Understudy

Well I didn't get into the Agatha Christie play- it happens. Granted it has never happened to me twice in a row but it happens to a lot of people going into the acting field so I am ok with it.

I got the call on Saturday from the cool stage manager asking me if I wanted to be the understudy for the three girl characters in the cast and of course I accepted. Who knows maybe I will learn a thing or two when this is all over. Plus Sutton Foster was a Broadway understudy for years and look where she is today. That's right; Bunheads which is a great show by the way and if you have not seen it yet shame on you!
I was also not really disappointed when I got the role as understudy. I mean sure, I would have loved to have been cast in the show but I didn't get cut and like I may have mentioned in an earlier blog post that is the worst feeling in the world to me. Maybe the reason I am so ok with it is because I have been able to see understudies onstage before and usually they are just as phenomenal as the person who got cast could have been. Case and point; I saw The Lion King live, Scar had an understudy. I wasn't sure how I felt about that at first but in my world the understudy WAS Scar. I will never think of anyone else  but him when I see a Scar on stage. The understudy for him deserves an award. And a fruit basket. Of course I have seen a few other understudies onstage as well but usually for things such as a swing in Evita or ballet dancer in Phantom of the Opera.


I was able to see the cast list with my own eyes today and overall I am very happy with it. The three girls who beat me out are all super nice and of course the lead girl was the one I chose so hooray to me for casting correctly, lol. The lady I tried out for went to an older woman but I can kind of see why, I look like I am 12 so maybe it would be a bit hard to make it believable that I am 60 years plus. The guys who were cast are also all amazing, I don't recall one of the names on the list but I'm sure he is cool too. Now the neatest part about me being the understudy; Sweeney Todd guy is the understudy for the five guys in the cast. I was so freaking happy to learn that. The two people who got cut now have a chance to learn things in the world of an understudy. UNDERSTUDY DANCE TIME!

Hopefully everyone stays sane throughout this entire thing so I don't turn into one of these understudy type people;

LES MISERABLES

Just wanted to point out that I cannot freaking wait for this!
I didn't really know how I felt about Hugh Jackman as Valjean but after this I have a feeling that he is going to be brilliant and do the character justice.

One of the biggest surprises though was Amanda Seyfried. I did not want to see her name listed for a possible option for the cast and when I saw that she was going to be playing Cosette I was really upset. However, after hearing this small rendition of "In My Life" I can honestly say she will be fabulous and may possibly become one of my favorite Cosette's.

As for Anne Hathaway as Fantine, hand her the Oscar already, she deserves it. If you can sing like that and if you chop off your hair for an acting role you deserve it. And a little fact about Ms. Hathaway; she was supposed to play Christine Daae in the 2004 film version of The Phantom of the Opera but had to drop out due to conflicting film schedules and because she already had a contract with The Princess Diaries sequal.

Eddie Redmayne has potential. I can't judge him yet based on his "Cosette, Cosette" lyric. But "A Heart Full of Love" is bound to be epic.

Oh and why did they not show Russell Crowe singing? This concerns me greatly.

Aaran Tveit is also not shown, but I have a feeling his Enjolras will be pretty good. Then again I'm basing all of the Enjolras's off of Ramin Karimloo which is completely unfair considering I doubt anyone will ever do the character as much justice as him.

Colm Wilkinson will be great as the Bishop of Digne, and of course Samantha Barks will be freaking phenomenal as usual.  Another thing that I am looking forward to; Frances Ruffelle (originally Eponine on Broadway and London) will be playing "the most fabulous whore" for the "Lovely Ladies" sequence.

By the way where in the world are the Thenardier's? More importantly, why hasn't Helena been shown yet for this film? Her and Sacha Baron-Cohen will be great, no doubt in my mind about it.

Overall I'm super excited about this and I cannot wait until December!!!

Audition, version 2!!!!!

So I got to audition for my college's play today, it was 1 billion times better than auditioning for Sweeney, plus I wasn't so nervous which is always a good thing when it comes to auditioning.

I got to the theatre a bit early and filled out the audition form (what my name is, past shows I have done, what part I am trying out for, etc.) and low and behold, mr. phone guy from the Sweeney Todd auditions was there! I was actually really happy to see him again, we both got cut so of course I was hoping the best for him as well. 

The play that I tried out for is the longest running play in history, written by Agatha Christie. I knew about this audition months before Sweeney so I was definitely better prepared for it. I ordered the script for $8 online (fyi, never do that if you don't have to. My library in the area didn't have a copy so I was desperate.) and I read the thing straight through at least 35 times beforehand. I had also recently seen a production of it during the summer so I thought I was somewhat better prepared than 95% of the people auditioning who had no idea what the play was about or in mr. phone guy's case, was not aware that it was set in England. However I do have to say that for this production you don't need to know everything beforehand, if you can act then you are good. 

