster (pictured above) was playing the title role. Now, we've both had the pleasure of working with Buster on several different occasions, and the man always nails the roles he is cast in. I've seen him as Pseudolus (alongside my husband's Hysterium) in Forum, performed with him in Company (where he played Harry) and watched him backstage every night as Thurston Wheelis, et al in A Tuna Christmas. Each time, I was impressed by his performance.

To see him as Cyrano, though, was far and away the most impressed by him (and proud to call him friend!) I have ever been. He expertly navigated the poetry of the flowerly language effortlessly and made the character just as heartbreaking and funny as he should have been. He smoothly glided over the waters of a difficult (for modern audiences and mostly untrained actors) script. It was easy to tell that this more classical acting style was where Buster felt the most comfortable. This was what he trained and studied to do. He was right in his wheelhouse, and what fun it was to watch him.

I'm still figuring out what exactly makes up my own wheelhouse. I have a feeling I'll know it when it happens, and I look forward to that moment and the rehearsal process and performances of a role that I can navigate and steer along easily – and I hope that audiences will enjoy watching it as much as I'll enjoy doing it.

I Feel Pretty

The theatre world is filled with some of the most insecure people I have ever met in my life. It doesn’t make sense, does it? These people go out in front of anywhere from dozens to thousands of strangers and bare their souls and talents on a stage! But it’s true, at least in my limited experience.

Some people are obvious about it, and in an obnoxious way. I swear if I hear one more 5’9” dancer who weighs 110 lbs soaking wet say, “God my thighs are huge,” while standing in front of the mirror, I will take off my one of my character shoes and aim it forcefully at her protruding rib cage. Others aren’t quite as obvious about their insecurities, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist – it just means they’ve learned to hide them or, at the very least, shut up about them in social settings.

Why, as performers, do we do this? Do we honestly just need the constant validation from others? Is it because the industry really is that cutthroat and we feel like we need reassurance or, in worst cases, to go to extreme measures to ensure future casting and hiring? Or have we just gotten into the habit of obnoxiously fishing out compliments and waving away the ones that are volunteered with a sarcastic or self-deprecating comment?

I was speaking with a friend today (we’ll call her Josephine to protect the innocence) about upcoming auditions and what we hope to do this spring and summer. We marveled at our completely opposite audition fears: she quakes at the singing part and flies through cold-readings with ease; I will sing my heart out confidently, but I break into hives at the thought of cold readings.

Then the conversation took a turn when Josephine said, “You know what’s sad? I’d audition for a lot more if I weren’t so insecure. For example, I almost auditioned for _______, but the most age-appropriate character’s description said: ‘a beautiful woman.’ So I didn’t go.” Of course, as her friend, I chided her and told her she’s nuts. But the truth is I’m just as guilty of doing the same type of thing.

No matter what my talent level is, no matter how interesting or lovely the timbre of my singing voice, no matter how energetic I feel my stage presence may be, the reality is the same: I am a dime a dozen in the theatre world, and I’m very aware of it. It’s my job to find a certain something about myself that will make me stand out at a cattle call or open audition, yes, but sometimes the director wants a certain look/height/type/voice/weight. Or the script just calls for it and that’s just the way it is. Let me give an example.

(Okay, so this blog ended up going in a totally different direction than what I originally intended, but I’m okay with that. I’m just gonna go with it.)

Recently I was in a production of Chicago, and I played Matron “Mama” Morton. Any female who auditions for that show will naturally want to play Roxie, Velma, or one of the six Merry Murderesses. At first glance, they’re the obvious choices. They’re lead or featured roles, and they get to dance their butts off and have a lot of fun, right? Of course! However, the reality is, if you line up ten equally talented singers and actresses and dancers, eventually you have to narrow it down and be true to the style of the piece and the nature of beast that is Fosse choreography. Even if I can do some fierce [insert difficult dance move here], if I’m 5’3” and weigh….what I weigh…I’m not going to be chosen for one of these roles.

I actually spoke to my director of Chicago about this on a break one evening during rehearsal. There was a very large (no pun intended) turnout at auditions for this production. It turns out that many women turned down callbacks or roles offered because they only wanted to play one of the two leads. I asked him how they narrowed it down, and he was kind enough to be completely honest with me. He said something akin to (and I’m paraphrasing), “As someone who has struggled with weight issues, I would never automatically rule out a talented woman based on her size. However. The Fosse style of dance requires certain lines and angles of the body can only be affectively achieved by certain body types.” There you go. Like it or not, sometimes body type is a major factor.

