Keith and I cast the show yesterday in a matter of a few short hours. Admittedly, it was daunting at first: finding the appropriate amount of time for each of the 18 actors to sing and read. But make the time we did, and these kids really stepped up to the plate and brought it to that audition! We began singing people at 9:30 am, and by 10:30 had heard everyone. For the next 90 minutes we read each and every person! I gave some notes and/or adjustments to nearly every actor and each of them responded and took the notes and integrated them into their audition. They were so easy to communicate with. I have to say I was pleased to hear from the artistic director as she said she really liked the way I was working with the kids.
I was amazed at how easy it was to cast this show from this group of actors. It was like watching a jigsaw puzzle solve itself. By 12 noon, we were 98% sure of our cast. Now all we had to do was dance and move them. Keith had prepared two combinations: one for the Speakeasy and one for the Speed Test (tapping). But we had to wait until 5 pm for that, because the kids had a matinee of EVITA, which ended a little after 4 pm, which was immediately followed by a photo call, which did run over it's scheduled time by 30 minutes, as most photo calls do. But we were determined to get this dance call under way. Keith had those kids out of EVITA costumes and in their dance shoes and sweats in less than five minutes, and after 45 minutes and two great short combinations, we were able to see the varying levels of movement and dance within the company and had finished casting the show! While the kids ate their dinner and got prepared for their evening show, Keith and I typed up the cast list which was to be posted backstage after the evening show, then he and I went out for a drink & dinner! We were exhausted. I can't even imagine how fried the kids were.
We met up with the company after their second show (and second half of the photo call...) and there was much cause for celebration: they had opened EVITA, finished the photo shoot, and auditioned their asses off and got cast in the next show! There was a party in one of the company houses, and, for the most part, the actors were completely psyched about the way things had turned out. There were one or two disappointed faces, and all I could do was just keep smiling and reassure everyone that this is going to be a very exciting project and that we all were going to have fun on it. Not to lessen the feelings of anyone who was not pleased by the results, but, as most of us know, disappointment is, for better or worse, such a huge part of this process. It is unsettling to see the unhappiness flash across the face of a disenchanted actor, especially when they're so young and so eager. But I believe it is that youth and ardor which will pull them out of it soon enough.
But here we go into our first day of rehearsal and I am confident it's going to be great.
Here goes!
More later...
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