Road Trip Conclusion...

The final audition of my roadtrip was at Sight and Sound in Pennsylvania.

It was a very long day. I arrived just after 8 AM, and I pulled out of the parking lot at 8 PM.

Every other audition I've done on the trip, I heard the standard (and expected) “thank you for coming in today” aka “We're not going to consider you.” No call-backs.

For this audition though, they kept wanting to see me. Even after my first call-back in which I went in, sang another song and did a cold read, I thought for sure I was done. But no, I heard “Don't let Sharon leave yet”. And I was asked to learn a song from the show.

At the very least, I was encouraged.

I didn't feel great about everything I did. But the comforting thing is: it's all in God's hands. He's in charge. If I'm to be cast, I'll be cast. If not, He's got a better plan. :) They're still holding auditions over the next few weeks, and will see a lot more people. From my understanding there aren't a lot of female roles available. But. HIS will be done.

Now I have to try and forget about it because I won't know anything until Sept or Oct.

I had a lot of fun. It was a great audition. Met some wonderful people. Laughed a lot. Particularly towards the end of the day as we all were getting quite tired. :) After I finally finished I noticed my legs were killing me. Who knew simply waiting around all day could be so taxing on the body?

Now. I'm home. What's next? Stay tuned to find out. (Since I don't know :))

In the meantime:

Road trip in a nutshell:

• 22 days
• 22 states
• 6,220 miles
• 8 ports of call
• 6 auditions
• Pulled-over 1 (stupid GPS took me on random back roads and was completely unaware of the 35 MPH Speed Limit)
• Tickets 0 (PTL)
• 4 Diet Cokes (If you know me, be impressed. If you don't. Be impressed)
• 4 Broadway Shows
• 4 Movies
• 0 Car breakdowns (PTL)
• Time spent in car – over 96 hours. Aka 4 days

First Time Experiencing

• Cape Cod
• Orlando
• Disney
• Cocoa Beach
• Branson, MO
• Broadway Audition
• Steak and Shake
• Zaxby's
• Driving in NYC

Special Thanks

Everyone who prayed for me!

Everyone who let me stay at their place:

• Jim & Dustee H.
• Nannie C (c/o Anne C)
• David and Elia R
• Robyn H (c/o Matt S)
• Shad & Shelia W
• Amy & Joey H
• Jessica M
• Jim & Ruth B

My heavenly father, who works everything out for good and HIS glory.

From Virginia to Broadway...

Virginia

Was great. Saw over 30 friends in the course of two and a half days. It was busy. My time was scheduled so I was going from one thing to the next. From 10 am until 1 or 2 am.

I went to the beach, two beach shows (Yea Pirate Show and Navy Show!), Qdoba, Jimmy Johns, Skinny Dipp, DW's, CPK, Panera, Cafe Moka, Williamsburg, Regent, FazBaby Room, Wawa, The Beech House, The Myers Abode, and more. :)

Awesome. And exhausting.

Click HERE to read about my first day back in the city

Second Day Back in the City

I stood in line to get rush tickets for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Stood next to a girl talking on the phone about how God had provided her with an awesome roommate in the city. After she got off the phone I started talking to her and asked to hear her story of how she ended up in the city and liked living there, etc. :) She gave me her email address so I can contact her later. Praise God for meetings like that. :)

After getting my ticket, went to the audition for Phantom to get my name on the non-equity list (I was #27 when I signed up at about 10:30). Female audition didn't start until 2, so I went to Starbucks to kill time.

My first Broadway Audition

At 1:30, the audition coordinator read through a list of Equity names. The people who were there walked up to the table, showed their equity card, and got a blank pink card with information they had to fill out. (Basic audition info...including past experience. Apparently the headshot went to the casting director, and the pink card went to the Music Director, so writing "see resume" was not allowed).

There were about 77 Equity girls auditioning. 77! I heard a group of them talking...they'd been in West Side Story or In the Heights together. It was eye-opening. Even after you've done a Broadway show or two, you still have to go to auditions and find work. Just because you have your equity card doesn't mean you stop auditioning.

I heard one girl talk about when she first moved to the city, the first audition she went to was the same type of call for Phantom. Only she was non-equity. She waited hours and didn't get seen. "And now I'm Equity and I know I'll be seen" she said.