I met a few new faces at the audition, and of course some familiar faces from the last production showed up as well. I learned afterwards that 35 people showed up the first night! Most of them were guys, and including me, only 5 girls showed up, all of them talented. I knew that I had a good chance of being cut again considering the play only has 3 female roles (unless the director wants to gender-bender someone, I'm game for that) but overall I gave it my best and now we just have to wait and see what happens. I know for 100% that I am not getting the lead girl, another super awesome girl deserves the part a hell of a lot more than me. If she doesn't get it I shall have to question that.

I didn't try out for the lead though. I was happy when the director actually had me read for the part I wanted which hardly ever happens to me so that was pretty fun. Again, I think I did good but there is always room for improvement. And if I didn't get a part then I am hoping that I can at least usher or pull the curtain or something. IT'S GOOD TO BE INVOLVED!

Seems A Downright Shame

I did not get a part in Sweeney. Why? There could be multiple reasons. But I shall go with the director basically already had his cast picked out before the auditions and if you were ever in even one of his productions then you got a part. I have never been in one of his productions so I was never going to get a role from the beginning.

But if you want some back story as to how these auditions went then I shall tell you.
When I arrived at the theatre on Wednesday I was super nervous which is a strange because usually for auditions I'm more excited nervous than nervous-nervous which probably makes no sense to a lot of you. But this was basically my first 'professional' audition for a musical I have loved for years.

So I walked into the outside room where a guy handed me a five page thing to fill out with things on it such as hair color, what role are you interested in, etc. I already sent in my headshot and resume so I found it strange that I had to go through the resume part again but whatever. During this time I saw a lot of people who obviously knew each other hanging out so I started talking to them and a lot of them seemed nice but the other half seemed like I was a nuisance to their conversation. 0_o I have a word for people like this, I call them 'theatre bitches.' However I wasn't really concerned because before the audition my mom told me that I should not be intiminated by them, especially their looks. I consider myself to be somewhat plain compared to a lot of girls which is either a good thing or a curse when it comes to the theatre world. Most of the girls auditioning were quite pretty and had blonde hair- but I swear most of them had no soul. The four girls that I ended up meeting and becoming friends with were the girl who threatened to kick anyone's ass if they messed with me and introduced me to some of the people there, a girl who should have gotten the role of Johanna considering she was a dead ringer for her, a mother who was trying out for the beggar woman and was really nice to me and was very good, and just an overall nice girl who had such talent and was so nice that I couldn't help but hope that if I didn't get Mrs. Lovett that she would. However with the nice people there comes the mean. One girl who is a patron of the theatre and stars in most of this theatre's plays was a complete theatre bitch. She bragged about how she went to Chicago for improv training and how she thought the musical was dull but how she could give it everything it needed. She also found me and some of the other people there to be just an extra and how she wouldn't talk to us unless we gave her a reason to... basically if we are talented she will talk to us. Eff that. I don't want someone like you talking to me anyway.  I seriously despise people who do shit like this. I don't think I have ever hated anyone so much in my life. Most of the guys auditioning were also really cool and I really enjoyed hanging out with them more than most of the girls. 

Anyways after we filled out our 5 page paper and handed it to a guy, we were taken into the theatre where the director told us that we would all be singing alone in a room  with him and two other people judging us along with an accompanist. Yay American Idol style! Everyone would be randomly picked by the sheets we filled out. 0_0 I have heard a lot about professional auditions and was actually glad when they said they were doing it this way. I had never really done auditions like this before so it was a new experience. 

Everyone was waiting out in the waiting room area and of course the theatre group was hanging out with each other and talking loudly about their accomplishments avoiding everyone else like their life depended on it. But I did meet a few people I enjoyed talking to during this time; a music teacher, the guy who should have gotten Sweeney who was doing vocal exercises, and this 18 year old guy who was just as nervous as me. It's funny because he said that playing on his phone actually helps his nerves and by God it does! Once the door was closed some girls thought it would be fun to be extremely operaish with their voices so everyone could hear them which was apparently suppose to intimidate others auditioning. 0_o.  People were going in and out of the music room one by one, some people leaving, others just sitting in the waiting room trying to intimidate the people who hadn't gone yet (Ms. "I won't talk to you unless you're talented" being one of them. Have I mentioned how much I hated her yet?) One blonde girl who was sick and who I learned afterward that she knows my cousin even told me the following "HA! You should audition with a Sweeney song because they'll NEVER give you a part if you don't!" Orrr I can audition with this piece from Follies because I've been practicing it for weeks and you can go fall in a ditch and break your hip bone. 

