It’s Monday night, and as tomorrow will be a long and very full day here, we are getting you caught up on last week’s marathon of auditions, auditions and more auditions!
The CATS Call Backs last Tuesday were thrilling; the singing, dancing, acting talent returning to have our Director/Music Director Shawn Stengel and Choreographer Harrison McEldowney put them through their paces refining and finessing their audition with added precision. It astounds how fast the dancers are. How quick they learn. The artist/athlete has this task at hand; to free yourself in the work and yet maintain dancing perfectly synchronized with others as an ensemble. And it is revelatory. It’s in the details where one exposes everything about one’s background experience, training, skill and attitude. There is nowhere to hide. It shows what you are made of. The differences in character and values become evident. The shy one, the show-off, the gracious, the clown, the flustered, the naive, the naughty…the one who gets attention out-dancing everyone…and the dancer who dances with everyone in formation still expressing their individuality…those who do the tricks they always do that they think will get themselves hired or those who respond to the work and explore the moment of discovery doing something they’ve never done before and take that risk. Patterns are difficult to break. Flexibility, adaptability is very desirable in creative work…that dancer who knows and trusts herself/himself and can watch and listen and respond with appreciation for the material, and still emotionally personalize it and have consideration for the other dancers…this goes a long way. A team player with virtuosic skills is the ideal.
And I can scoop you on this today, Dear Reader; we found our “Grizabella!” (I’d tell you who she is, but we we are waiting to hear back from her). And while we are at it, let me tell you we have also made an offer this week to none other than our “Mary Poppins!” What a week, right? This is a tense time waiting on negotiations and confirmations from the agents of our prospective leading ladies in our first two shows! The singing all week long dazzles, elates and exhilarates…because, oh yes, there were offers made to some of the ensemble cast for TOMMY, and we began LES MISERABLES auditions last Thursday and Friday! All four shows from Season Four continued to audition this week. Can you imagine what it must be like having the songs from all these shows revolving in your head at the same time? I laugh at myself. Welcome to my world! What is most remarkable about all this is to witness the gift of these talented artists. To attend, encourage and praise them. To welcome them and thank them. All types physical, ethnic, proficiency and experience but all here to live their purpose. “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Those are the words of the great Pablo Picasso…he also said something like: “Don’t seek. Find.” Well, some incredible talent is finding Aurora’s Paramount Theatre. And as a result, our audiences will be finding thrilling performances in the Broadway Series this fall and at RiverEdge Park this summer as well! Your search has ended!
TOMMY Call Backs coming up! I gotta hit the sack!
More love & thanks next week,
Jim