Typed IN?!?!?!?

So I'm finally starting to fall into a routine. I'm finished training at my new job. I start on Friday as an official employee! I will be working Friday-Monday and auditioning Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I'm trying to average four to five auditions a week. I feel that if I can keep this up, something is bound to work out eventually... right??? (*fingers crossed*)

I've been in the city for a month now. Tuesday morning I woke up at 4:15 AM and went to the Actor's Equity building to stand in line for Agents Access Auditions. About once a month some agents come to AEA and we get to audition for them. They only sign up 50 auditionees and 50 alternates. I was 4th in line. I froze along with my new actor friends for two hours. Equity is nice enough to have "winter hours" when it's cold. They let us in at 7:30 and then we get to wait the reminder of the time in the warmth of the lounge. So sign up was at 8:30, then I went home and crashed before the audition that night. We were supposed to present our strengths so I sang "Old-Fashioned Love Story". I think it went well!

Today I had two auditions. One was this afternoon, an appointment for TriArts Sharon Playhouse, they are doing Hairspray. Another was this morning for the 2nd National Tour of Wicked.

Just in case anyone reads this blog and maybe doesn't know all of the audition terminology, I'm going to break it down here... If you know it, just scroll down.

There are two types of Equity auditions: EPA- Equity Principal Audition, ECC- Equity Chorus Call.

For an EPA, members arrive early the day of the audition and wait in line to sign up for an audition time. You can sign up for any time that day, which is great if you want to sign up for specific times because of work or other things. Then you just come back 10 minutes before your audition time. This is for men and women.

For an ECC, members are able to sign up on a list that is posted a week before at the Equity office. This is broken up by Males and Females: Singers who Dance and Dancers who Sing. On the day of the audition, members go to the holding room 30 minutes before the audition time. The list is read. Sometimes the list could have 400 people on it. Not all of those girls show up or some people sign their friends up so one girl's name could be on the list 3 times. If you aren't there when your name is called, you have to get to the end of the line of the women who didn't sign up before then.

At an ECC, there is something called "typing". This happens when there are lots of ladies there and the casting directors don't want to waste their time or yours. A lot of the time they are looking for something very specific (i.e. ethnic girls... tall, lanky girls... etc.) So they take you in the room with 20 other girls. You stand there in front of them. The accompanist plays a little diddy on the piano and they ask you to talk amongst yourselves. At this point the people at the table go through your headshots, they might look at you as well, and make a stack of who they want to hear sing and who they don't want to hear sing. (The girl next to me said one time she was in the ladies room when her group went in and she got 'typed in' even though she wasn't even in the room. THEY LITERALLY JUST LOOK AT HEADSHOTS SOMETIMES.)

So... after all that explanation... they were typing for Wicked today. And I was thinking "Shit. I just want them to hear me sing." And wouldn't you know..... I GOT TYPED IN! That was a very small, but exciting victory for me. It was the first time I got typed in. It tells me that just because my body type may be different doesn't mean I won't be needed. I was so excited! I sang for them, and I think it went well! Regardless, I got to sing! It was a good day!!

The Move to NYC

Much has happened since I posted last. I really need to make a point to update this blog for not only your reading pleasure, but to remind myself of my journey.

Three weeks ago I moved to New York City. I live in Astoria with Jake and Jacqueline, two of my friends from college. The three of us get along great and I couldn't be happier with our living situation. The energy in the apartment is positive, exciting and supportive. The neighborhood is great. Everything we need is right outside of our door. Our train ride into the city is only about 25 minutes or so.

My mom came up with me the first weekend to help me get settled. She saw the bare, white walls of my bedroom and immediately said: "we're painting". We walked out the front door, went about a block down the street to a hardware store and picked up some paint to match my bedding. That weekend, we turned the empty, white room into a beautiful, calm place for me to feel at home. I am so thankful for all of the hard work she put in with me that weekend.

Usually my mom likes to see at least one show when she comes to the city. This time, she wanted to see Spiderman. We waited out in the cold for HOURS to get Rush tickets (partial-view seating given to the first people in line for a cheap price). My thoughts on the show should be saved for another post. Let's just say I'm glad that was a preview performance and I look forward to seeing lots of changes made between then and the opening.

My first few weeks have been a whirlwind. I'm so happy to be surrounded by my Bama family. We really have a special group of people who support each other and believe in each other. Nothing worth having comes easy, and we know it. We pick each other up and keep each other going. I already know I couldn't fight for my dreams without these people in my life.

I've been to quite a few auditions. I was quickly thrown into the rules of equity and learned the hard way when an ECC list goes up. I was 'typed out' of two auditions, which means they look at you or your headshot before they ask you to sing. It sucks, but at least they don't waste your time.

I have had a handful of jobs. I was a dog walker for a week. I walked a beautiful, sweet English Bulldog named Daisy. It was the second week I was here. I got to walk her through Central Park and it was a great way to spend a half hour of my day. Unfortunately, with the commute and the time they wanted her walked, it just put a chunk of unusable time in my afternoon. I sadly had to stop walking Miss Daisy. My other dabble at a day job was quite the experience. I was one of THOSE people... "Excuse me... do you like stand-up comedy?". I froze my butt off for hours trying to talk to people who didn't want to talk to me. It was terrible.

