Nov 14: First the Gin and Pool, Then the Audition

As I sit here in my office waiting for students to bring me their final portfolios, I’m preparing for an audition early this evening,  studying my lines and music for Scrooge because we’re supposed to be off-book this week, and writing my NaBloPoMo blog post just in case I don’t get home in time tonight to write it.  That’s a long first sentence, but it’s not as long as I expect this day will be. I’ll leave here late this afternoon with two bags full of portfolios, each potentially holding three revised papers to grade. I probably won’t look at any of them today because….

Did I mention I have an audition?!?! I love auditions. Sometimes I don’t even care if I get a part, I just love going in, seeing who else is there, and cold-reading from a script with random other actors. It’s so much fun.

The audition tonight is one I hope does lead to a part though. One of my Octette Bridge Club sisters and I have been eagerly waiting for this play to come up on the schedule. She’s beat me out for two parts in the past year, so I’m glad this time we’re auditioning for different characters—although I wish we could play sisters again.

The play is Dearly Beloved, a story about a disastrous wedding that takes place in a small town in Texas. At the heart are three middle-aged sisters who used to travel as a gospel group called The Sermonettes. I really want to play the oldest sister, Honey, who is described as “50 going on 30.” I mean I really want to play Honey. There are two parts I yearn for this season, Honey and Grace Hoylard in Bus Stop, which doesn’t go into production until spring. You could say they’re on my theatre bucket list. *

We have Scrooge rehearsals every weeknight at 7:00 now, so I had to contact a friend at the theater that's doing Dearly Beloved, who contacted the director, who said he would read me early at 6:00. I’ve never done that before, asked for a special time to read. I plan to talk in my Texas accent all day so I don’t accidentally slip into the cockney accent from Scrooge. I also have to sing some gospel. I’ll probably do “Amazing Grace.” What else?

I have another reason for wanting to work on Dearly Beloved. I’ve done two plays this fall at the theater where we’re doing Scrooge now, and Bus Stop is also at that theater, so I’d like to get back over to the theater where we did Octette and work  play there again for a few weeks. I love the people there too, and they have a beautiful new facility. And finally, it’s back in the suburb where I lived for so many years. It’s still home.

I’m a little nervous about this audition because I want Honey--I really want her--and because of that Texas accent, and because I'll be reading by myself. So there’s one final thing I’m going to do to prepare for my audition.

The pool table that will go in my next house, not the one at the tavern.

  

Catty corner across the street from the theater is a little tavern. It’s a dive, but they’ve got two pool tables in the back and you never know what might come up on the jukebox. It’s the kind of place where the patrons still smoke, in spite of the state anti-smoking law. (I could do without that, but it’s that kind of place.) And the bartender always remembers me and what I drink. I used to go there sometimes before Octette rehearsals to hang out and play pool. I still have my pool cue in the back of my van, just in case I land in an impromptu game.

I've met a few interesting characters at that tavern, but I don’t intend to make any instant friends tonight.  I’m just going to wander over there and shoot a couple of games of practice pool to prepare me for the audition …. to get my red-neck on. I don’t suppose it will hurt to go into this audition smelling like gin and cigarette smoke. I’m pretty sure that’s what Honey would do. More about her if I get the part.

* I surely do hope I didn’t jinx myself by writing about wanting this part. I worry about that whole jinxing thing, because I’ve got an evil fairy godmother who likes to fuck with me if she thinks I want something too much.