realexplodingcat | Hedwig Audition

I auditioned for a local production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Twice. No, I haven't received a call back (yet). There were two audition nights. I showed up for the first night, dragging my Roland keyboard with me, to demonstrate my piano skills. There was a small, but entertaining turn-out. It was very informal. Everyone hung out in the same space, both the performers and the important people running the show. Community audition for community theater, I guess. It was a good, relaxing vibe. I did my thing on the piano, just winging it with two improvisation pieces (one of which did utilize a blues scale). I played well enough and with confidence, although I shyly turned down auditioning for the part of Hedwig. Keyboard player: easy. The primary actor in what's basically a one man...er woman...er something show with tons of monologue: intimidating, especially since I've never acted in anything but silly home movies.

So, I left the first night a little bummed out. I did my thing on the piano, but no one asked me to sing. I was not feeling very proactive and didn't offer to sing. Most of the other performers, whether auditioning for the part of Hedwig or the backup band, did some vocal performance. I think my turning down a specific audition for the lead role may have defused the director. I wasn't specifically asked to sing after that, so I didn't. Then I kicked myself all night afterward, realizing I should have been more forward about the skills I could demonstrate.

The following night (last night) I showed up at the audition again. My primary reason for doing so was to return a copy of the script that I had signed out a week before. I completely forgot about it when I was rushing to leave for the first audition. I wanted to return it when I knew people were going to be in the building, so I visited the second audition to drop it off. While I was there, I chatted with the director and offered to audition my voice, since I hadn't done that the night before. He was interested to hear it, because he wants to know as much as possible about the pool of talent from which he's casting.

There was one false start by a nervous bass player and I followed after him to begin the audition. How often do I have a chance to step up to a microphone and belt out Tenacious D's Fuck Her Gently to a room full of strangers? So far, not many. That's what I was thinking when I took the opportunity. I did well and the absurdity of the song seemed to break the ice in the room a bit. The next guy up thanked me for doing that.

I don't know if I'll get the part. I don't know if the extra voice audition was even necessary. However, it felt good to do it. This is the first time I auditioned for anything and that's really all I wanted to do, go through an audition and do my best showing what I can do. I wanted that experience. I got it.