Auditions for the Week of 9/26/2010

USF College Players

The Wild Party

Seeking M. Auds. 9/26 8:30p-9:30p and 9/27 8:30p-10p. Email HS/Resume to director.mike.ward@gmail.com

New Conservatory Theatre Center
Regrets Only
Auds. 9/27-28 7pm-10pm. HS/Resume to jovan@nctcsf.org

Symphony Silicon Valley’s
Hello Dolly and My Fair Lady
Auds. 9/26 9:30am-12:00pm. Email sslater@symphonysiliconvalley.org

The Pear Avenue Theatre
Death of a Salesman
Auds 9/28-29 7pm-10pm. Email HS/Resume info@thepear.org

Jewel Theatre Company
Of Mice and Men
Auds 10/2 1p-4p and 10/3 1p-4p. Call Mike (408) 464-3903 between 10a-8p

San Leandro Players
Charley's Aunt
Seeking F 18-25. Email lisekarler@yahoo.com

Bus Barn Stage Company
Angels in America: Milleneum Approaches
Seeking M. Email barbara@busbarn.org

Stanford Savoyards
Princess Ida
Seeking M. Email greg@planetbeagle.com

Opening This Week 9/26/2010

SF Playhouse
The Sunset Limited
Runs 9/28-11/6

Town Hall Theatre
Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Runs 9/30-10/31

AlterTheater Ensemble
Intimate Apparel
Runs 9/30-10/24

Galtean Players
Rivets
Runs 10/1-10/24

Stage 1 Theatre
Cinderella
Runs 10/1-10/16

Review: City Light's "First Day of School"

City Lights first production of the season kicks off their attempt to "bring sexy back." And does a great job. Billy Aronson's "First Day of School" is a great modern farce on today's marriage and our attitudes towards marital sex.

It's the first day of school and the PTA bagel brunch has been cancelled. Married couple Susan (Diahanna Davidson) and David (Tom Gough) realizing they have the day free try to come up with an activity to spend their day. After a few suggestions David casually throws out "How about having sex with other people?" After debating a minute more it's decided that Susan will go after Peter (Rich Miller), the local artist and David will attempt to go after Kim (Mandy Manousos), a very involved PTA mom.

There are amazing performances all around in this small ensemble cast. Tom and Diahanna deliver their characters with just enough cheese to remind of the classic television shows of the 1950s. Mandy's portrayal as an over-involved PTA parent is amazing and hilarious. Rich's shy awkwardness as Peter was quite believable. And I adored Courtney Walsh's use of movement and awkwardness as an uptight lawyer. This cast does well together but everyone manages to still hold their own. I didn't feel anyone overshadowed each other.

                                               (image courtesy of City Lights)

Something I really appreciated: complete facades. When doors and screens are opened it doesn't lead into some darkness or plain set. I loved that the set was fully dressed.

Overall, I would definitely recommend catching this hilarious show.

Auditioning for Teatro Vision

So I'm going to start with an update on Foothill auditions: I did not get a callback. I'm a little uncertain as to why and am debating on emailing the director and politely asking for a critique on my audition.

Onwards! I attended South Bay Regional auditions back in June and was very lucky to get an email from Teatro Vision inviting me to audition for their production of Bless Me, Ultima. I quickly emailed them back and set up an appointment. They asked me to prep 2 contrasting monologues, preferably one in Spanish.

I do not have monologue prepped with Spanish in it and didn't give myself enough time to learn one. Instead I used a monologue from a play I did called Miriam's Flowers by Migdalia Cruz. I played Delfina and used one of her many monologues that had a Spanish/Latin feel to it. I also decided to do Goodnight Desdemona (again) because I really needed a contrasting piece.

This was one of those low-key auditions I'm beginning to enjoy. Auditions were held at Hoover Theatre and we had 15 minute time slots. I met with Dianne Vega and Elsa Alvarado to perform my monologues. They both went very smoothly and I felt relaxed for the first time in a long time. I attribute this to knowing my monologues really, really well.

Elsa, who will be directing Ultima, asked if I spoke Spanish. Unfortunately, no-or at least not that well. I took 3 and half years in high school and both my grandparents spoke fluently  but I am far from mediocre. I usually understand better than I speak it. But I remain hopeful. Once I translate what I'm saying I can get it down well, I think. She also asked if I had seen any of Teatro's productions. Much to my embarrassment, I told her no I hadn't. To be fair though, I have only recently made it a priority to catch more theatre.

Teatro's production doesn't go up until next Spring, so it may be awhile before I hear back from them. But it was good practice overall.

Auditioning for Foothill College

I auditioned for Foothill College today. They will be producing The Winter's Tale. I had not read Winter's Tale previously and the audition had asked for a Shakespearean monologue and cold readings from the play. For the monologue I opted to do Mariana from Measure for Measure. Actually, this is my only Shakespearean piece I have down. I'm hoping to get a new dramatic piece and a comedic piece at some point.

Since I pretty much had the entire day free I spent it in the student center reading The Winter's Tale. I read the wiki on it for a summary and then read all the parts that had women in them. I took a shortcut because it's honestly really hard for me to translate Shakespeare well in that short amount of time.

I arrived at the audition to learn that in addition to the monologue we might be asked to sing. This is not good for me. I'm not really a singer, and certainly don't prepare anything (which I need to start doing).

During the audition my monologue went very smoothly. I was quite proud actually. Marcia Frederick, the director, asked me if there was a particular part I had in mind and I immediately answered Paulina. (Although I would be happy with any part.) So she had me read Paulina's monologue from Act 3, scene 2. I was also, unfortunately, asked to sing. Since I had nothing prepped I struggled to think of something I actually knew the words of. Finally, I blurted out with "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Really, that was the best I had. I got through the first stanza ok and then struggled through the second. Luckily, Marcia cut me off.

