Back in the day...

So, I've got a call to come into The Alliance for a play called "Middle School Musical". It's, essentially, sort of a "Second City for Kids" vibe, so improv is going to be a big part of it. One of the points was that I had to make up a song about my middle school experience.

THUSLY, our sprang the following paen, which I have entitled "A Hip Hop Tribute To A Girl From My Past As Told By A White Kid From Western Kentucky."

Sung to the tune of "Excursions" by A Tribe Called Quest.


Back in the days before I was a teenager
I was such a nerd, still am, but then MAJOR.

Just couldn't get a girl to look at me twice
Even though I showered regularly and smelled nice

My main crush in the group was one Joni Walker.
She didn't even notice when I stumbled past her locker.

There's more to the story, than her walking right past me
But if you need more than four lines, you'll have to cast me.

THE END!

Yes, I'm rapping at an audition again.

Ah, Joni Walker. My first real crush. *sigh*

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Nothin' doin' with the It's a Wonderful Life audition. That's alright. I'm not going to act like that wasn't an intimidating room. Every single person in that room, I had seen perform before. Especially the guys reading for George... I mean, guys like Brik Berkes and Googie Uterhardt have been at this for years in this town, so there's no shame in losing out a part to them. No shame at all.

Friends have been saying, "Hey, that's awesome that you were in there. You're in that class of actor!" But, I mean, I'm not. I'm a non-eq who is still, really, just getting his start. It doesn't help me to have the cred. Forget the cred, give me a part, you know? Though, who knows, maybe there is no cred? Maybe just friends making a friend feel better. But it was flattering and very nice to be called in twice for such a big part.

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There was one part during the audition where I felt like I gambled big. The big scene where George is about to leave for college and confronts Potter was great fun to do, simply because there's really something in that scene. Beforehand, I keep reading it over and over, thinking about how this guy was just heartsick over his father's death, how he felt the responsibility as the new man of the house weighing on him, his desire to escape the trap of Bedford Falls and his hatred of Potter and all that he represents, and how I would react in a situation like that. It just all came out. Who knows, maybe nothing I did was what they were looking for, but that moment felt good. It felt true to me.

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His nature is not remorseless, but to escape a trap, he must act without pity. Tom from Glass Menagerie and George are the flip sides of the same coin in that respect.

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Two more auditions coming up fairly soon. Grease for Georgia Ensemble. Dead Man's Cell Phone for Synchro. We'll see. You know I haven't booked a part that I've actually auditioned for since Spreading It Around? Time for a change of career?

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Back in the days when I was a teenager / before I had status and before I had a pager / you could find The Abstract listening to hip-hop / my pops used to say it reminded him of bebop.