Sometimes it’s not only about weight. If I’m 5’3” and can belt my face off or float a soaring high B-flat with ease and the director thinks I’m adorable? Great! But…none of that will matter if the very best option for a leading man is 6’3”, and that role carries the weight of the show (again…no pun intended).

What I’m trying to say is this: while I know there are exceptions all over the place to this rule, the fact of the matter is that not being hired or cast is not a reflection of your talent, or lack thereof. It’s a sad truth that looks do matter, but does that mean you should stop auditioning? No, of course not. It just means that you have to find your strengths, broaden your horizons, and stretch your abilities. But for Pete’s sake (and the sake of others around you), stop complaining or making excuses or fishing for compliments when things aren’t going the way you want them to.

Also, learn to find the fun in featured roles. I played three in 2009, and they were more fun than any leading role I’ve had. Stop thinking that you only matter if you’re playing a leading role.

Finally, whatever you do, do not change yourself for auditions by losing or gaining drastic amounts of weight, dyeing or cutting your hair, etc. in the hopes that this will increase your chances of being cast. Be you and go into the audition room as yourself. Trust that, if you come prepared, your abilities will shine and the director or choreographer or producer will be able to see what he or she needs to see. Trust that the production team knows what is best for the production, and don’t be so sensitive or blame “theatre politics” if that doesn’t include you this time.

Now what?

Each of those posters, which are lining the wall above the top shelf in my office, represents a show with which I have been involved in 2009. There is just the perfect amount of space left for just one more, which I intend to fill with a poster for A Tuna Christmas in just a few short weeks. Thankfully, I will be working backstage for that one (with perhaps the most amazing backstage crew the Campus Theatre has ever seen, I might add) rather than onstage, but it will still be a rocking good time and an amazing show, starring two men I have already worked with in separate shows this year: Buster Maloney (Harry in Company) and Justin Harmon (Bobby Child in Crazy for You). You definitely will not want to miss this one!

So, yes, Talking of Michelangelo closed on Sunday. We had a FANTASTIC weekend of shows with some great audiences (minus the lack of an audience on Thursday, which we won't count because the rest of the run went off so successfully) and some even better cast parties. Wow...this cast certainly knows how to have a party! Two nights in a row of getting home after 3:30am took its toll on this old fart, though, and I was pretty exhausted come Monday morning! I miss everyone already, though, and am looking forward to a get-together soon for karaoke at Mable Peabody's! :)

In other theatre news (no, the theatre world as it pertains to my life still doesn't slow down even when I'm not actually in rehearsals for a show...what can I say? I can't sit still), I have a few other things coming down the pipe that I am very excited about:

* On Friday night I will be going, along with my husband Michael and our good friend Justin to see the critically acclaimed Evil Dead: The Musical produced by Level Ground Arts and directed by the one and only Bill Fountain. I had the pleasure of meeting Bill when he came to see Chicago with my dear friend (and Zombie-convert Cheryl in Evil Dead for that matter) Stephanie Felton. Some other online-only-via-Facebook-and/or-Twitter friends are in the cast, and I can't wait to meet them IRL* as well.

(*IRL = in real life)

* I hope to get back to reviewing shows for The Column VERY soon. I miss going to see theatre and writing the reviews! Since the last review and the feedback from it left a rather, well, bad taste in my mouth, I'm looking forward to seeing more local theatre and putting my Critic hat back on.

* Forever Plaid opens at Denton Community Theatre in a couple of weeks, and I am quite excited to see this one. It's a wonderful, feel-good musical, and I'm looking forward to seeing it also just out of sheer curiosity. This may be the first show I've seen in a while with a cast containing not one single person that I know or, at the very least, know of. I don't even know the director! It will be refreshing to see some of the new(er) talent that Denton has to offer in such a great musical....which is a nice segue into telling you about my newest project I'm trying to get off the ground....