Once I get my cold reading piece(s) I do my best to score them. I try to set a tone, objectives, character choices and substitutions. This is why it's important to read the play beforehand if you get a chance. It makes all this work go faster.

Since there were quite a few people at the audition and we were doing monologues plus cold readings, I spent more time than I should have socializing. But it was nice to chat with people on upcoming projects. I also spent some of my time talking to the Stage Manager about Foothill's conservatory. She was great and asnwered all of my questions.

When it was finally time for me to perform the cold reading I have to say I did the best to my ability, but I think I still screwed up. All the prep work I put into it while waiting didn't seem to show itself when it came down to it. The monologue read as quiet anger. Marcia thanked me when I was finished, double checked the information on my resume and then told me I was finished. I was pretty bummed. I wondered if I should have made a different choice, like maybe I should have been loud angry. And then I wondered why if I had been doing it wrong she didn't correct me? As in, ask me to read the monologue differently. I left the audition feeling confused and wondering if I would be called back.

Auditioning for Broadway West

I auditioned for Broadway West’s general auditions on Monday. This season they are presenting I Do, I Do; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest; Hay Fever; StarSpangled Girl; and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. I was lucky to hear about the auditions in advance from the director of Cuckoo’s Nest, John. I worked with him at Shady this last season, again one of the perks to sometimes taking a tech job instead of acting job.

Since I knew I already wanted to work on Cuckoo’s Nest as Ratched, I spoke with my mentor and he helped me pick out the play Doubt by John Patrick Shanley and told me to look at the character Sister Aloysius. Once I bought the play I figured I could piece together a monologue from the dialogue between Sister Aloysius and Sister James. I am not very good at this sort of thing so I had a friend of mine, who is not only an English teacher but also teaches Drama, look over the play and give me hand. With his help I was able to pull a monologue out by cutting Sister James’ lines.

The audition called for a monologue and song. But since I’m not the musical theater person yet I practiced a second contrasting monologue in the hope I’d be able to perform it. I choose Good Night Desdemona since I had been able to find and work a new comedic piece.

To be honest, I really could have spent more time on these monologues. I had them memorized but my substitutions and objectives were still muddy by the time auditions arrived.

The Broadway West company is a great small, intimate space. And they were very lax on their audition process, in a good way. I arrived early and ran into people I knew who told me a bit about their experiences working with the company. Everyone had great things to say about the company. Also, they were very generous on time and introductions. I was introduced to all the directors and assistant directors; the time slots were about 15 minute increments; and they allowed me to do my two monologues.

And while Broadway West treated me well this is probably one of the worst conditions I’ve ever gone into an audition. To say I was a bundle of nerves is a massive understatement. I was nervous for a few reasons. I didn’t like auditioning for someone I know. In most cases this is beneficial. If you completely mess up your audition you can hope the director remembers some of your previous work and just thinks you had a bad night. However, John has never seen me perform and I very badly wanted to impress him, especially since I seriously want to be considered for his show. When I was being introduced to all the directors, I learned that in addition to John, Bryan was also there (he’ll be directing The Last Night of Ballyhoo). I had auditioned for Bryan previously during Shady auditions, but I’m not even sure if he remembers me from it. So there was yet another person to impress. While waiting to audition I spoke with my friend, Jim, who informed me that lots of women coming through auditions were interested in Cuckoo’s Nest. This bit of news also didn’t help my nerves.

 I really tried my best to calm my nerves. (I am thinking about enrolling in some meditation or Tai Chi classes to work on grounding techniques for situations like this.) But by the time I got onstage, I had already suffered from dizziness and nausea and just wasn’t feeling well. However, I was able to get through my monologues. I got all my lines right and didn’t drop or make up anything. I’m sure, despite my best effort, I was visibly nervous. What I was most disappointed in myself about is how I lost the nuance to my acting. I never got over my nerves. Usually, if I’m nervous at some point in the monologue I relax and start really getting into character. (Yes, I know I should be in character before I start my piece but my nerves don’t always let me.) I’m not really sure how I did overall. By the time I got to my car to leave I finally fell apart, crying. I was just so frustrated with myself. (And I felt stupid for getting myself worked up.)

About the only good news I’ve heard thus far is John saying my monologue was, I’m going to assume he meant the Doubt piece.

And now comes my least favorite part-waiting. With a general audition you wait until the show comes up and hope you get a callback. Which means it could be months before I hear from anyone.

Opens This Week 9/19/2010

Broadway San Jose
Burn the Floor
Runs 9/21-26

California Shakespeare Theater
Much Ado About Nothing
Runs 9/22-10/17

City Lights Theater Company of San Jose
First Day of School
Runs 9/23-10/24

Climate Theater
Faux Real
Runs 9/23-10/9

Imaginists Theatre Collective
To the Actors/A los Actores
Runs 9/23-10/9


Solano College Theatre
Rent
Runs 9/23-10/10

The Revolutionary Arts Committee
The Longest One-Act Ever
Runs 9/24-25

Pear Avenue Theatre
Our Town
Runs 9/24-10/17


Custom Made Theatre Co.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
Runs 9/24-10/30

Not Quite Opera
Absolutely San Francisco
Opens 9/24

Cinnabar Theater
Travels with My Aunt
Runs 9/24-10/17

Sonoma County Repertory Theater
Fat Pig
Runs 9/24-10/24

African-American Shakespeare Company
Iph
Runs 9/25-10/16


The Western Stage
Footloose
Runs 9/25-11/14

South Bay Musical Theatre
The Music Man
Runs 9/25-10/16