Audition

Four years ago, I graduated college, I finished singing Louisa in the Fantasticks, I was already cast as Babe in Crimes of the Heart, SRT and Pacific Alliance State Co both called me to audition for their companies, and I felt pretty much on top of my game. So, I decided to submit my headshot and resume to a semi-professional and prestigious company in San Francisco. They called me with a Friday afternoon audition appointment, and asked me to prepare a ballad and a character song. Great! San Francisco is on my way home to Los Altos. I’ll stop, sing and continue on home for the weekend. I decided on two songs that were considered “in my pocket.” But, did I practice them in the three weeks I had to prepare? No. Did I even practice them on my way down? No, I didn’t have a handy dandy ipod, and the hanson cd was much more entertaining. Besides, I had performed these songs before.

I got to the building location right at the exact time of my audition, but this was pre-habitat years, and I obviously had not grasped the actual concept of parking in San Francisco. I thought - Crap. Now, I’m 15 minutes late and I have parked six blocks away. I RAN to my destination only to discover that the person scheduled after me was singing, and I had two minutes to collect myself to sing the two songs I had not rehearsed at all in the three weeks.

I went in sang my ballad. (I don’t remember what it was, thank God.) Then I sang my “character” song. Really, Beverley? Much More was the BEST you could come up with? For those of you who don’t know…MUCH MORE IS NOT A CHARACTER SONG! I realized it was not going to fly the moment I saw the directors face contort into this are-you-kidding-me- type of expression that is forever burned into my memory. I sang the songs – both badly, and hung my head in shame. While hearing the ever famous “Thank You,” I thought - ah, it was a bad audition, I’ll get it the next go around. Not knowing I was about to enter my two year performance hiatus, I was not to grace the stage singing until 2007 in a chorus role, and it would take FOUR YEARS for this company to even consider me for an AUDITION.

I got my second chance yesterday.

Lessons learned right?

Nope, not entirely, but I did get a callback this time - barely.

Beverley, you can not go into an audition with lipstick that makes you look like you stepped out of a Madonna music video from the 1980s. Remember to bring your own make up instead of rushing to Walgreens grabbing any brownish pink lipstick. You can not learn one of the songs that you're singing in an audition THE DAY BEFORE when you have had three weeks to learn it! GET IT TOGETHER.