I sat next to a girl I'd met briefly at the audition the day before. We patiently waited to see if there would be time to be seen.

Finally at 4 PM (after more than 2 hours of waiting) the audition co-ordinator read the non-equity list, and the first forty would be allowed to stay and audition. (there were more than 70 on the non-equity list) Thankfully I'd signed up earlier in the day. My name was called. I walked up, put my headshot in the pile, and started getting ready.

The Equity singers were asked to sing 16 bars. Non-Equity was asked to sing 8 bars. I picked one of the last phrases of one of my songs, and prepped to sing it. I played around with singing a higher note that wasn't written. I hummed it as I was sitting on the floor, but was unsure if I'd be able to do it in the audition.

The Actual Audition

I walked in, walked to the accompanist, gave him my music, and tempo, etc.

The auditioners said Hi, I responded in kind and then began to sing. (we weren't asked to slate, so I didn't)(so far I've gotten the impression from talking to people that unless you're asked to slate, you don't need to).

As I was singing my very short 8 bars, I was thinking "did I miss the place I was going to add the higher note? I think I did". Then before I knew it, I was hitting the note I wasn't sure I was going to sing. Ha.

The woman auditioner said "That's from the Apple Tree right?" I said yes. She said "Appropriate for a day like today when we can only hear 8 bars" Woot. I thanked them, then grabbed my music and left.

At least they got to see the real me

As I was exiting, I said to the auditioners "Hope you have a good evening!" Then I was opening the door to exit, I realized I hadn't thanked the accompanist. I had just grabbed my music and left.

So I'm opening the door as I turn and call back across the room "And Thank you....(realizing I have no idea of accompanists name or what to call him)...Mr. Accompanist Whose Name I Don't Know!" They all laughed, and I was out of there.

In Conclusion

This audition was actually the most fun audition I've done on this trip. The auditioners were great and personable :)

Did I perform my best? Pretty sure not. I know I still have areas to work on. Immediately:

Getting/Staying warm while waiting 3 hours to sing when you're not really given any place to warm up. I didn't feel I had a strong vocal start to either auditions yesterday or the day before.

And concentration! I know I shouldn't be thinking "Did I hit that note?" in the middle of the song. :)

But. Did I think at the beginning of this road-trip that I'd be auditioning for a Broadway show? Um. No! Yay Unexpected Summer!

Sorry my last couple blogs have been long-ish. If you read it all: congratulations. :)

Just another day in NYC...

So today I:

• Got pooped on by a bird. (thankfully just on my skin. And PTL for Purell and tissues I had in my purse)
• Got spit on by an angry homeless guy. (I reached out in front of him to grab a napkin as he was speaking vehemently)
• Auditioned.
• Heard "Nice job. Cute Song" (in so many words) from the accompanist. Which surprised me. I can't remember a time when an audition accompanist commented to the auditionee. Or. At least to me. Maybe this guy likes to comment, and so it wasn't anything special. But. It made me smile. :)
• Went to a taping of David Letterman.
• Walked many blocks.
• Lugged a 20+ lbs backpack all around the city. (painful) (why can't I pack light?)
• Saw Sister Act.
• Heard "Excuse me Ladies and Gentleman" followed by a spiel by two different people looking for money on two separate subway rides. (when I don't remember experiencing that before). At least one was a fairly entertaining duo rap act.
• Was approached by two different people looking for money in McDonalds.
• Stopped at at least 10 separate box offices trying to get rush tickets for a show. Any show.
• Bought my first tickets at TKTS (Sister Act).
• Got the "You look familiar. Have you been here before?" line from a guy for the first time. Though. He probably meant it.
• Won the ticket lottery for the David Letterman taping. First time trying. I heard others say they've been trying for a long time to get tickets. Thank you, Lord. :)
• Was on "Paul's Gold List" for the ticket. Whatever that means. Paul might have been the one who thought I look familiar. Who knows. I didn't interact with him again. :)
• Called a kid, "Kid".
• Wished the Box Office people wouldn't at least come across as condescending when I was asking for rush tickets. Usually I don't notice it. Maybe it's just 'cause I kept getting rejected. But.... don't they understand "I just graduated I have lots of loans I'm not paying $120 to see a show"?