* For those of you who are Facebook friends with me, you will have likely already gotten an invitation to join the group Denton "Cabaret" Brainstorm. No, this is not a brainstorm on how to produce the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. Instead, it is something I've been thinking about for a while. Denton boasts so many talented people of all ages, but there is not always a venue in which to showcase the different facets of the talented community. So, I am trying to create a musical showcase that will occur (hopefully) weekly in order to feature the myriad talented singers in our fair city and in the surrounding areas. I'm currently working on securing a venue for at least one show before 2009 ends, coming up with a name and writing a mission statement, so stay tuned for exciting news regarding the cabaret! If you have any ideas or just want to stay informed of what we're doing, PLEASE join our Facebook group or comment here and join the discussion!

That's it for today! Now that I will have evenings free and a bit more of a relaxed schedule, I hope to be a bit more attentive to this site. Thanks, as always, for reading.

Razzle Dazzle 'em

(photo by Khai Ha, NT Daily staff photographer, originally uploaded to NTDaily.com)

Another openin', another show...

Yes, tonight is OPENING NIGHT for Music Theatre of Denton's first show of it's 25th season - Chicago. You may be wondering why I didn't mention that I was a part of this show back when I was talking about auditions and such, or perhaps you remember this post in which I discussed my husband being in the show and me enjoying my nights off.

Well, it's been a bit of a whirlwind three days.

Due to reasons I will not disclose so don't even bother asking me, the original Matron "Mama" Morton in this production needed to step away from the production, and I was asked to fill in—with about 3 days before opening night (tonight).

As you can probably imagine, it's a delicate and potentially awkward situation, but I am good friends with this actress and respect her tremendously as a colleague and as an amazing woman. I am doing my best to fill her shoes and to rise up to the caliber of talent in this outstanding cast while at the same time trying to remember all my lines, blocking, lyrics/notes and trying to match the style of the show and find my inner Mama.

What has impressed and humbled me, though, has been the incredible support I have been shown in the past three days! The cast and crew and production team of Chicago has been welcoming and helpful, and I find myself being hugged backstage, slapped on the butt a few times (ahem, Tyler), and even gently nudged or guided (discreetly, of course) onstage. Talk about making a scary situation easy on a girl!

Beyond that, even, the cast and production team of my other current show, Talking with Michelangelo has also been incredible and supportive. The director is being supportive and accommodating to my suddenly crazy schedule, and he and our leading actress have even offered to meet with me at odd times to work on individual scenes so that I can stay up to speed on that production as well.

Finally, I have been ridiculously impressed with the way the two directors of these two vastly different companies have helped one another out, making absolutely sure that neither show gets slighted in any way, but that each production is promoted and rehearsed to its full potential. That, my loyal readers, is what I think that theatre—especially community theatre—should be all about. This situation, which could have been much stickier, has been not only smooth and pleasant, but incredibly rewarding and uplifting.

So? Here we go. Off to OPENING NIGHT tonight (aka my 4th rehearsal) and kicking off what I hope will be a fantastic and successful run of one helluva show.

Here's a bit of press about Chicago, for your viewing/reading pleasure:

Murder, Fame and All That Jazz - NT Daily Article (10/9/09)
Chicago - NT Daily video (10/9/09)
All That Jazz - Denton Record Chronicle's "Denton Time" (10/8/09)

The Answer to a Repeated Question

After a relatively short (for me anyway) hiatus from all most things theatre, things have been picking up a bit more momentum lately. I reviewed two shows last week, and the reviews are up online: My Way can be found here, and Funny Girl here. I also have two auditions this week that could not be more different from one another–one is for a musical at an equity theatre (my first audition for equity…aaaaaaand vomit) and the other is for an original play (yes! Play!) written and directed by a good friend.

When I was talking to someone about my busy recent schedule, that person asked me, “How long do you think you’ll be able to perform and be a critic?” I believe my response was a shrug and, “Dunno. As long as I can do both, I guess.”

Here’s the thing–I love doing both. I love being onstage and performing, and I honestly cannot go to a musical performance without aching a little bit on the inside as I sit in the audience thinking “When, DEAR GOD WHEN, can I do this again?” Those of you who are also performers know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s intangible, really. I can’t answer why I love doing it, just like I can’t answer why I continue to do it even when I’m exhausted, frustrated, stressed, etc. It’s just…because.

