Audition Log 2/14/11 - Life Upon the Wicked Ship (Part 1)

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! What a way to celebrate than to do what I love: dance. Twice today, even. It's been a good holiday.

So today was the first day I tried to go to two auditions at once. Two dance calls: one at 9:00 a.m. and one at 2:30 p.m. I've never done this before; I don't even think I ever auditioned twice in a day in California. This is special. So, right off the bat I wanna spoil the log for you: I got to be seen for both.

The first audition I had was for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. They have a new ship out, the "Allure of the Seas," as they call it, which is the largest cruise ship in the world. It has tons of shows, including a full-length production of Chicago. The other audition I had was for the 2nd national tour of Wicked; this is the big times! So, ostensibly, I auditioned for two major musicals today. Here's the run-down for Chicago.

THE NIGHT BEFORE

I've been taught to have a selection of varying songs that you're able to sing at the drop of a hat, so that you're essentially never caught off guard when you're asked to sing something. Well, I was caught off guard. I have multiple songs that I can sing, but I didn't have a song similar to Wicked or two songs for Chicago. Note: they didn't really ask for a song similar to Wicked. They just wanted a contemporary musical theatre piece or a pop/rock song (I don't have a contemporary pop/rock song; I should find one ...any suggestions?). I didn't read the fine print carefully, so I spent a good portion of the evening choosing a song that I didn't need; I went with another one after I double-checked the breakdown. Lesson Here: know EXACTLY what they're looking for before compiling your audition tool-box. (e.g. songs, monologues, outfit, etc.)

For Chicago, I only had one song that would work perfectly. It's an old Cabaret song that nobody uses anymore (it's not even in the show!) so it's perfect for an audition. But, I didn't have another that suited Kander and Ebb. At least, not one readily available. I have about three large binders FULL of music, but I only have about 6 or 7 songs I constantly use. Er go, some songs just collect dust. I took the duster to a few of them and tried to find my second.

So I found a large selection of songs and spent all night whittling my way down them. I slaved over what I was going to sing. Labored. Lost sleep over those three pieces of 16-bars each that would perfectly encapsulate my vocal prowess and myself.

Just to let you know, right off the bat, I was cut the first round from both. Never got to sing.

Still, better to be prepared.

Last night I went to a friend's house; she did homework while I found music/prepared my headshot & résumé. This had good and bad properties to them. Good: She lent a second eye and ear to song selections and the like. Bad: I kinda got distracted by the movie we were watching sometimes. Plus, I didn't have all my materials with me so I spent additional time preparing when I got home. This meant I got to sleep later than I wanted to (I went to bed at 1 a.m. and got up at 6:30 a.m.). I don't think it hindered either audition, but it's something to keep in mind for next time. Sleep is very valuable.

Oh! VERY important note: I wasn't planning on doing the Chicago audition until Sunday. I had heard about it but put it in the back of my mind; time just crept up on me. By the time I remembered I had promised myself I'd go to Wicked. Could I do both? I didn't know. So, it was last night that I fully committed to auditioning for two shows, something I've never done. Things work fast around here.

THE MORNING

Usually I plan to wake up two hours before I plan to get there, which is two hours before the actual audition started. In this case, the audition was at 9 a.m, so I would want to get there at 7 a.m., which meant I would want to wake up at 5 a.m.

Yeah... I wasn't going to do that.

For some reason, I decided to wake up at 6:30 and leave at 7:30 (to get there at 8). I don't remember why I decided I only needed an hour before the audition, but I do remember that I decided to wake up at that time because I didn't want TOO much extra time, like previously. However, this was too little time, seeing as how I didn't get to shower the night before, and I forgot to brush my teeth that morning. I shoved a ton of mints into my grotesque persons as I lumbered to the train station.

THE SUBWAY

It. Was. Packed! I understood: people were commuting to work. But still, sheesh! I don't know how to correct this, save for finding those cars that have less people in them. Usually the back. I don't know why.

