In This Show

I will not try to direct the people around me.

I will not offer help with the (very difficult and word-filled) music unless specifically asked to do so.

I will not bad-mouth other actors (including the girl who got the part I wanted) or the director. Or anyone else.

When I think about what a lame part I got, I will think about the people who didn't even get a chance to be in the show, and just be grateful to be part of it at all.

When I get home, I will be useful and clean and pack, and not just sit around like a bum.

As much as I would like to be selfish and a diva, this is not about me at all. I'm here to support. I will show up on time, know my lines, and do what is asked of me, without volunteering in an obnoxious fashion. And do it with a smile.

Choosing a Song for Auditions

I used to go through a lot picking a song. Seriously. I would listen to the soundtrack of the show, and then go through my sheet music (I have a lot of it), looking for That Perfect Song. The one that captured the spirit of the show I was auditioning for, that was practically in the show it was so amazing. In fact, it usually took me so long to pick a song that I didn't have a final choice until the day before the audition.

Which is fine. If you have fifty songs that you're good at singing and you know, it's fine to operate that way.

But throughout that whole process, my husband Hotty would look at me and say, why don't you just pick three or four songs to get really really good at, and use those whenever you audition? Instead of choosing from fifty songs, choose one that just kind of fits the general feel of the show, from four.

But I was never really into that.

So then I tried out for the Scarlet Pimpernel a couple months ago. And I sang a song from Fiddler on the Roof, called Far From the Home I Love. And despite the fact that I started in the wrong key and forgot a line of the lyrics, I realized something: I totally rocked that song up. Like, a lot.

So for my audition on Saturday, I figured, Hey. Maybe it's a trifle melancholy for Into The Woods (except for, you know, the melancholy parts. Children Will Listen, anyone??). But it's SO perfect for me. I sound friggin' gorgeous when I sing it. And that confidence adds a lot to your audition.

Maybe from here on out I'll start looking for excuses to sing that one. Because I like it so much. Because even though it doesn't go impressively high or low, it's right in the middle of my range where I feel unstoppable and can completely fill a room with my voice. Because it's what makes me feel like a rock star. And sometimes, feeling like a rock star is what gets them to ask you back.

Auditions are fun!

So today's been a pretty lackluster day for me. I'm just kind of sitting around at my job, working and not being too excited.

Except for every once in a while. Because every so often, I remember what's happening tomorrow.

Tomorrow I have a callback for Into The Woods. Some of you may know that I was in that show my senior year of High School.

Yeah... I was a theatre nerd in High School.

I completely LOVE it, and I've been hoping a theatre around here would put it on for about the last year and a half.

And now one is.

And one of my good theater friends is the Assistant Director.

Are we excited? Pretty sure we are.

Can I tell you about my audition, though? Because I'm not sure what to make of it.

So I was number four. Number two walks in, this cute girl, and I watched her audition through the window. She sings a song from She Loves Me, called Vanilla Ice Cream. She sings this lovely high part at the end, loudly, and I think, Maybe I should have picked a song with a loud high part at the end. And after she's done, my friend, the AD of the show, runs up to her and gives her a huge hug. And I smile, because, aww. They're friends.

So I wait my turn, and I go in the audition room. And my friend doesn't wave. He doesn't smile. He barely even looks at me. And after my audition, no hugs for me.

What gives?

I have some theories on this one:
 - Maybe the director told him not to be so nice to people anymore, after he was so excited to see Vanilla Ice Cream girl.
 - Maybe he didn't want everyone to realize how much he likes me, so when they're casting the show he has a better chance of getting me a good part.
 - Maybe he hadn't seen Vanilla Ice Cream girl in a long time (which only explains how he treated her, not me).
 - Maybe she did way better than me.

Thoughts, friends? Also: validations, please.

Thoughts about Suckerpunch

- The premise of this movie is awesome. WHY isn't the movie itself awesome? I think Hotty spotted it... not enough of the "real life" storyline. They needed more than just the beginning and the end. I understand what they were trying to do with the whole lobotomy thing, but ... that wasn't the right choice to make.
- Costumes were awesome. It would be a good film to analyze for costume study.

- Lots of symbolism. It would be a good film to study for that, not because the symbols are well done or meaningful, but because a) there are a lot of them and b) there are NO wrong answers.
- I'm glad I saw it with people who wanted to see it, and not anyone I had to convince to go. Because of this, no one judged anyone for wanting to be there.
- I like that Jenna Malone and Abbie Cornish actually look similar enough to be sisters.

- Did they include the fact that Babydoll is 20 so that she's not a minor, thus avoiding an R rating?
- I just... this film has all the ingredients of an awesome experience! (Except a great script, I guess.) WHY was it so crappy?? And not just crappy, people. It was the worst thing a film could ever BE. It was BORING.

- But at least it was pretty.

Thoughts about Jane Eyre

• My opinion of this movie is biased by the fact that I’m completely in love with the book, and have seen every movie version I can find. Just so you know.
• This is a pretty movie. It’s not a scary movie (although it tries to be, at times), and it’s not a funny movie. It’s pretty.
• It’s also a dark movie. The goal here seemed to be atmosphere and feeling, and the first was done well, while I had issues with the second.

• Jane was not upset enough about Mr. Rochester. In the beginning of their relationship. The whole ‘falling in love’ bit was portrayed more by Mr. Rochester himself, interestingly enough. So that you could tell he was falling for her, but her… not so much. Also, she didn’t hate Blanch enough at all.

• She WAS very upset later, at the wedding/aftermath. That was beautifully done.
• WHY OH WHY do they insist on having every. Single. Person. Talk about how handsome Rochester ISN’T, and then cast him as a very handsome person?? Just ONCE, I’d like to see him played by a genuinely ugly man.

• I mean, they have no problem at all with making Jane look plain.

• I wish they hadn’t taken out all the funny stuff. Seriously… it’s all gone.
• I’m gonna buy this movie.