All in all it actually was a pretty good day. I felt decent about my audition. They're going to call us if we're called back. I'm kind of thinking I won't be getting a call. I felt shaky, and a little weak at the start of the song. A few bars in, I saw the Casting Director make a mark on my resume. Then he just sat and watched and listened. He seemed engaged, but, it was almost like he already made his decision. I felt like my second half of the song was stronger. But it might not have made a difference. I could continue to analyze the audition. But I won't. Over and done. And who knows. It could simply be a matter of being the wrong size for the costumes.

In the end, I felt decent about the audition. And I DID come away with was a new audition lesson.

Non-Equity actors are allowed to show up at Equity calls! I did not know that. If we talked about that in Auditioning in the Biz class, that must have been when I was sick or something. (Sorry, Mark.)

I was talking with a couple girls and I got the scoop.

Non-eq can show up at an Equity call at the sign-in time. Equity people show their cards, sign up for a time, then leave and come back. There's a separate sheet for Non-Equity. If there are time slots that aren't claimed, or no-shows, then they'll see the Non-Equity people from the list.

There's no guarantee you'll be seen, but...it's good to know.

SO! I'm staying in the city tomorrow and doing a chorus call for Phantom. If I don't get seen, at least I'll get to check out the scene and see what it's like. It'll be an experience regardless.

Now, I'm unsure if it's that way for ALL Equity Calls. We'll find out. :)

...and I just realized I didn't talk about my time in VA. I will try and do that in the next couple of days. :)

Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be....

I Could Tell You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

If you're my friend on facebook (which, I assume you are) you'll notice today's status (Posted July 14th).

"To preserve the magic" we were asked not to talk about our experience on any social networking site. So. I suppose I can't give all the details. But, I'll beat around the bush. (to borrow the colloquialism (to quote Eugene Meltsner))

Suffice it to say, it was another experience. I wish I could say it was a success. Alas, not this time. It's based solely on a very very particular look depending on what they're looking for at the time (We were given a general idea, but not a specific idea).

I was a little disappointed. I mean, I'd LOVE that job (at least for a season). But I sort of expected it. I knew it'd be a long-shot. And, how can I feel bad when no talent was involved?(later rounds did have a movement portion...but the first round....we were just looked at...and then told who would stay.) Easiest "interview to get an acting job" you'll ever do :)

5 out of 50 were asked to stay. 3 were of ethnic persuasion. Gives an idea of how specific they are.

No Dress Code

So I show up, in a dress. I start noticing people are walking in with dance clothes on, and I start to get nervous thinking I over-dressed. Thankfully I saw a few other girls also in dresses. Suffice it to say, there was a whole wide range of outfits there...it was quite amusing. Sweat pants to skinny jeans to sneakers to 4 inch tiny heels.

I did learn something though: Just incase....always bring dance gear. It's simply smart. Because there was rumors about learning a dance (hence why a lot were dressed like dancers), and I didn't bring my dance gear. I had my jazz shoes...but they'd look stupid with a dress. Their info mentioned "may be asked to learn small movement routine". So I figured whatever they'd have us learn would be easy to do in a dress. Like: walk like a "ssecnirp".

Anyway: Lesson learned: will always bring dance gear.

I'm Going to Disney World!

After one of our Bye Bye Birdie shows at Regent, we had a talk-back. One of the questions was directed at those of us who were graduating, wondering what plans we had after graduation. I was last in the line. Everyone had some sort of plan. I didn't have any plans. So to be funny I said "I'm going to Disney World!"

Turns out.... I am. God has a sense of humor.

Tomorrow I'm visiting the Park for the first time. And I don't mind saying, I'm excited. :)

What's the Point?

I've traveled 3,000 miles so far, been gone a week and a half. I'm at the half-way point. I know I haven't "booked" anything yet. I won't lie and say I haven't had my moments of discouragement. (comes with the territory) But I know God's got me here for a reason. And regardless, I'm gaining some experience, learning new things and having an adventure :)

I would ask prayers for the upcoming two... July 20th and 25th. They're closer to my type and I'd love to do either one.

In the meantime

I'm going to sleep. Long day tomorrow in the Magical Kingdom!! :)

Open Call...

