And Another Audition

  Hi there. Long time no see, huh? My life is CRAZY right now. I basically have something happening every day of the week. Tomorrow I'm going to try to get a book review up. No promises though. I have a boatload of homework. UGH! :P So let's talk about the day that was my audition a couple weeks ago. It was bad people. Well, sort of.

 I auditioned for Shrek the musical. I had my song picked out. I was nervous about that because I was singing in a way I had never sung before. Instead of belting, I'd be using a lot of head voice. I'd been working with my music teacher on it and I hoped I was ready.

 No matter how many times I audition, the audition process is the worst for me. I get incredibly nervous and my gut clenches and my voice wavers. I usually do fine in other areas, but the audition often gets me, which is awful. But I hoped I was ready. (See a pattern here?)

 I was wearing a dress my parents had given me along with a couple others as a joint Birthday/graduation gift. It was pink and orange and white, very bright and very much my personality. I paired it with my favorite pair of heels: pinkish orange wedges.

 When it was my groups turn to come and sit down, my heart fluttered, but I tried to walk confidently. As I reached my seat I felt more than heard the rip. Glancing down at my foot I wanted to scream. The side of my heel had ripped out. There was no way I'd be able to walk in them. Feeling stupid, I dug around in my purse and pulled on my jazz shoes. They didn't match my outfit and I had brought them for the dance portion of the audition. Now I probably looked stupid in jazz shoes and a fancy dress.

 When it was my turn I thought I would die. I climbed the stage along with my pianist, a special girl who was kind enough to play for me. And I sang. And it so wasn't as good as when I practiced. My voice wavered but it sounded like vibrato I suppose. I belted a few notes I was supposed to sing in head voice, and I said the same line twice, but I had a pretty strong finish, so that made me feel a little less lame. Without God there to help me I would have flubbed it big time.

 After that it was time for the dance audition. It is no secret that I can't dance worth a lick. I had actually spent that morning practicing a few steps, some of which were used in the dance audition and I still totally failed. But I tried to smile and do what I could and I felt okay about it. I usually do better with individual instruction, so learning with a group takes me a bit longer, but I've always managed to accomplish it in other shows, thankfully.

 So then I went home, wondering if I'd get a callback and not being surprised if I didn't get one. I did get one. I went to callbacks, did a bit there, and they posted the cast list the next day. To my excitement, I will be playing Mama Bear, the maternal member of The Three Bears famous family. It's a good part, and I can't wait to get started.

 I guess the lesson on this is do your best, don't be too hard on yourself, everything will turn out best in the end. Thank the Lord He is in control of such things.

~ a rambling author

Here it is... at last. ;)

 Well here's the showcase. I hope you enjoy. I'm the crazy lady with the braid, sweater, up and down socks, and the cane. :P






                         

~ a rambling author

This Week in Theater Class: Character Acting in Musicals

 Hey everyone! So... I know I'm already doing The Other Side of Me, showcasing parts of my theater life such as shows I've performed in, but I also want to delve into the other side of theater I take part in while doing shows: Theater classes with CharacterWorks Theater. These classes can range from singing, to acting, to improv (improvisational acting, or acting without a script.) So, I present to you This Week in Theater Class! Every now and again I'll talk about a class I'm taking. For the past nine weeks or so, I've been taking a class called Character Acting in Musicals with the awesome Heather.

 This class is about defining the different types of actors, and focusing on being a character actor, or someone who can play all kinds of different roles, often quirky ones. For our Showcase (the presentation we do at the end of the session) we're performing bits from a musical called Urinetown.

 I know what you're thinking. It sounds really weird. But it's actually pretty funny to think about considering Urinetown was created to be a spoof of nearly every musical out there. I'm not going to go into all the details on it, but if you'd like to know more, Google is your friend.

 Anywho, we're doing parts from three different songs. If you would morbidly like to listen, here they are:

   

        

   

 

 Hehe. Now that you're wondering what on earth this is... You'll definitely want to Google it. In showcase, my brother is playing the guy in the second video, and I'm the old lady from the third video who could survive with a cold, tall glass of water. :P 

 Despite it's interesting concept, this has been an enjoyable class to work on. The showcase is Monday, and I'll try to get my mom to video it. If all goes well, I may post it here for your morbid curiosity. :P 

 So this was a class that covered different concepts... singing, acting, and the freedom to perform without inhibition. 

 I hope you enjoyed today's blog posts. Do you like the idea of This Week in Theater Class? 

~ a rambling author

The Other Side of Me: Joseph Photos

Hello bloglings! How goes life? (By the way, I never told you that I was cast in Willy Wonka as Mrs. Gloop, and I'm having a fantastic time with the part.) Anyway, here are some photos from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as I promised. Enjoy! ;) Disclaimer: Prepare for weird bearded pics.

Let's just say we had to wear some big pants.

Me and my "dad" AKA Jacob in the show.

This was during the song, "Joseph's Dreams." We had a bit of a Jazz dance going on.

"There's One More Angel in Heaven."

More Jazziness.

"Those Canaan Days." We're starving. We hear a fly. We want to eat said fly. By the way, the guy wearing green in the middle is my brother, Micah. ;)

Yup. Rough times.

