Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Annie the Musical Auditions

Annie the musical is coming back to Broadway in the Fall of 2012.  They have already started having auditions for it and I originally went in to the Equity Chorus Call (ECC) for dancers last month.  I unfortunately did not get to the audition in time to hear my name called from "the list" so I was given some ridiculously high number like 157!  Which meant I would be waiting around FOREVER!  Now, luckily for me being equity means that as long as I get to an audition on time I will be seen, but having such a high number does have its downsides.

1.  I have to wait around for hours, because they only take in 30 people or so at a time, and each group takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

2.  Just like any other job the people in casting can get bored after watching people audition all day and may stop paying attention.

But apparently these are risks I'm willing to take, since I can't seem to get there on time!

After waiting around for a couple of hours, I finally get to go into the room.  The choreographer of the show Andy Blankenbuehler is there with his assistant and he is teaching the combination himself!  He has previously done: In The Heights, 9 to 5, and Bring It On the Musical and I have never auditioned for him before so I was pretty excited.  We learned a quick combination from the section NYC in the musical.  It was very stylized and had some intricate footwork to it; which took me and everyone else in the room a little time to get.

After learning it, we went in small groups for casting which each group having to dance twice.  After my group went the first time Andy asked me if I could dance the combo "smaller."  I gave it a go and saw my headshot go into the "yes" pile! Yes I watch But then, there was no cut! We were all excused and confused because the previous groups were asked to do a quick tap combo after the first cut.  Welp, they ran out of time and thats what happens when you come late and go in the last group!!

Fast forward to a few weeks later, I was asked to come in and sing at Telsey.  I sang "Where Am I Going" from Sweet Charity and it went horribly.  Just not my best job at all.  I was pretty upset about it, but I learned some things from my Big Fish experience, so I didn't give up on getting seen for this show and we will see what happens!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Nice Work If You Can Get It

About 2.5 weeks ago, I was called in to audition for Nice Work If You Can Get It.  It was a emergency replacement call and they were specifically looking for a sexy black dancer girl.  I was super excited to be going in and very hopeful about the opportunity.  The call was late in the afternoon on Friday and rehearsal for the show was expected to start a week later!  So I knew that this would be the only audition and they were going to cast someone today!  Pressure!

Anyways, I get to the audition, change, and check in.  Then its time to head into the room.   There are nineteen other girls there and I recognize most of them from other auditions.  We learn a short cutesy combination from Kathleen Marshall herself and then its time to go three at a time.  I was front and center in my group and danced the combination well.  After everyone went, they asked us to all go outside and prepare to sing.  I went in and sang my first song, "Always True to You in My Fashion" from Kiss Me Kate and it was pretty good.  They then asked me to sing a second song!  Hooray for an in the room callback!  They wanted a ballad and I decided to sing "Simple Little Things" from 110 In the Shade.  The second song also went well.  Kathleen told me I did a very good job, made sure she had my name right, and that was it!

I was hopeful to get a call that evening saying I booked it, but as you can guess I did not.  I later found out from my agent that I at least did get put on hold for it, so they definitely liked me!  I'm definitely wondering if my second song choice could have been better, but its too easy to monday morning quarterback yourself.   Anyways, the girl who got the job had a couple of Broadway credits under her belt already and was a great dancer too, so Yay for her! 

I'm getting closer, I'm claiming it.