My First Broadway Audition

I was 19, and auditioning all the time. This is back when I was attempting to get my "big break" (whatever that is) in the musical theatre scene. I had arrived ridiculously early at the Actors Equity building, and had been waiting all morning with hopes that whatever I was auditioning for would have time to see me. After a few hours on the wooden benches, the monitor came to us to let us know that there would not be time for us to be seen, BUT, the audition for the upcoming Broadway production of Wonderful Town was wide open.

The audition for Wonderful Town was being held at Chelsea Studios, which is 20 blocks (about a mile) from Equity. It was a beautiful day, and I figured I could walk over, which would be faster than the train due to construction. I wanted to be quick, in case word got out that the audition was empty and every actor in New York decided to head that way, too. I didn't even change my shoes, in order to save time.

I walk/jogged to Chelsea, signed in, and was seen right away. As I walked to the piano, the Casting Director was staring at my shoes, which were these tan platform things that were new, clunky, and didn't really match my dress. As I sang, the Casting Director kept looking at my feet, and I was beating myself up about wearing the "wrong" shoes. I don't remember how well I sang or acted or anything... Both the CD and I were clearly thinking about my unfashionable footwear.

Puzzled, I gathered my stuff and got as far as the bathroom when I saw it: thick, crimson, blood was all over the side of my tan wedge shoe, and still continuing to pour out of my left foot, right where the strap and buckle were digging into my flesh. I hope I wasn't making puddles on the floor of the studio as I auditioned. In my excitement to audition for Broadway, the adrenaline pumping through my body, and my knowledge that sometimes shoes need to be broken in, I didn't even feel the tear in my skin that was upstaging me during my audition! I was horrified, but I shrugged it off as a memorable first audition for Broadway; comforted by the thought that my future auditions for the "Great White Way" would probably be less gory.

Do YOU have a crazy/memorable/embarrassing/hilarious audition story?

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How Your Musical Theatre Skills Will Make You A Kick-@$$ Shakespearean Actor

If you can "kick your face" and "belt for Jesus", I'll bet you already have a lot of skills that you could use as a Shakespearean actor! Did you know that musical theatre has a lot in common with Shakespeare? I'm not just talking about the adaptations of Romeo & Juliet into West Side Story or The Taming of the Shrew into Kiss Me, Kate. There are skills that cross over between the two art forms that you might not have realized!

Christian Borle as Shakespeare in Something Rotten!

Photo: Joan Marcus

Both Shakespeare and musical theatre contain scenes that have performance elements that elevate the production beyond what the audience experiences in daily life. If someone is singing at you in real life, you'd probably think they were crazy, and that guy spitting rhymes on the subway is probably not the next Kanye, BUT when an audience sees a show, they buy into the world of the play where these situations are normal! These activities would seem ridiculous if they weren't being done onstage, but skilled actors can pull it off. These actors can jump back and forth between normal, everyday speech (aka prose) and singing or speaking in verse at the drop of a hat, and when it's good, it is so good, amiright?

Another skill that artists in both types of theatre need is a facility with rhythm and meter. An actor who can tell a story through a song, where the speed and rhythm of the lyrics are predetermined, while still making it seem as though they are uttering these words aloud spontaneously is probably giving a memorable performance! This isn't much different from Shakespeare's verse, where the structure of the rhythm is given to a performer and it is their job to bring the words to life while maintaining the poetry in the text - it might actually be easier, since the actor may not have to belt a G simultaneously!

Not to be overlooked is the fact that there is often music and dancing in Shakespeare's plays. Performers with a background in musical theatre are at a distinct advantage here, as they are accustomed to telling stories through dance and song! There have been countless productions of The Tempest with Ariel played by a dancer, and although no one says that Ophelia is the best singer in Denmark, it certainly doesn't hurt to have a trained singer playing her when she goes mad!

So whether it's Othello or Oklahoma!, Hamlet or Hamilton, actors with these skills are some of the most versatile (and kick-@$$) around!

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