And on the other hand, I love being, even in my very small, insignificant way, a theatre resource for people. If a review I write convinces someone to go see the show, even just out of curiosity or to see if what I said about the sets/costumes/actors’ performances is really true, that’s fantastic. If one of my Facebook friends clicks on a link to an article or a link to a YouTube performance of something particularly fierce, that’s excellent! If six people read and enjoy this blog, that’s great, too! It also broadens my own horizons. Reviewing gives me an opportunity despite the financial limitations of being…ahem…a twenty-something newlywed to go see shows all over the Metroplex and, who knows, maybe even farther some day. Plus, as someone who has always enjoyed writing and blogging, I’m getting the added professional benefit of having my reviews published in such widely read online publications such as The Column and PegasusNews.com.

However, I know what this person meant by asking me that question. Eventually, despite my intentions and my desire to write with tact and objectivity, I’m bound to someday get on the wrong side of an actor, a director, a choreographer, a producer…you get the idea…and it could very well affect whether or not I’m cast in some places. And that’s fair – it’s their prerogative! My career aspirations are not to make a living on the stage; if they were, I’d stop reviewing now and focus on performing only. My goals are to just keep doing what I’m doing for as long as someone lets me do it. I want to perform as often as my schedule, my day job, my home life will allow – and not necessarily in that order. And I want to continue seeing the myriad high-quality theatrical productions that Dallas/Fort Worth and its surrounding suburbs have to offer.

I also want a million dollars, a new car, and maybe just one pair of Jimmy Choo mary janes…so if someone could get on that for me, I’d be much obliged. :-)

Quick Update

I logged into Blogger this morning and found that I have more followers of this blog now for a grand total of ::drumroll, please::.......SIX! Woo hoo! Hey, you've got to start somewhere, right? I'm just thrilled that anyone stops by here, adds me to their Google Reader, etc. Welcome!

So, I'm enjoying my time without a show right now, believe it or not! I've had time to make dinner plans with friends, catch up on my poor, desperately neglected house, spend time with the puppy, do some leisure reading (in the past couple of weeks I've finished The Time Traveler's Wife and Son of a Witch), and think about upcoming auditions/projects with a much clearer head than I do while in the prep for another show.

My husband is working very hard preparing the role of Billy Flynn with MTD's Chicago, which I hope you will all try to see. Click here for more information on that one. You can safely assume you'll see me, no matter which evening you decide to attend!

"My Way" cast, L-R Brynne Huffman, R. Bradford Smith, Claire Moore, Silas Moores. Photo by Jan Toms, originally uploaded to Pegausnews.com

Kristin Dausch will play Fanny Brice in Lyric Stage's Funny Girl. Picture originally uploaded to Pegasusnews.com

In reviewing news, I have a couple coming up this week...back-to-back, actually, so it will be a weekend of writing for me! The first one is on Thursday night (tomorrow!), and it's a musical tribute to Frank Sinatra entitled My Way. The second is on Friday night, when I will be reviewing Lyric Stage's production of Funny Girl. I am very much looking forward to both of these productions!

Other than that (oh, is that all??), there are a few auditions coming down the pipe that I've got my eyes on, including a straight play (gasp!), and potentially becoming a Local Correspondent for a fantastic new web site that is getting the finishing touches put on it this month called The Opera Insider. Kala and her mom, Carol, started the web site together, and this is a quick excerpt from their "Why We Are" page:

Now, through The Opera Insider, there exists a virtual venue for a local,regional, and international, cutting-edge, focused,intimate,opera-loving, opera-perpetuating community. We don’t and won’t compete with anyone. Opera company websites, sites that provide performance information, even websites that do some of what we do exist; we know that. We invite them to grow and thrive with us, link to us, work with us, and we’ll work with them. Opera bloggers, critics, patrons, singers, technicians, everyone from in front of and behind the curtain, we invite you to join us to create something unique, supportive, and inspiring. We invite you to join with us and become an opera insider.

Cool, huh?? Kala contacted me through Twitter (if you're not following me, start now!) and I'm very excited for what this web site will do for the operatic community - both on and offstage.

So that's it! That's what's been going on around my life lately. I'm really trying to increase following on this blog, so let me know what you'd like to see on this blog, topics you find interesting (related to the performance arts, preferably), etc. Thanks!

Theatre Wish List

I just did one of those theatre survey things on Facebook, and one of the questions was, “What is your dream role?” Wow. That’s a question not easily answered. I’m sure there are tons of roles I’d love to play some day, and some of them are qualified with “…but only if I can sing it with and/or play opposite __________.”

