It's Raining Men

And by "men" I mean "auditions".

Before I get too much further into this entry let's give it up for Whit, who successfully compared the audition process to a PB &J sandwich. Hear hear!

So, remember when I said it's audition season in Chicago? The winds of the season blew in full force this weekend aren't leaving any time soon.

Here in the Windy City, auditions come in waves. (apparently I like weather/nature related analogies) In the fall, we usually have a whole bunch of Season General auditions. This basically means the theatre company is testing the talent waters. You usually are not auditioning for a specific show, but rather giving them an idea of what you can do. If they find you appropriate for one of their upcoming shows, they call you back to audition a second time, but it might not be until March......even though you auditioned in September....it messes with your head, I gotta be honest. BUT, it's quite thrilling to get that call in March that someone saw you audition in September and remembered you. I'll take it!

I have TWO auditions this weekend. One Saturday and on Sunday. Both require two monologues, which means a total of four monologues! Ahh, PANIC!

Sidebar: I have a rather difficult to pronounce last name and when I was in high school, someone gave me the nickname "She's-In-A-Panic", which sounds similar to my last name if you say it really fast. That nickname was well earned. I panicked prematurely then and I still do now.

Once I got over myself, I realized that I really only have to do 3 monologues. (3 because the first audition requires a Shakespeare, which isn't appropriate for the second audition) Here's the direct instructions I've been given for Audition #1:

Choose Thine Own Adventure based on the works of Willy S -
"Please prepare a 1-2 minute Shakespeare piece you love. Don't worry about gender, age, race, comic vs dramatic, etc. Your love for the lines you choose is most important."

Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl
"Please prepare a brief poem (2 minutes max). Margaret Atwood or e.e. cummings are good examples of poems to look at in terms of style. Using this poem as a base, create a fully realized world for it. Through the language and physicality we should have a strong sense of what is happening. What kind of character are you? To whom are you speaking? What is the situation and where is this moment taking place? The specificity is not meant to intimidate but to allow absolute creative freedom, creativity and artistry. Your imagination is appreciated and celebrated by the Filament artistic team!"

I'll be busting out that old chestnut from Hamlet, "I have of late, but wherefore I know not..." because I love it. I love the speech, I love the meaning behind the speech and I relate 110% percent to what he's feeling at that moment in time.

For the second piece, I think I'm going to work on a poem called Love After Love by Dereck Walcott. (I read it the beginning of the book The Time Traveler's Wife, but shh...no one needs to know that) It is speaking about healing after a break up, but I think the actual words are more universal. I think his words are really about healing in general. Healing after a time of being so despondent, you feel you can't get any lower.

So there's my audition package for the first audition. Down in the dumps with Hamlet, then rising from the ashes with Walcott.

I will use the Walcott poem again for Audition #2 and I'm still trying to find something else that I think compliments it. This company was not nearly as specific about what they are looking for, so I'm on my own.

I have to be honest, I have a lot of work ahead of me this week. Especially to get the poem to reflect what Audition #1 is asking for. I'm pretty excited about it though. I've read Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice and several of her other plays. She's one of my favorite playwrights, so I hope I make a good showing. I would love a chance to do some of her work.

Off I go!

-Kristi

Farm PBJ

Let's hear it for Kristi and her great audition!! HOORAY!

Well, my audition is now a solid 5 days away, and I think I've found my two pieces. (ok, you can pick your jaw off the floor now). Now the process stands in the copy, cut, paste...re-copy, re-cut, re-paste stage. My favorite stage. Well, this stage is a close second to the stage where I'm walking off of *the* stage, finally finished with the darn audition. We'll get there.

Now, you may recall I was looking for classical and contemporary pieces.  Well, I took a leap and went to Classical Spanish plays-not to dear old Willy-and a wackadoo poem entitled "Cow".  Where does the farm theme come in, you ask? Well, the classical is Lope de Vega, and the play is Fuente Ovejuna (also know as "The Fountain Where Sheep Drink"). Get it? Cows. Sheep. Eh? Eh?!

Oh what connections actors find to justify the "perfect" audition package. Heh.

Its a tricky one, this "audition package". I almost think finding one monologue "with considerable range" is easier than finding two monologues. Why? That's a good question.

I think a solid audition package is like the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (Bear with me now.)

Now you've got two pieces of bread (this is like your time slot: 90 seconds, 2 minutes, etc.). You search for the best peanut butter and the best jelly to make the perfect sandwich (your assignment: two monologues *or* one monologue and a song for instance), to make the perfect audition package (delicious and nutritious!).

But what do I find at times?

That I've found the best peanut butter. I put that on one slice. Then I go to the pantry and find, gasp, the best crunchy peanut butter! Its good, just as good as the smooth, but different...right? But put it on the other slice of bread and all you have is a PBPB sandwich. Unfortunately, the sandwich is "just so" without that compliment zing of the jelly. There's no variance, no excitement-and the audience definitely stops listening to the same tone of voice, the same objective after about, oh, 1 minute. Not even that sometimes.

When finding an audition package, you *must* look for two pieces that can stand alone, but can also stand together without mushing into one long one-noted speech. Show the audience that you can be the antagonist and the protagonist, that you can embolden them and make them sick, that you can make them laugh and cry.

Make the best PBJ sandwich you can muster! Even if it does smell like barn.

On to editing,

-Whit