Revolutionary! 1776 Auditions
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.
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