So then, I started thinking about other “dream” situations. Which director(s) would I LOVE to work with? Which local or regional actor/actress? Which roles would I love to sing even though I’m not right for it because of age/gender/ethnicity?

I decided to make my own quiz. Here it is, with my answers, in no particular order and by FAR not complete. Also, by "regional" I mean in the D/FW area and by "local" I mostly mean Denton. Feel free to copy/paste and repost. I’m limiting each to 5 with one alternate…just because I hate choosing only 5 (hey, it’s my survey and I can do what I want!).

Dream Roles – Musical Theatre
1. Aldonza/Dulcinea in MAN OF LA MANCHA
2. Clara in THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA
3. Fanny Brice in FUNNY GIRL
4. Dot in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
5. Eliza Dolittle in MY FAIR LADY
ALTERNATE: Annie Oakley in ANNIE, GET YOUR GUN

Dream Roles – Plays
1. Amanda in A FEMININE ENDING
2. Jacqueline in DON’T DRESS FOR DINNER
3. Corie in BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
4. Harper in ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENIUM APPROACHES
5. Catherine in PROOF
ALTERNATE: Maggie in CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF

Directors I’d Love to Work With (mine are all local/regional)
1. Terry Martin
2. Emily Scott Banks
3. Bonnie McCormick (again)
4. Tashina Richardson
5. Dennis Sloan
ALTERNATE: Bill Kirkley (on a play this time)

Local Actors I’d Love to Work With
1. Kenny Fudge
2. Kevin Wickersham
3. Justin Harmon (again)
4. Tyler Donahue (again)
5. Joseph Montgomery Brown
ALTERNATE: Buster Maloney

Regional Actors I’d Love to Work With
1. Regan Adair (who intimidates the hell out of me because he’s so good)
2. Tom DeWester
3. Donald Fowler (I’d be rendered speechless in front of him, though, so not likely)
4. Christopher Deaton
5. Dan Forsythe
ALTERNATE: Keith Warren

Local Actresses I’d Love to Work With
1. Stephanie Felton
2. Erin Turek
3. Jeannene Abney
4. Jennifer Ehrhart
5. Olivia (DeGuzman) Emile
ALTERNATE: Sharon Barnhill

Regional Actresses I’d Love to Work With
1. Jessica Wiggers
2. Delynda Johnson-Moravec
3. Sara Shelby Martin (I never know where the hyphen goes)
4. Stephanie Hall
5. Marianne Galloway
ALTERNATE: Kayla Carlyle

Songs I’ll Never Sing (within the show)
1. “Wheels of a Dream” – RAGTIME
2. “A Call to the Vatican” – NINE
3. “Tonight” – WEST SIDE STORY
4. “Maybe This Time” – CABARET
5. “Being Alive” – COMPANY
ALTERNATE: “Man of La Mancha” – MAN OF LA MANCHA

Now…what are yours??

Brain Overload!

So, fellow actors and performers...I'm sure you've all been here before during the preparation of a role:

BRAIN OVERLOAD!

It's a loosely defined term, tending to have different meanings and arrive at various stages of the process for each individual, but the general concept is the same.

It is the point in the preparation in which the performer's brain becomes saturated with lines, lyric, staging and choreography. Which lyric comes next? Do I cross downstage on his line or mine? Or was I supposed to cross upstage?

The level of Brain Overload is also directly related to the size and scope of a role being learned, I've found, and this is arbitrary depending upon the performer and the role. Sometimes, a larger role is much easier to learn than a walk-on cameo or featured role. It's all relative.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm reaching that point with my current role (see sidebar).

I think it is possibly more difficult for those of us who are performers "on the side" or as a hobby -- something extracurricular when we leave our day jobs. It's sometimes tough to compartmentalize all of the "theatre information" into a tickler file in your brain -- managing to keep it organized and all in there, yet still accessible whenever we need it. Though I can only imagine it's equally difficult for the professional performers, who are likely always working on more than one project at a time.

So, I'm curious. How do you handle Brain Overload? What are your tried and true methods of learning your lines and lyrics and making them "stick?" Do you just read them over and over? Do you write/type them out? Do you record them on a recorder/Mp3 player? What has worked and what has not worked for you?

I'm also curious to know which roles were the most difficult for you personally. Enlighten me!