Raise your beret.

     

Here's an attractive photo. :P

      

His expression though...

   

Defeated.

  

   

"Grovel, Grovel"

  

Journey to Egypt

 

  

Smiling with a beard is weird.

   

 

Did I mention there's a Seventies dance? Yeah, that's me in the back looking like a resident hippie.

 

 

Hm. I have an idea, let's attack our brother!

    

It was red, and yellow, and colors and colors, etc, you get it, all right!

  

    Anyway, you get the picture. It was an awesome show. There were a tons of pics. I played Gad and was a terrible brother, but everything came out right in the end. If you've never heard of the show look it up! See you tomorrow! ;)

~ a rambling author

The Other Side of Me: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

 It's Tuesday! And according to my new blog schedule, that means it's Life and Theater day! That means I'll be posting about the things happening in my life for every Tuesday on out. (Or sometimes I might just talk about theater stuff.) *Throws confetti.* For my first post in my Life schedule... I'm going to be continuing my 'Other Side of Me' series which has been neglected far too long. You can read previous posts in the series here.

 Today I'm going to be talking about the second show I had the pleasure of performing in... Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Here's one of the songs from the show so you can have an idea.

 

   

 So, before I found out they were doing this show, I heard they were thinking about doing Peter Pan. Peter Pan is one of my favorite favorite favorite shows. So I was beyond excited. But then it came out that we couldn't do Peter Pan, and they were going to do Joseph instead. I was disappointed at first because I love Peter Pan so much, but I ended up having so much fun with Joseph that I can't imagine what not doing it would be like. This was done with the same group I did Willy Wonka with. 

 Instead of a classic audition, they had something called an "Audition Workshop" for Joseph. You could sign up for two different slots, and we chose the first one. When I say we, I refer to my older brother, Micah, who I roped into doing theater with me. We had gone to see Peter Pan at CYT a few months earlier, so that had hyped his interest in theater significantly since it was such a great show. 

 The Workshop was comprised of acting games and group singing. 

 After it was over my brother and I were both called for callbacks a couple of weeks later. 

 This time, there were lots of kids at callbacks. But for some reason I felt so much more at ease than I had at the Willy Wonka callbacks. I had been listening to the Joseph soundtrack and had a pretty good grasp on the words and tunes of a lot of the songs. 

 At this point in time I had been expecting to be tried for only female parts, but Mrs. A said at the beginning of callbacks that girls could try for guy parts too. 

 So when they asked who would like to try to sing 'One More Angel in Heaven' (seen below) I volunteered. It was a good day for me, I guess. I just had fun and sang the song in a low man-like voice. I remember one of the directors saying, "Careful boys, or the girls will get all the parts!" Some of the other girls were doing well too. 

                    

  My brother also did well, and was tried for several large parts. They picked some of us and lined us up according to height.

 This was right before Thanksgiving. I was actually out of state visiting family for the holiday when the cast list was posted. We looked. I had been cast as Gad, one of Joseph's brothers, and Micah had been cast as Levi, another one of them. It was an exciting day.

 Rehearsals started. There were a couple other girls cast as brothers, as well as several boys, and we had the greatest time together at rehearsals being a little family. Joseph is one of my favorite show experiences because I just had a blast doing it.

 I mean, there were a couple things that happened, but all together it was a great show to be a part of. I could say a lot of things. There were so many memories combined about that show. Like tearing legs off a cardboard goat, and seventies dance moves, and trying to eat my brother during 'Canaan Days.' Oh, and I had to wear a beard. A beard. I had to glue a beard on my face. Fun. And then I had to take it off afterward. But it was totally worth it, and I would do it again!

I know I'm probably missing something, so if you have any questions about the Joseph experience, post 'em in the comments. Oh, and next week I'll post some photos from it!

Hope you enjoyed!

 Come back tomorrow for a post about writing! 

~ a rambling author




 

The Other Side of Me: Willy Wonka

 Okay. I know I'm late, but I honestly have a pretty good excuse this time. Besides other life things, I had a rather long eye appointment and I had to go to the city about an hour and a half from my home  for head shots/trying on costumes in the evening Tuesday. (Did I mention I was cast in A Christmas Carol? But more on that later...)

 Okay. So today is the second post in my The Other Side of Me series. I'm not promising that these will be weekly, cause I'm still trying to figure out that pesky blog schedule, but we'll see what happens.

 I left off last week talking about the choir I was in. I forgot to mention one thing. While in this choir, we traveled as a group to see The Wizard of Oz performed by Christian Youth Theater.  I was amazed by the talent and professionalism, and dared to dream that someday I could do CYT even though at this time it was impossible.

 Back to my group, and what Mrs. A had said when we first inquired about musical theater. Well, true to her word, around January, info went up about the show they were going to perform in the Spring: Willy Wonka. I was pretty familiar with the Willy Wonka storyline having seen the movies and whatnot. I looked at the roles, and since they said pick one to try for, I decided to try for Veruca Salt. I was thirteen going on fourteen, but they'd said I could try for a kid's or adult part. Even though that was the specific part I was auditioning for, I practiced other parts as well.

