In the Rough - The Blog of Joel McDonald Jr.

The director of 1776 called me a few minutes ago asking if I would be in the show. Of course, I said yes. She then said she was thinking of having me play Richard Henry Lee (Virginian, gregarious, buffoon like, fun-loving man). I wasn’t asked to read for Lee at callbacks, so I was a little surprised and very pleased. The caveat here is that she is having difficulty placing people where she wants them because we didn’t have enough men audition. So, she asked if I would be okay with my role changing if needed. I told her I would play whatever part she needed, and not to worry about hurting my feelings. I know the stress of auditions is nothing like the stress of having to actually pull the entire show together as a director. She guaranteed me that if the part does change, I’ll get a “nice” part.

So unless something changes, I’ll be playing Richard Henry Lee!

I’ve changed the name of my blog from “nxtOracle” to “In the Rough”. I’ve been mulling over making a name change for a while, but wasn’t coming up with any good ideas. “In the Rough” has a personal significance as it is connected with something said about me by someone who was and will always be extremely important to me, as well as being descriptive of the polishing the next few years might bring.

Stay tuned…this could get interesting.

Last evening the director of 1776 called and invited me to callbacks, which took place this evening. This is very exciting for someone seeking a part in a production, as it usually means that you were noticed and have a good chance at securing the goal; a role!

As it turned out, being invited to callbacks was a very good indicator that I was male. There are twenty-five male parts in 1776, and I think we had about 23 battling for parts. So, odds were that I was in. The only question that remained was, where?

To be truthful, I was somewhat interested in John Adams or Thomas Jefferson. I liked the idea of John Adams because I felt I could bring a lot of intensity to the character. Playing Thomas Jefferson would just be an honor.

Sitting through an open audition is like sitting through a battle strategy meeting. I can’t help but to calculate the directors motives for each round of readings, account for who is reading what part, and how many times they are reading for the part. When an actor is asked to read a part multiple times, it can be seen as a signal that the director has that part in mind for that actor. This isn’t true all of the time, but it is a good indicator.

Based on this, I have my indicator of who I might be playing.

Charles Thompson is the secretary for the Congress, prudent, pedantic, prissy. This is how my cast sheet describes him, and well…that’s basically how I read him. As it turns out, the clarity, tone, and projection of m voice seemed to be spot on for this character. Thompson’s role is to call for votes of the congress, and read a series of missives from General George Washington. While there is actually little “acting” done by the character, he does play a central role in a few scenes…being the only one speaking for extended periods (reading the aforementioned missives). I got a few comments from other actors on my reading of Thompson, and I read him multiple times…including while being alone on stage, as if it were a test specifically for the character.

So, barring any surprises, it seems that I shall have the honor of playing Charles Thompson, secretary of the 2nd Continental Congress. I’ll find out for certain sometime this weekend.

Last night was the first evening of auditions for the musical 1776 at the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach. Not having seen the show, and basing this only on the short scenes used for the audition, it seems 1776 is a witty musical comedy portraying the founders of the United States.

I had never auditioned for a musical before, so I wasn’t sure how the process would go. I had asked a few people if they thought I needed to have a piece prepared to sing, or if they would have something for me to sing. I never got a certain answer, so I assumed that something would be there.

Wrong!

Turns out that I should have brought something with me. There were a few books available containing some show songs I vaguely knew, but nothing I felt prepared to sing. What made this even more stressful was the fact that I was second on the list to go up and sing. Take the stress up a notch when you consider that this was an open audition, and there were about twenty people watching.

After flipping through the song books, I decided to suck it up and sing something I knew acapella (others who were prepared had piano accompaniment). I walked up on stage, took a deep breath, and belted out a rendition of Battle Hymn of the Republic that was…surprisingly good. Or, it at least sounded good on my end. Judging by the lack of wincing from anyone in the audience, I at least can assume it wasn’t an assault on their ears. After running through the first verse and chorus, the pianist ran me through scales to get an idea of my range. I think I did alright there as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to everyone sing. Some took the audition to an entirely amazing level; I would have bought a ticket to just watch them! These community auditions bring in such a range of talent. There were those who obviously had endured years of training in theatre, music, and dance; and then there were those like myself with limited experience.

Everyone auditioning did at least one reading, with some men doing a second or third to help the women (there are only a few female roles). I did a scene twice, once as John Adams and once as Benjamin Franklin. I enjoyed John Adams more, as it was a scene were he was angered by congresses hesitance to fight for independence and perhaps even more angered by the fact that his unpopularity was standing in the way. I got so into it that my head was pounded after running through the scene. Doing Franklin was also a bit fun, as I portrayed him as a witty gentleman, unafraid to take jabs as John as he was blowing off steam.

The third part of the audition was choreography. This was a little awkward as everyone was on stage at one, limiting movement a bit. It was also a bit of fun, as we were asked to add some character to the movements. At one point I was waltzing with a young woman who was one of those refined actors I had mentioned before. She even came prepared in ballet shoes for the choreography! Not knowing how to waltz, I felt something of a buffoon. Much fun!

I honestly enjoyed myself at last night’s auditions. If I don’t get a part, I definitely need to see the show! I should be hearing something one way or another on Wednesday.