A really detailed account of my latest audition

Four years ago, I was very, very honored to play one of my dream roles: Amy March in Little Women the Musical. I had auditioned to play this part for several other productions, but I was thrilled to finally win the role. The experience was everything I wanted it to be: I met amazing people, I had a very supportive director who let me experiment and ultimately create a character I loved and felt comfortable with, I had almost overwhelmingly positive reviews from people who came, and I had awesome, sometimes embarrassing costumes that I wholeheartedly embraced, such as so:

My Troll costume for one of Jo's stories.
The eye patch was my idea :-D

When CenterPoint Legacy Theatre announced they planned to produce Little Women this season, I didn't think much about it. I love the play, and I'd love to tackle one of the other sisters (um, I mean play them onstage, not physically tackle them), but I was really excited about auditioning for The Scarlet Pimpernel -- the costumes, the music, the cute guys -- what's not to love? The problem was, I had auditioned for several plays at CPT and hadn't had any luck. Don't get me wrong, they were fun auditions and I was even called back for a few (a novelty, since even though I had performed at Rodgers Memorial, both times they cast me in ensemble without calling me back), but it seemed that I wasn't good enough for the "big" theatre.

Then I was cast in The Importance of Being Earnest. I felt lucky, since there wasn't a lot of advertising and therefore few auditioners, and I'm aware that I'm a more impressive actress than singer (a problem when I like to audition for musicals and the first audition usually only involves singing a song). I was thrilled! I thought, "Wow, this is it! This is my foot in the door!" I was surprised to discover that the director was also the Artistic Director for the theater... glad I didn't know that before the audition. I had a blast in the play, liked the people I worked with, and the audiences seemed to enjoy what I was doing.

Now that I knew the powers-that-be were aware of and liked me, I really wanted to capitalize on my being discovered. I thought it wouldn't hurt to audition for Little Women. It's always good to practice, right? The more I audition, the better they'd remember me. However, I had a strong sense of reality. There were several (fairly important) impediments to my being cast:

1. I am already in another show. I had the morning free for auditions, but the likelihood of the callback being a day I could go was iffy. If I was actually cast, I would miss most of the first three weeks of rehearsal while I finished up The Marvelous Wonderettes, and would have quite a bit of catching up to do, especially since I didn't think I'd have another shot at Amy (not that I still remember all of the music and lines anyway).
2. I'm old. Let's face it: I was the oldest of the actresses playing the sisters the first time I did Little Women, and I'm older now. Lucky for me, I have good genes and can usually pull off playing someone younger than I am, especially since people tend to disbelieve my actual age anyway!

Neither of those reasons were enough to keep me from giving it a shot. Chances are slim for any audition, and I always say, "They have to cast someone, why not me?"

*Plot spoilers ahead*
I decided to read the book before the audition. This turned out to be a mistake because, as usual, the book is FAR superior to the play. It's not the play's fault, necessarily. There are a lot of characters and some of the events really aren't that exciting except that you get to know the sisters better. In the book, there isn't really a main character, so no one is made out to be the villain or hero. You just love them all. In any movie version or play I've seen, Amy is made out to be a total brat because they focus on the first 10 chapters and don't really explore the changes she decides to make when she goes to live with Aunt March when Beth gets sick. It also adequately explains why Laurie marries Amy, and makes you LOVE Professor Bhaer and be glad that Jo ends up with him instead. But I was glad to read that Jo did, in fact, take Beth to the seashore at one point, and that's where Beth tells Jo she knows she won't live very much longer. I'll stop complaining about that part of the play now.
*Spoilers over*

A lot of people assumed I'd go for Amy again, but it wasn't until my Kate recommended it that I seriously considered it. I had planned on going for Meg or Beth (how I love Beth's songs!). I've done several shows twice, but I'd never played the same character twice. To be honest, it bothers me when people audition for roles they've already played -- they've had their chance to play that part! Give someone else a chance! Then again, there are several roles I've love to play again, and Amy is one of them. I've seen several productions since my own and I've often wished I could do it a little differently. I adore Amy and I often think she's written off as the "brat", when she's really only spoiled in the first couple of chapters of the book.

So, I changed my mind and went with the part I already knew I could nail. Why not? I wasn't going to be cast anyway.

I was really excited when I learned that the production team wanted us to sing a song AND perform a monologue from a list they provided. I picked the "younger Amy" monologue 'cause it has a line I never failed to get a laugh with the last time. I don't remember the song I first decided to sing, but the night before the audition, I dreamed I was on the Titanic... or maybe I was in the movie Titanic... so I changed my mind and went with my other choice "I Must Get on That Ship" from Titanic the Musical.

I arrived a little early for my 11:10 a.m. audition time only to discover that they were running late (auditions usually do). I chatted with some friends, tried not to size up my competition, and just told myself that whatever happened I wanted to feel good about my performance. I was glad to see my friend Trevor playing the piano, and actually delighted when 3 of the 4 women in my group said we were reading for Amy -- it would have been a funnier story if the 4th read for Amy, too, but her reading for Jo was so good I was glad she made the choice she did!

Happily, I got to go first! I love going first at an audition. I'm not influenced by anyone else and I get to get my thing out of the way and then pretend to relax while the others do their thing. My song was just okay. As usual, I was more worried about the pianist than my singing (a problem when I can't necessarily practice with a pianist beforehand, and the accompanist is sight-reading). But I rocked my monologue. It wasn't memorized but I was close enough I didn't need to stare at the paper the whole time. I was spunky and hopefully a little lovable, and I even got a laugh. The second girl to read did my same monologue and she was really good, but I knew my performance was stronger and more interesting... I feel like such a cat saying that.