 Finally the audition day arrived. Guess what? I was sick. Or recovering. And thanks to my illness, my voice was in a terrible state. I went to the room with Mrs. A privately, and told her that my voice was messed up. She assured me that she already  knew what my voice sounded like, and I sang what I could of my audition. "You have a callback," she said. "It will be here, next week."

 I was so excited! I'd never heard of a callback before, unless you count maybe... the part in Hoodwinked where the schnitzel guy gets an acting callback?

 Anyway, the callback day came. I was so nervous. The idea of competing against others using simply my vocal and acting abilities which probably weren't at their peak completely intimidated me. There were about three other girls called back for the same Veruca Salt part. We all sang her song together, and then sang it alone. Unfortunately, I let my nerves get a hold of me, and was kind of shaky with my audition. After this, we read a few lines, and the callback was over. They told us when the cast list would be posted.

 Oh the wait was excruciating! I may have felt pretty bad about my callback, so I was very nervous about what might happen.

 The cast list was posted!

 I looked-- would I be portraying bratty rich girl Veruca?!?

 No.

 Mrs. Beauregarde - Bethany Baldwin

Was I disappointed? But of course. If you are hoping for something you're going to be disappointed if you don't get it! But my mindset... I don't know if I started it then, or when, but it is this. No matter what part you get, always do your best. Besides, I was a named character! That was something to be happy for!

 Mrs. Beauregarde was one of the characters I hadn't really researched (The mother of the rude, gum chewing Violet,) but I found myself becoming excited anyway. And in the end, I discovered that Mrs. Beauregarde was really the better part for me anyway.

I went to rehearsals, I read lines, worked on acting, etc. When I came into this show I had a shell. I was pretty shy around the other kids except my friend Charlotte who I had known before, and I wanted to do well, but I was a bit afraid to pop the lid off the box. But I did. For some reason, when I get on stage, I feel alive. I become a part of the story, not just an actor on the stage, but I am that person. And for your viewing *cough* pleasure, here are some photos of me as Mrs. Beauregarde.

Here's the top half of my costume. I believe this photo was taken before my first show.

  Full outfit. I should also mention that I got my braces off just in time for the show, so I was smiling proudly. :D

                   This is a photo inside the factory. I changed into this dress for the second act.

                                 In this room here... surveying the wonders of Wonka's creation.

                              About to take a hulking bite in the chocolate smelting room.

                                    Scolding/talking to my daughter outside the Wonka factory.

                                    Looking smug with my daughter during her interview.

                                             My "air guitar" picture as I call it. Who knows...

                                       The finale. Once again, who knows what I'm doing?


 I enjoyed being in my first theater show SOOOO much. Especially after waiting to long to do any sort of acting. I was a bit depressed that I would have to wait an entire year for another show! Which you will learn about next time. ;)

 What do you think?

~ a rambling author

The Other Side of Me: The Beginning

 Today I'm starting a series! Currently, it's tentatively called The Other Side of Me. I'm still trying to decide what day to post this series, as I'll be changing around my blog schedule very soon. The Other Side of Me will be about my other favorite hobby: Musical Theater. Sometimes with writing, theater, and various smaller hobbies, I tend to spread myself thin... right now with school and everything my only "hobbies" (though I view them as much more than that) are only writing and acting, along wth watching something now and again for relaxation. Here's a little background on how I got started, for today.

 Since I was a young girl, I wanted to be involved in acting in some form or other, but in my area I could never find anything. Finally, when I was about twelve or so, we heard about a home school acting group. We weren't sure how to get involved, but found out where it took place, and my mom drove me there. Unfortunately, the sign ups were over, but they promised to email us a few months later in January. January came. No email. My email could have been lost, or perhaps they merely forgot. Anyway, a few months passed, and I still wanted to act.

  I mentioned this desire to my piano teacher, who happened to know a woman who had helped put on a production of The Sound of Music. When my teacher wrote the woman's number on a sticky note, I excitedly showed it to my mom. Much to my disappointment at the time, my wise mother suggested we wait until September, since the woman was a teacher, and would most likely wait till school season.

 When September arrived, I brought it up again, and mom called the lady at last. Let's call her Mrs. A. (Love ya, Mrs. A!) Anyway, Mrs. A told mom that she was planning on doing Willy Wonka with director, Mrs. C in the spring. For now, however, she was starting a kids choir, and wondered if I would like to be involved. Since it was one step closer to my dream of acting. and I figured it could be fun, I said yes!

 One day every week, I went to choir practice, learning Christmas songs, and just having fun. We had a few small performances, but were working toward a Christmas concert to be held in a big rec center. I even had a small solo in the song Believe, which you may remember Josh Groban singing at the end of The Polar Express. My line was "There's no time to waste, there's so much to celebrate."

                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  I even somehow got into the paper. Yes, this is back in my glasses and braces days on the left. :)

 Anyway, I think I've talked enough for today. This doesn't really talk all that much about theater, but this is what helped me get there. I hope you've enjoyed this somewhat different look into my life! 

 God bless!

~ a rambling author