Happy (late) holidays to everyone!

I am really excited because I have two auditions scheduled at the moment. The first is tomorrow, for a play called Over the Tavern. I found this audition in Backstage and was really excited about it (they need a chubby girl who looks sixteen- me!- and it was close-ish to my school)... and then I read the notice a bit closer and saw that it was an Equity call. I was really disappointed, but decided to call, tell them I was non-Equity, and try to get an appointment anyway.

Before I called, my parents and I looked up how long it would take me to get there: about an hour. Should I be cast, I will need to take a train, a bus, and walk a short distance to the theatre, which will cost me $5.50 each way. I was relieved to see that the train does reach my stop as late as 12 in the morning (trains tend to skip over the small town my school is in). It was like the heavens were smiling down on me.

So I called up the guy whose name was listed and was sort of surprised when he picked up, since it was 10:30 on a Saturday morning. He seemed pleasant, but when I asked for an appointment, his next statement threw me a bit. "Now, wait, before we get to that- I don't even know who you are. I don't know if you have any experience." This wasn't said rudely or condescendingly, but all the same, I was sort of surprised. However, I like to think I stayed professional. I told him I could send him my headshot and resume as soon as our conversation was over. "Where did you find the audition notice?" he asked, and named a website that I guess they posted it on. I told him I had found it in Backstage (which, if you're not aware, is an acting newspaper that has articles and job notices). I honestly think that saying this name made him take me a little more seriously. He asked me where I would be traveling from, and i was relieved to hear that he didn't think it was too far a commute. He said that, though the call was Equity and there would be a non-Equity one on the second of January, he could take me tomorrow.

He asked me to send him my package over e-mail and suggested I write my best time frame in the note, and also to mention that we had just talked on the phone. As soon as I hung up, I sent the e-mail and was able to schedule the earliest time slot (one p.m.). I am not a huge fan of being the first scene, but there are a few advantages to this: a) my mom is taking me, and this time means we will probably be in and out, and b) with Equity calls, non-Equity people are kind of last priority. Though my scheduling an appointment almost guarantees that I'll be seen, I'd rather not take chances.

I would love to get this show- all the reviews I've read have been great, and I have the perfect monologue for it. The play is about a Catholic family in the 50's whose middle son is questioning his religion. My monologue is given by a Catholic girl who is making up funny things about her religion. Though it's not incredibly close to my school, it rehearses for less than a month, and is generally more convinient than show #2

This show is Little Women, the musical. I got the soundtrack for Christmas and I've listened to nothing else. I am in love. Even if I didn't like it, I would still be auditioning ('cause I already bought my train ticket...) but it's always much better if you like the show. I am going for Amy or Beth (they're casting 18+, as far as I can tell). Amy was my top choice, but I think I have better chance of being cast as Beth. I picture Beth prettier than me, but I do have the round face and brown hair she is described as having (Amy, on the other hand, is blonde and blue-eyed, which I definitely am not), and I am closer in voice part with Beth. I would love any part in this show though- I think it's great. The song Some Things Are Meant to Be makes me tear up every time. I've yet to choose an audition song- I'm learning two from the show for the audition (we're allowed to sing from the show): Some Things... and Off to Massachussetts. Amy, unfortunately, does not have many songs that I can configure to fit my solo needs.

I think I have less of a chance of being cast in this (compared to the other one- I'm an actor before I'm a singer), but should I be, it will be a much harder (and more expensive) commute, as they rehearse in NYC. (Though this is better than the alternative of rehearsing in their actual theatre, which is in NY, but not the city). I will also have to forego my first trip to England, as it fall in the middle of the shows. However, it will all be worth it if I am cast, I think.

If I'm not cast in either of these, I have another audition in mind (which is less convinient than those two, but a dream show and at a theatre that knows and likes me). I have missed being in an actual show and just auditioning so much.