As soon as my name was called to be on deck I was practically shaking. However I was lucky to have been up next after the coolest dude there because he gave me some advice before he went in and told me that he wasn't really a singer either. He was legitimately the only person I could relate to there and I gave him a hug. After he came out  he told me good luck and I went upon the stage! Everyone seemed to be supportive in the room which made me 100 times less nervous, and they loved my song selection from Follies (Ha! Take that you evil blonde witch!) I sang a little of it to the accompanist who found the right pitch for me then stood in the middle of the stage and sang it to the director and two others. I thought I did really good despite the fact that my voice cracked a tiny bit on a high note. But overall I did my best with it.

After I sang I met up with Mr.cool dude outside and the girl who was a dead ringer for Johanna. I swear she should have gotten the role, I'm more mad for her than I am for myself at this point. But this family was incredibly nice and I absolutely loved them, including grandpa who didn't audition but was there for support. 


Day 2- 
Go back to the theatre. The second and final day consisted of dancing, stage combat, and improv. We were supposed to do cold readings but I think the improv took it's place which was bullshit for those who have difficulty with improv like ME!

As soon as I arrived I was a lot less nervous and more excited than anything. I met a girl from the capital who wasn't able to show up the following day but she was super nice and we got along quite well.
Everyone stretched before dancing then the choreographer whom I met the day before gave us a routine which we worked on for atleast an hour which was super fun. The thing about dancing for theatre is that it looks stupid unless it is with a group-then it looks great. At the beginning of the dance I moved to the front row because I am only 5 feet tall and it was impossible for me to see the steps over 7 foot tall guys' head. What sucks about this is that after half an hour he moved the 2nd row up to the 1st and vice versa and it remained that way until the end of the dance and I had to move forward at least 25 times to see exactly what was going on. Oh and did I mention that after half an hour they gave us a 2 second or I'm sorry "5 minute" break which lasted 2 seconds where I had to wait in line for the restroom and check my blood sugar until they screamed at us all to get back onstage. I did the last hour or so of this dance with no water in my system what so ever so by the end I was feeling a little light headed, but I survived...barely. But the important thing was that I kept up!

Next up was stage combat. This is where Mr.Stage Combat dude told us to find a partner about our height to do this little stage combat exercise with and that they should be YOUR HEIGHT. Alright, that's cool I can totally be mr. eight year old kids partner for this or Johanna's considering they are both around my height. Nope. Johanna and another girl paired up and the eight year old partnered with his dad who's at least twice the kids height. Oh and by the way, there was an uneven number to be paired up. Guess who ended up with no partner? Guess who cared? Nobody. Apparently theatre is 100 times worse than high school where if you don't have a partner you not only feel like a loser for not knowing anyone, but are more hurt than anything especially when you know you have to do this to be considered for a part? Guess who left the stage area for a moment to go cry? I have never cried at an audition before, I'll never do it again. But truth be told, I doubt my feelings have ever been  hurt more at the age of 21. However one guy who did something directory-ish saw me when I was pretty much finished and asked if I was ok along with the stage manager. I told them I had no partner- they paired me with Johanna and another girl who obviously did not enjoy my being added in. I only got to practice two times before we performed it in front of everyone. And I must say I rocked! Stage combat is freaking sweet. I kind of badly want to take a class for it now.  We also had to do a flippy somersault thing on a mat. I was the only girl who succeeded in doing it correctly. HA! Then I messed up the 2nd time around. Darn.


Before I get off track I have to say that Mr.Stage Combat guy was my favorite person out of every single person I met there and I learned a lot from him. Such as rule number one; SAFETY FIRST! The thing that made this guy awesome was that he explained things in a way you could understand and went around to each group to see what they were doing right and/or wrong and didn't play favorites. Also, I learned that throwing a punch and then doing Superman is not cool. Why? "Because we all know Batman is way better than Superman." YES! Mr. Stage Combat dude you rock. 

When we were done with that instead of cold reading from the script we had to do improv which I didn't understand what so ever. Improv in Sweeney Todd? Don't see it. But we all had to line up in a row based on what gender we were and then be some type of British character. I made myself be a whore because I wanted to stand out from all the rest of the girls who did something similar one after another. And because being a whore just seemed like a good idea at the time. 0_o After that monstrosity we got into groups of ten and those groups sat in a few chairs and pretended to be possessed by eating meat pies. Before the last group went (which was the one I was in) Ms. Patron Theatre bitch calls out "Haha yeah guys come eat my meat pies!" right in front of the director/cast/stage manager, etc. Um you're not Mrs.Lovett yet bitch and you should just not get the freaking role for saying that. Oh well I showed her, because the last group only had 5 of us in it meaning 5 more people had to join us and of course the evil one decided to volunteer or basically not move from the stage after her group was finished. I sat right next to her ON PURPOSE. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer-good motto.