THE DILEMMA

I was in a bit of a quandary. Since I originally planned on just auditioning for Wicked I had it in my mind that I was going to wake up early and sign in so I could secure a spot just in case they would see non-eq (the set-up was similar to the Sacramento Music Circus auditions). But now that I was going to the Chicago auditions beforehand, I didn't know what to do. Would I get out in enough time to get a decent number for Wicked? Would I even be able to audition for Wicked? (That would, of course, mean that Chicago was seriously considering me for a job, which is a great thing. But still... it's Wicked's national tour!)

I had to choose something. I got up to Pearl Studios on 34th and 8th ave. (a new studio! more on it later) around 8 a.m., and after much deliberation on what room they were exactly holding auditions (The markers said "Royal Caribbean" and not "Chicago;" it threw me off) I signed in at around 8:10 on a small, "unofficial" sheet of paper someone put up. I was number 18, which (again) didn't matter much in the long run (as you will see later).

I then had a decision to make: stay or go. On the one hand, I could book it to the Chelsea Studios (where Wicked was auditioning and only one station away), sign up quickly, and dash back with time to dress and warm-up. In fact, that was my original plan, but since it was already 8:10 I was... stuck, to say the least. Should I just stay and take my chances with Wicked? Should I go and take my chances with Chicago? What should I do?

I booked it.

Luckily, I got into the station just as a train was approaching. Luckily, it was only one stop. Unluckily, that stopped was crammed with people waiting. Luckily, I had been to Chelsea Studios once before. Unluckily, the building was three blocks away. Luckily, there was a parking garage on one of them that I cut across. Luckily, I got up there in ample time. Luckily, I was number 2 on the "unofficial" list (someone had made it! Yay!). Luckily, I made it back to the Pearl Studios at around 8:40, just enough time to get dressed and do some quick warm-ups. Unluckily, my stomach was churning the whole trip.

That I was able to do that was amazing. And I know it'll never happen again.

THE HOLDING AREA

The building was on 8th ave., which was on the same street as the subway station; it was the shortest distance between subway station and audition that I've had so far. And, just like all the others, the studio was a part of a huge building full of other offices. But, unlike the others, I had to sign in at the front desk. This was a first for me.

The studio (called the Pearl Studios, if I haven't mentioned that already) was on the 4th floor. Unlike the Chelsea Studios, it did not have a "station agent" - a front desk, if you will. Just rooms. I turned a few corners and ended up in the holding area.

The holding area was medium-large but more horizontal than Chelsea's. Unlike in previous situations, the mirrors in this room were open and visible. It had chairs only around the walls and felt a little more cramped than previous rooms. Possibly because there were so many people in it!

Maybe because it was an open call, maybe because I got there an hour before (instead of my customary two), but there was a lot of people. And, unlike previous auditions, there were men AND women. To my knowledge companies usually separate the men and women, you know, because of the fraternization. Really because of the sheer number of people attending chorus calls, but I guess cruise lines don't believe a lot of people will show up. I'm not an expert on these matters. All I can say is that it is a WORLD of difference between a just-men call and a men-and-women call.

With a men's call, it's kinda just sitting and waiting and warming up. Just kinda... whatever. For a women's call, I guess, it's a show! There were women sitting and waiting and warming up, of course, but there were also women putting on make-up (oh my!) to such an excess I thought we were doing an actual production of Chicago. Little mobile vanities were strewn all over the room. And, while the men usually just wore dance clothes, women were dressing for the part. I even saw a woman in nothing but a black bra, black underwear, and full-body fishnets. I could scoff, but then again, she got called back.

The big difference was the sheer amount of women to men. Yes, I know that there's a larger percentage of women in this business than men, but I had never really seen it first hand. Example: when I first arrived there were about 50 women signed up and in the room. And that's not counting the people who'll show up later. The number of men there? 10. At most.

I double-checked if I was still on the list (yup) and if there was an *official* list (nope) and headed off to change.