I'm sitting in Panera in Plymouth, MA. I just ate a sandwich and a "Fuji Apple Salad" (one of my new favorite things. Check it out)

It only took 4 1/2 hours to get here today...but it felt twice as long as my drive to NYC. Perhaps because I hit three patches of stop and go traffic (and with a standard transmission...that is not fun).

Anyway: On to the real purpose of writing this blog.

What I learned/experienced at my first New York Open Call Audition.

I showed up 20 minutes early for sign-in - There were 70 people ahead of me.

What I Learned: It is OK to be at an Open Call super early

I talked to one girl who said she stops in at an open call location hours early, signs-up, goes to work, then goes to the open call at her lunch hour. So if there's a sign in sheet posted that early, it's ok to do that. Good to know.

We were in two rehearsal rooms (One a holding room, one an audition room) on the 12th floor on 8th Ave... part of Pearl Studios (Where loads of auditions take place daily. There were at least four other productions auditioning just on that floor.)

What I Learned: Any actor in New York will more than likely spend lots of time in this building.

We were all given numbers (I was 123. Ha. (There were also scheduled auditions in the morning...The afternoon auditions started at #51)) Then we got to chill. Since I was one of the "later" ones, I had the honor of sitting on the floor. :) I made friends with two other girls and we sat together. For 3 hours. Until it was our time to sing.

We were asked to prepare 2 songs 16-32 bars each. At the start of the auditions, the casting team talked to everyone in the room and asked us to keep our songs to 16 bars. By the time we got up to sing, they were keeping it to a strict 16 bars of one song only.

We were lined up in groups of ten outside the audition room, and then ushered in one at a time. I felt ready and prepared. But things change as soon as you walk into that room. :)

The audition went alright. I didn't feel great about it. One of the auditioners was actually smiling at me while I was singing (as opposed to the others who looked bored... and I realized I was looking him in the eyes and needed to look at others, and I just ended looking at one spot in the back of the room instead of including all of them. Suffice it to say I lost my concentration/intention/specificity (You know, all that stuff we learned in school) and was in my head. But. Moving on...

I finished. They said. "Thanks. That's all".

What I learned: Sometimes you spend hours waiting to sing less than 30 seconds. And that's it. And. Must really really work on concentration.

I knew that was the case...but it really became real now that I've experienced it. :)

I also learned: One of the advantages at being "later in the line-up" is being able to watch what goes on.

During the three hours while I was waiting, I was watching as each person came out of their audition... those called back for the next day were asked to fill out an audition form. Of the 70 people in front of me, I only saw 3 people filling out those forms. Two African American Guys, and one girl. One girl, out of 50 in front of me was asked to stay. I'm sure there were many many many girls there with incredible talent who did wonderful auditions...but it was very obvious the casting team already had very specific ideas in mind for what they were looking for.

There were over 30 people behind me also. Putting the grand total of people they were seeing that afternoon at 100. I did feel bad for the auditioners. I don't think they took a break from when they started at 1 PM. It's gotta be tiring. Person after person....

So. Suffice it to say. I'm not disappointed. Well...being on a ship would be amazing... but God's got other plans this time. On to the next. I've got 4 other auditions in the next 2 1/2 weeks. All exciting opportunities should they work out...

I know there's going to be a whole lotta "no's". But the time will come when, Lord willing, there will be a "yes". I don't know what God's got in store. But I'm knocking on doors. Each audition will be a learning experience.

But you can only ever have one first NYC open call experience. :)

Getting Ready...

On Tuesday morning I'll hit the road for a three-week road-trip extravaganza!

Stop to stop the trip will be about 5,500 miles. However, I'll be doing various driving to and fro, so I'm guessing we're looking at 6,000 mi or so in total. That's over 100 hours of driving in the car. Oy.

I'll be staying in 10 different places. Praise the Lord. I have friends/family to stay with along the way. Unless something goes wrong, I should be able to make the whole trip without staying in a hotel.

First stop will be NYC.

Also, I was just offered an acting opportunity for part of the fall which I'd like to do, but I may have a decision to make.

Prayers would very much appreciated. :)

I'll try to update as I go along.

Packing begins tomorrow.

Happy 4th of July weekend! (And a belated Canada also to my Canadian friends) :)