This week I got a front desk position at a Doggie DayCare. It's called Ritzy Canine Carriage House. I started training today. I worked at a doggie daycare, Camp Bow Wow, in New Orleans and I absolutely LOVED it. It will be fun to be in that environment again. Another perk is that they have been great about the scheduling. They know why I am in New York and have given me 3 days in the middle of the week each week to audition. I really think this will be a good opportunity for me!

To add to my good week, I got my first callback! It's for Jan in Grease at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah. The callback is tomorrow. I'm really excited to be given this opportunity. No matter what happens, the callback alone is just what I needed at this time.

Week 3 has been a great week! I'm ready for what's ahead.

Forbidden Broadway

Update! Currently in rehearsals for Forbidden Broadway at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans! Working with a fantastic cast: Leslie Castay, Vatican Lokey and Cliff Thompson. Under the direction of Bill Selby. We are having a fantastic time! I have lots and lots of words to learn. Even if I know the song we are parodying, learning the lyrics to the parody is proving to be a challenge. But we are up for it!!

Tickets are available now on the theatre's web site or by calling 504-522-2081.

The beat will go on.

Sunday marked the closing of Hairspray. It was a bittersweet day. This cast and this show absolutely touched my heart. The beauty behind this show was magnified by the love we, as a cast, had for each other and the show itself.

Tracy Turnblad spreads joy and the hope of unity regardless of skin color or size. This is something we can all relate to in our own lives. As actors, we are given the unique opportunity to step into the life of a character. We experience their ups and their downs, their shortcomings and their triumphs. The cast of Hairspray dove head first into the world of Baltimore, 1962, and we emerged with a greater understanding of love, compassion and what it's like to have a dream.

I'm so thankful to be blessed with such an amazing cast and production crew. Thank you everyone for your hard work and dedication. I'm putting Tracy Turnblad away for now, but hopefully she and I will be reunited soon.

"When we win, I'll give thanks to my God cause I know where I've been."

Welcome to the 60s!!!

I've been cast as Tracy in Hairspray at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans. I am so excited!! I haven't performed in New Orleans since I worked at Six Flags in 2005. My last show here was Seussical in January of 05! It's been over five years, and I'm so glad to be back home and doing such a fantastic show!!

My family is going nuts. I don't think I've ever seen them so excited for something I've done. They have bought about 30 tickets for opening night already. Family members from Texas are making plans to come in. I'm so happy that they are so excited about this production!

I'm looking forward to working with people I haven't worked with in a while!! I get to work with Blake Coheley and Jefferson Turner. They played such a huge role in my early theatre life, and I'm glad to be working with them again! I'm also incredibly excited to be working with people I haven't worked with before. In college you work with a lot of the same people, so I'm really looking forward to this.

Each day is a gift. We work hard. We fight hard. Good things come our way. I'm so grateful for this opportunity.

Inspiration can come at any time...

Today I was babysitting a 9 and 7-year-old. Part of their daily routine is to take 30 minutes to read anything they'd like. When I announced that it was Reading Time, I expected them to put up a fight, but they quickly ran to their books, picked a seat and immersed themselves in their reading. I decided I should probably read as well, so I went to the bookshelf to look for a book. For some reason, a book of Shel Silverstein poems caught my eye. About halfway through our Reading Time, I came across the following poem. I really think it sends an incredible message to me and many of my peers at this point in our lives. Each and every day I hear people make negative comments about what I have chosen to do with my life. But I really don't see it as a choice. This is what I was put here to do. Each of us has been given a gift that we need to share with the world. Our journey will not always be easy, but with the knowledge that this is all we are here to do... we will succeed. We will be strong. We will prove the Mustn'ts, the Don'ts, the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts and the Never Haves that anything can be.

Listen to Mustn'ts, child,

Listen to the Don'ts.
Listen to the Shouldn'ts, the Impossibles, the Won'ts.
Listen to the Never Haves,

then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child,

Anything can be.

- Shel Silverstein

Moving in before getting out.

It's official. I have moved back in with my parents. Temporarily, but still... it's a strange feeling. Today my mom and I unloaded the last bit of stuff from my car. I immediately purged through my clothes, tossing away anything I haven't worn in a while. Anything that looks like a 23-year-old shouldn't be wearing anymore... gone. Then I felt like Andy from Toy Story 3. We made boxes of things to donate: dolls, purses, etc. I couldn't bear to donate my Mickey Mouse stuffed animal. That cannot go. I did give up Tweety Bird though. Then I came across my NSYNC marionettes. They are in perfect condition, just a little dusty. They aren't going anywhere for a while though. I came across so many pictures from high school. Why did we think it was cool to carry around a stack of wallet-sized photos of each other? I have a stack of close to 350 pictures that I know I carried around in my school bag.

So now what?? Well I'm planning to move to NYC in the fall. Auditioning for LePetit Theatre's "Hairspray" on July 17, so we shall see what happens with that. Life is a journey. It takes unexpected twists and turns, and we just have to be ready to go along for the ride.