What you hear is not a test...

I've been on the road a lot recently, blogfriend. Let's discuss it.

KG, a former apprentice, and I hit the road on Thursday night to go audition at the American Shakespeare Center. It was a pretty long drive from Atlanta to Staunton, but hardly the longest I've ever driven for an audition. Plus, the company was good, so it didn't seem quite as long as it could have.

But, that isn't the interesting part. I got there and was in a group of six others, five women and one man. We all did our monologues. I didn't have time to show off and be all, "Well, actually I memorized a monologue for each of the four shows you're doing next season." I bounced back and forth between Ford and Hotspur. I ended up, of course, on Hotspur. Ford would have afforded the ability to make more contact with the audience, but Hotspur is...you know, Hotspur. I can't help it. He had me approach it from a different standpoint and do it like Romeo trying to impress Juliet. I thought I had a cute little lame moment on, "God's me, my horse!"

After that, we read some scenes. I was paired up with a short haired blonde girl whose name I cannot remember to save my life. Eh, anyway, we did Beatrice and Benedick with a couple of different permutations. I only stole one thing from Moe (the scratching motion on "predestinate scratched face.") and, frankly, it was a pleasure to get up there and do Benedick. It's a dream part, but I've got a couple of years to play it.

The big moment came at the end, though. The artistic director said that anyone who wanted to sing, may sing a few bars. I sat and watched in abject horror as every single other person in the room got up to sing. Not just sing, but sing well. I'm not much of a singer. I can carry a tune, but I'm not what you would call...umm...a soloist. The artistic director even made a comment along the lines of, "Oh, wow, it looks like everyone is going to sing." After the last person, he looked at me and said, "Well, are you going to sing anything for us?"

A beat passed and I said, "No, but I can drop a phat rhyme for you."

Bemused, he told me to go ahead and do it. I got up and said, "If I could (Ed. Note - although KG SWEARS she heard me say "F*** it.), I'd like to get everyone to clap their hands." I got them to clap a beat and busted out the first verse of Rapper's Delight.

Yeah, that's right. I rapped at my Shakespeare audition.

It was a high, because if I'm going to fall on my face, I'm gonna fall going for the brass ring. It wasn't a stunt. It wasn't foolish...if I was BAD, it would have been foolish, but it was tight like the night, baby. I like to think I showed them three very different facets of my personality, between Benedick, Hotspur, and Wonder Mic.

Chances are that I won't get in, just by playing the odds. They only hire something like eight non-eqs, but here's hoping they'll remember me. After all, I'll see 'em at UPTA.

We must have bloody noses and crack'd crowns...

I just wanted to record this moment when I had the chance.

For one of my auditions coming up, I've started to memorize a new piece of Hotspur text. It's the scene with Lady Percy and I just think it strikes right to the heart of that character. He and his wife are, bar none, my favorite couple in Shakespeare. They have such limited interaction, but their relationship is so clear and well defined. And, man, they just love one another so damn much.

As I was going through, reading the speech to myself aloud, I got a little tingle. This little shot that went up my spine and ended up somewhere in my chest. I love this character so much. I just love this character so much.

EDIT: For the record, I will rarely comment specifically on auditions that are coming up. BUT, in regards to Henry IV Part 1, I will ALWAYS mention when I am auditioning for a place performing it. I've only done it once before, and I was offered a different part. Boo to that. It's Hotspur or Bust!

Although, to be fair...maybe not necessarily in this case.

Lift up your hands...

Tonight, I went to go see Hedwig and the Angry Inch out at Actor's Express. Pretty great show. I've got no real complaints about it, which is a huge accomplishment, given how close I hold that show to my heart. Everyone was top shelf.

I'm bound to be a little bit hard on Craig Waldrip since he played a part I've yearned to play for so long. Granted, you may not know this if you don't read certain high influence local arts blogs, but Hedwig is one of the two dream parts I claim. And, granted, if you were to take a look at me, you might not immediately think Hedwig. But it's such a beautiful and complex role to play. Especially to take the setting of the show, which is the opening night of Hedwig's "world" tour. At what point in the show does Hedwig begin to completely deteriorate? When does it become not merely an act playing upon her recent fame? Essentially, when does this become something special, and not just something that happens every night? That's one of the most interesting questions posed, from an artistic standpoint.

I love Hedwig because of the universal theme. I've said it a thousand times before, but one might look at Hedwig, this "slip of a girly boy from communist East Berlin," and say, "Wow, that life experience is so far removed from mine, there's no way I have anything in common there." But it's completely untrue. It's not about Hedwig. It's about loneliness. It's about trying to make contact at whatever cost. It's about sadness and hope and failure and inadequacy and everything in between.

I would love to play Hedwig one day, but I don't think that day will ever come for me. Sadly, I'm not a singer and I don't claim to be a great singer. That being said, though, I don't know that you even need to be a great singer to play Hedwig. You just need to attack the role with complete abandon. Just rest assured...if I did ever get the chance to play it, I would throw myself into it with fervor. After all, this is the best way that I've found to be the best you've ever seen.