The men's dressing room was that - a dressing room. It didn't have a sink or a bunch of cleaning equipment. It was specifically for dressing, and it had a lock. So... that's nice. It was, however, only big enough for 1 person (Chelsea's could hold a few). It was no bigger than a large walk-in closet, which honestly is all you need. Nice hardwood floors, a mirror, and a chair. And plenty of light! It was a pleasant dressing experience.

WHAT I WORE

Shirt: Black t-shirt with red letters that said "Bat Boy". First time I went to an audition wearing a t-shirt with lettering on it. I didn't feel extremely comfortable doing it, but I thought the color pattern would match the feel of the show. That, and I didn't have anything else to wear. It was laundry day.

Pants: dark blue pajama bottoms cut below the knee. I got them at Target, and while they're a little bigger than I'd like them to be, they are my go-to pants for dance. I feel comfortable in them.

Socks: My fancy $8 pair of ankle socks for running. They stretch well and are made to breathe, which is a plus.

Shoes: Jazz shoes - a standard. After putting them on, though, I wanted to use my Jazz sneakers. The floor in the holding area (and in the audition room, as I was about to find out) was incredibly sticky! I knew my Jazz sneakers were smoother and more worn down than my shoes, but I ultimately stayed with my shoes. I had a previous experience with a previous Royal Caribbean audition where I wore Jazz sneakers but the room was so slippery I couldn't keep my balance; I was so worried about my sneakers that I didn't put enough attention on the combination and ultimately got cut the first round. I didn't want to make the same mistake this time, so I kept with the Jazz shoes.

THE PRE-AUDITION

After I came back from the dressing room, I found a free spot in the corner of the room. A very nice man from Russia (I believe) "bunked" with me in the corner. We didn't talk much, but when we did it was very polite and very encouraging.

I had about ten to fifteen minutes left before the audition began so I warmed up as best I could. It wasn't as extensive a warm-up as I usually do or like to do so early in the morning, but with the combination of arriving so late and the sheer number of people taking space I wasn't left with many options.

At around 8:50/8:55 two gentlemen came into the room and spoke to us: our production coordinators, as I so lovingly like to call them! (This wasn't an equity call, so there was no equity monitor. These two literally worked for the company.) They were Kyle Klieboeker and Christopher Faison (I've been taking notes!) and they were too kind and incredibly helpful. (I took about ten minutes of Kyle's time at the end of my audition and asked for everybody's name. Not only did he give them to me, but when he didn't know a name he went and found it. It was above and beyond.) They asked that anyone who hadn't signed up yet do so now and told everybody that had signed up not to worry; instead of transferring names on an *official* sheet, they were just going to take the unofficial paper as gospel (it was a really tiny leaf of paper, too). It was kinda cool not to have to worry about signing again.

The two prod. coordinators then asked for the first 20 people who signed up to hand in their headshot/résumé and receive a number. Yup, no forms to fill out this time. Just a number, my first ever New York number I was to pin to my chest! (All together now: Who am I, anyway? Am I my résumé?...) I was the fourth person to hand in my packet, hence I was #4 (Dianna Agron, I am number four. So... maybe wanna split a pretzel or something? ...Di..Dianna?). In retrospect, perhaps it wasn't the wisest choice to be one of the first in line. As you will read later on, I didn't pick up the choreography that well. Unlike others who had time to go over the dance while in line, I was the second group to go so I had to have or not. I was going to be seen no matter what; I didn't need to rush the table.

I pinned the number to my chest and left my things in that room. I am always wary about leaving things, but that audition I had a few electronics I'm partial to, so I was even more worried (I didn't bring them to the Wicked auditions). I thought one of the prod. coordinators was going to stay and watch, but Christopher was running the music at the audition and Kyle was running back and forth helping, so neither really had any time to sit and watch. Nothing happened (thank goodness!), but I believe I'm going to keep my most precious valuables at home from now on. Just in case.

The Audition will come shortly in "Life Upon the Wicked Ship" (Part 2)...