Saturday, August 20, 2011

Big Model?

I remember being offered a job modeling for a "Huge Grande Opening"...hor'de'vors, champagne, the press...blah, blah, blah.  Well, I was so excited.  I even told friends that I had this fabulous gig.  Well, when I arrived they gave me a beautiful wedding gown and said, "Now you need to pick a pose and freeze it for an hour, then you can pick a new pose for the following hour"...What?  "Am I a human manequin?" I asked. "Yes, just make sure you don't move" Well, there I stood in a window, in front of the store, and watched my friends drive by waving and laughing.  It took everything in me not to laugh.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Look at me!!

Auditioning is such a rush.  Feelings of excitement, anxiousness, and the feeling that you may puke.  Believe it or not, I loved it.  The process was interesting because while you are dancing your ass off, the choreographer or casting director could be taking a sip of coffee, or they could be writing notes from the dancers that auditioned prior. Meanwhile, missing your audition of a lifetime.

At times this really frustrated me, but it also made it quite challenging. What can I do to stand out? What can I do where they will say..."She's hired."  Then, there where times that I knew they would remember me, but for the wrong reasons.  Did you ever watch the GONG SHOW?  Sometimes I felt I could hear the big GONGGGGGGG  ringing in my ears, or waiting to see that big hook pull me out of the audition.

I remember auditioning for a cruise line and after a few cuts, it was time to sing.  This was always my favorite part because a lot of dancers never would sing.  You would hear them sing a rendition of "Happy Birthday," which by the way is a vocally hard song to sing. My confidence on this part of the audition rocked...until I started to sing the song, "Before the Parade Basses By"  a WHOLE OCTAVE HIGHER!!!   OMG!!!    Then I did something that you are not suppose to do.  I asked if I could start over.  They did allow this.  My heart was pounding and I could taste the humiliation as a huge lump in my throat Then, I sang completely full out while...MARCHING???????   Really??  MARCHING?????...Why couldn't I stop marching?  The more I would belt out the song, the more and harder I would march. I felt as though I was having an out of body experience, watching some crazy girl trying to get a job.  After the accompaniment stopped, I stood there telling the panel that "I have no idea why I was marching....my feet took over...sorry, I am quite embarrassed"  They all laughed with me and at me.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

When I grow up...

As far as I can remember, I was singing and dancing.  Performing was in my blood...in every step I took...in every breath.