The girls were then told to give the director a curtsy for whatever reason and then everyone could leave. There is this one girl who kept being a frou frou throughout this entire improv exercise. She looked like this during all of it, only 200 times worse than the picture. Yes, it's possible. BLARBLARBLAR LOOK HOW FANCY I LOOK!!!

The director told us that the cast list would be posted tomorrow afternoon on facebook and their website at 12:00 exactly. But he posted it at midnight and my name was not on there no matter how many times I looked at it thinking I missed something. Nope. No name. However my favorite thing about this was that Ms. Theatre Patron Hates Talentless People Bitch got Mrs. Lovett and the choreographer who didn't even audition got Sweeney. WTF. Oh and a 6 foot tall blonde girl is playing Tobias/Toby! After reading this I had a breakdown and finally fell asleep at 4:30 am. In the words of the Sondheim they all deserve to die. Yes I am still bitter and mad. I have no intentions of auditioning for these people ever again no matter what musical or play they're doing. Oh well, there's still the college play which I was planning to go to first anyways. Hopefully I won't get cut again. 

College Freshman

I admit I was one once upon a time. However some of these freshman make me look back and go "was I really that stupid?" The answer is, no. No I was not. Then again I am guilty of not knowing what the college mascot was until halfway through my first semester. However, saying "Man I got totally trashed last night!" extremely loudly does not impress anyone.

Reminder this is a week, A WEEK after college has started and there are still people running around asking me where their math class is and how to get to the book store. I have never taken a math class and it is not my responsibility to find the class for you. If you would have gone to the orientation then you would have known where your class is located. If you didn't go to the orientation you should have shown up to school at least 20 minutes early so you can find your class and not look like a stupid newbie. Or better yet, there is a map of the campus in the  booklet thing you get when you go to orientation which could help you out, but sadly because you didn't go to orientation you now get no booklet and get no email address which is kind of an important thing to have!

Also, to all of the ladies; I would think that wearing 10 inch heels would hurt after walking around campus for awhile. The campus and most classes are spread out so why do you insist on hurting your feet? You are not Paris Hilton, you more than likely cannot pull the pink heels off while running to the next building without falling down on your face.

And the last thing that irritates me about freshman or just stupid students in general; complaining about homework. Did you really think we wouldn't have any? Honestly. Why are you here?

Overall those are just a few of the things that I have picked up on. Granted not all freshman are like this, most of them really aren't. But there are always a few that seem to wind up in this pool of stupidity.

Classes

Hey everyone!
Sorry it's taken me so long to write another blog post but I have been BUSY! College started two days ago on the 5th and  overall I can say that I am liking my classes so far- minus reading to children which I dropped for multiple reasons, those being;
1. As soon as I walked into the room my teacher wanted me to fill out some paperwork because she thought I was a first year student and that this was my first semester. How incorrect she was! 
2. Only seven of us were in the class- all of us being girls, 5 of them being morons. The other one was a foreign exchange student so I can't really fault her for being moronic and bitchy.
3. Teacher emailed me and two of the other girls because "We are under 18" and need to fill out a paper form so we can take this class. NO LADY! I AM 21! Asdfjgkgkdgjkgjdj! Shouldn't this be on file somewhere? 
4. For the class you have to read to some elementary/pre-school/daycare kids in the area. I don't live in the area. This is a problem.
5. "You have to decide what you will be doing for the class and go at your own pace." If I could go at my own pace and I could do anything I would be done with the class by now. But no, if you don't show up everyday you get marked down 20 points.
So those are the reasons I dropped it. I never really had an interest with the class to begin with but after all this lameocity I now know that teaching 1st graders is not the correct career path for me. Actually I already knew that so learning something I did not.

My second class was a class where we get to read Shakespeare and do Shakespearian things which is cool. However I think my professor loves the sound of his own voice, but that's fine because he explains everything in a way that others can understand. We have to read the first act of "The Merchant of Venice" which in my opinion is a great play. 

The next class I had was a music class for voice which I was really excited about because I haven't taken any voice classes since choir in high school. The people in there are really nice and friendly and it's just a whole bunch of different personalities which is neat. I feel like I am going to learn a lot in this class which is good considering I do want to be able to sing without feeling like I'm going to screw up somewhere.

After music I had lunch and then went into my theatre class which only certain people were allowed into. I emailed my director before the semester even began and asked if he had any tips about auditioning for Sweeney and the response I got back was actually the best advice I received which was basically to just have fun with it which is actually something I had forgotten after I practiced so much. Theatre is supposed to be fun, if it ends up not being fun then something isn't right. But this class seems like it is going to be really cool and I already know four of the six kids in there so I have a lot of faith that this class is going to rock.