The last girl in my group read the "older Amy" monologue, and I thought that was a smart choice for her. She was obviously young, so she wanted to show off that she could do the older part, too. It occurred to me then that I had accidentally done the smart strategic thing to read the younger monologue, since I'm obviously no longer 12 but wanted to show my range.

My friend Julie is music directing the show, so when they dismissed our group, I gave her a big hug and then assured her we'd still be friends if she didn't cast me. Much as I'd love to work with her, I'd understand if I wasn't right this time... there are enough factors to deal with in casting without having to worry about personal friendships, and, as I've said before, I wasn't expecting anything.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I received an e-mail a few days later inviting me to the callback! A callback I had put on my conflict sheet that I couldn't go to. Fortunately, there were several others who couldn't go to the real callback, either, and they were able to find another time for the 5 of us to go back to read and sing. I was really happy to see my friend Ricky there; he played Mr. Brooke the first time I did the show, and I've been in several shows with him since. Always nice to have friends there! He read for Mr. Brooke again, and also for Professor Bhaer. He said later that he was surprised when he was cast as the Professor, but I wasn't at all. I knew from his callback that they adored him (he was adorable).

As fate would have it, we had a Marmee, Meg, Jo (whose real name was Megan), and Amy, so we all read a short scene together (where I got to say my favorite line "Sashes aren't silly!!"). I watched the others sing and read scenes, and learned a dance that I didn't actually get to perform -- they said she'd seen enough after watching me learn it. Then they asked me to read both of the Amy monologues from the audition. Scott, the producer had grabbed me when I walked in and said, "Can I give you a tip? Make Amy an endearing Amy. We don't want her to be a whiny brat." The director said the same thing as I prepared to read. I was so happy they shared my opinion of this complicated, misunderstood character!

The first monologue went well, seeing as it was the one I had practiced for the audition. The second monologue was just okay... so the director asked me to slow it down and try again. Apparently the second time wasn't much better, so the director asked me to be a little bit more thoughtful, as though Amy really considered everything she said before she said it. I thought about it for a moment, thanked her for the direction, and gave it another try.

I could tell from the pro team's faces that I had nailed it. The director leaned over to the producer to say something to him about halfway through my read (I could see them out of the corner of my eye -- I never look directly at the pro team during an audition) and when I finished they were all smiles and thanked me for taking the direction so well. At that point, the rest of the people had arrived for the "real" callback (well, second callback. They'd had the first the night before). The director had all of the Amys and Megs stand in a line to see how we'd look together. Then I left for rehearsal, 'cause, you know, I'm already cast in a show this summer ;-)

It was one of those callbacks where I knew I had done well and had no regrets. One of those where I could look back after terrible auditions and think "No, I'm not terrible. I've had awesome auditions before and I will again!" I knew they loved me, so it all depended on whether they'd work with my schedule, whether I looked too old, and whether they simply liked two other actresses better than they like me (CPT double-casts their shows). I'd done all I could, and I was happy. I told my friends afterwards, "I won't be surprised if they don't cast me, and I won't be surprised if they do."

I was wrong.

When Scott called me up this morning to offer me the role, I was shocked! He called from a number I didn't know, told me his name, asked me how I was doing (to which I replied "I'm happy" as I often do), and he said he'd be happy if I'd play Amy in the Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday cast! I said something incomprehensible along the lines of "I would love to!" He invited me to the first rehearsal... which I couldn't go to. Ricky sent me a cast list after the rehearsal, and I am blown away by the cast. I am friends with a few, and have seen others onstage, and everyone is really, really talented. I feel so lucky that I'm going to get to work with these people.

Turns out, the director is out of town for the first three weeks, so I might not miss as much as I feared.

The part that makes me laugh? My double is sixteen! Haha! I've seen her in a couple of shows (she is great) and know her family, and I am trying not to think too much about her being half my age. Actually, I'm kind of glad that she is, so I can study up-close how an actual teenage girl moves and talks and such. Plus, she's rumored to be really nice, and I always like that in a double :-D

Last week, I teased a friend of mine for saying, "This is not my life!" in reference to good fortune that, from my perspective, happens for her frequently. Now I find myself saying it! Two amazing roles literally on top of each other in one summer? With other freakishly talented people that I like and at terrific and supportive venues? When did this become my life? People tease me about getting leads all the time, but it really is incomprehensible to me every time. I've been doing community theater for a long time and played so many small parts that I'm grateful I'm finally getting to play some of my dream roles! So much trust put in me. And I can't believe that Little Women is working with my schedule. I honestly thought that would put me out of the running. Maybe that's why I did so well this time: I knew I had nothing to lose!

The downside is that I won't have any free time soon. The rest of my summer is pretty much shot, sans the one vacation I put down on my conflict calendar (woot! Shakespeare Festival!) I will get to perform around -- but not on -- my birthday, which I wanted to do.

I am so, so excited for another chance to play this character. I kind of want to forget that I've played Amy before and look at her with new eyes. The cast and pro team and venue are new, I think it only appropriate that my approach to Amy be new, too. There are a couple of things I was attached to from "the last time", but I don't ever want to use "that's how I/we did it the last time" as a reason for why I'm doing things the way I do them. I already said, "That's the way they say it in the book" to one of the actors at the callback, and I was very aware of how pretentious I sounded. I've changed in the last four years. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to continue to learn and grow my skills. I'm sure my performance will be all the better for it. Change is good.

Meanwhile, is it crazy that I'm still considering auditioning for The Scarlet Pimpernel? I couldn't go to the callback because of Wonderettes performances, but all I'm interested in is ensemble anyway, or maybe just Marie (a small but important non-singing role)... makes me tired just thinking about doing a third show in a row, but I really, really wanted to audition for that one this year!