Kid
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A word on auditions....and going for it!!!Dear Kid,
I just did that.  I auditioned for Turandot even though I'm not opera
trained. Had a friend who intended to audition too, but then she canceled. She said "I figured, it'll teach me to take a rejection. Then I thought 'Now why the heck would I want to learn that'.".
Kinda like that. I'm not a strong dancer in any way, I am the slowest
learner of choreography of anyone I know. I wouldn't even be able to pick up the routine at the audition fast enough to even give it my best. Make a fool of myself at a singing audition? Yeah, alright. Dancing? Noooooo... 
KM
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Dear KM,
A story. True.
Stephanie Lang danced on Broadway as Cassandra. She was awesome.
Smart, beautiful and kind.
She began doing the choreography for CATS productions at regional (local, small venues) theaters. I met her at the last show of a 'MANY-
TIME-EXTENDED' run of CATS, in a small theater in the mountains of Tennessee-Crossville. The show, full of local amateur and semi-
professional actors WAS FANTASTIC!!!
A few years later I heard she was coming to a dinner theater near here, where I live, to do the choreography for CATS.
On the morning of the first day of auditions, I came to meet with her and stayed WAY in the back, to watch the first 4 hours of the WHOLE audition process....... from the BEGINNING.
WOW. WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!! Watching the anxious kids pacing the halls....stretching.....looking worried......laughing nervously!
They were all let into the theater and onto the stage. Stephanie was wonderfully sweet and non-threatening.
She selected a segment from "The Jellicle Ball" and began instructing the dancers what steps to do and how to do them.......1st in only 10 second segments.....repeating again and again.......then adding more....in rather quick order, until the entire segment lengthened considerably!
Clearly the dancers began to show their different levels of skill. Some struggled terribly, while others merely took every complex dance move
in stride, absolutely effortlessly!! OH MY GAWD.....what a spread of skill levels!!
First the dancing (and longest)......then the singing......then the personal interview and review of the portfolios. Then more dancing and then some CUTS.....and more CUTS......and more CUTS.
Hour after hour, I began to select the ones I KNEW she'd pick!! THAT guy was a PERFECT RTT.....THAT girl was a PERFECT VTWC......THAT guy was a PERFECT Munkustrap......and THAT girl was a perfect Kitten.....and so on and so on and so on. The differences were absolutely OBVIOUS. I could tell. You see I was AN EXPERT!!! I had seen the show ~100 times on 3 continents, performed by the BEST of the BEST!!
Truthfully, though.....almost ANYONE could see how members of the remaining groups of dancers were IMPERFECT in so many different
ways...... 'a little dumpy'....'a little not-so-pretty'....a 'little/a lot slow on the learning of steps'.........'a little herky-jerky'.....' a little hesitant and tentative'...a 'little too tall/too short'...'a little cocky and snotty'.....a 'little/a lot off-key'......even 'a little clueless'......remarkably making it to the remaining groups.
Finally, it was clear that a big cut was about to be made......from a group that had survived several cuts already. THIS CUT would leave THE FINAL CAST, along with others to be cut a little later.
I had every one of the final cast picked. It was easy!! Really.....EASY!!!!!!
Stephanie made the cut QUICK and EASY!:
"Thanks for coming.....good luck!".....she said with a strong, firm voice as she waved each of the dancers off the stage.
As I watched the group of rejected dancers leave.....I was so excited about seeing my pre-selected group of dancers remain......a group that would hold the FINAL cast.
And when I re-focused on the stage.....there were Stephanie's choices!! And......not A SINGLE ONE OF THE FOLKS I PICKED WAS AMONG THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT ONE!!!!! WHA????????? WHAT THE HECK?????????? OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!! But.....but.......but......STEPHANIE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I was so bummed by her mistake, I left abruptly, hugging Stephanie on my way out. (She's so sweet)
"Oh well," I thought. "Stephanie was having a bad day, showing poor judgement like that. I sure AM NOT very excited about seeing THIS show now!!"
I was bummed.
Gawd, was that one girl cute! Jeesh, was that one guy a hip-shaking RTT!
Oiy, that one hunky fellow was Alonzo for sure! OH, was that sleek, firm gal a Cassandra! Wow, was that ballerina a VTWC!!
They all were so PERFECT.......and the ones she picked were so.....NOT PERFECT!!!
I was bummed.
Not ONE of my guys would be in the show!!
I was bummed.
I waited til the end of the run to finally see the show. I really dreaded going to see it actually.
Not my guys, after all!
Well, I get such a rush when I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY wrong about something. It doesn't happen often......but when it does.......WHAT A RUSH!!!!
Stephanie HAD picked all the right people!! IMPERFECT AS THEY WERE IN AUDITIONS......HOW SHE EVER SAW THEIR PERFECTION, through ALL THAT IMPERFECTION......I'll never know!! Those dumpy, not perfectly pretty, hesitant and off-key, nervous actors and dancers.....WERE SOLIDLY PERFECT on that stage, performing an outstanding CATS.
RTT, Alonzo, Silabub, Munkustrap......all perfect and perfectly chosen!!!
Guess that's why I'm not a choreographer......and she is. A genius one at that!!
One of the take home lessons? Don't you think many of those chosen dancers were JUST AS SURPRISED as I was when they were chosen??
KM.....go for it! You've got what it takes......at least to make it through some early cuts! All these years of training have given you that!
Don't DEFEAT yourself!
Kid
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