Tickle Me Alfie

A couple of fridays ago, I auditioned for Sesame Street Live!
SO, the posting for this one said looking for trained musical theatre dancers, with Ballet and Jazz technique, for full costumed characters. Ok, now I'm thinking they're just saying that so they won't get goofy people who have no idea what they're doing,( which happens, even in Broadway auditions).
SO I show up at the Wachovia Spectrum center here in philly, and realize the audition takes place right on the set and the stage of the show, kind of cool, back stage seeing all the props, and super grover flying, and costume heads. Definitley pretty neat. You definitely don't realize how childish you still are, until you see yourself surrounded by your childhood joys.
So we start learning a combination, it's a fun goofy one, the easy one of the 2 we're going to learn. And we're having a good time, but I'm realizing that in midst of this fun combination, wham there's a kick to the face, and WHam! another one, and then fun marching, big jump, yeah, WHam! jump turn, and another(I forget the Ballet term, sorry). I was like ok, glad I stretched. So I see what they mean about people with dance experience, you had to know your feeting so you could do the extended tricks.
But you could still ham it up. So we start the other combination, mind you without doing the first one for the video, or for a cut, which is what usually happens,(you learn a simple dance, they make a cut, and then you learn the harder) Nope, we went right on, Oh great, now I have to remember that choreography as well, but shove it to the back of my mind. So He starts teaching, and I think I just stood there as he went over the first counts of 8 like a bullet shooting out of a gun. "um, can you show that again?"
We ended up doing this cha cha combination that was fast and furious with all sorts of spanish flair, and by the way this is all technique. Started off with this big spanish pique in attitude, and never stopped from then on. to weired pas de bereaus, to 4 channe turns into of all things a side tilt!!! What the heck!( now I know most of you have no idea what I'm talking about, which is funny for me, but just know it's really difficult.) SO I ask who does all this in the show, and they said everybody, Are you kidding so Ernie, Elmo, and The Count are all tilted sideways with their leg above there face? gees louise!
So anyway, we break up in groups and do the 2 dances. I wasn't worried cause at this audition I was the only real all around dance guy,( there was this great tapper though). I t was kind of crazy cause after we did the 2 combinations, they asked us to do a ballet combination across the floor with a big leap, 2 pirouettes right and left, battema's across the floor, if we could tap a double time step, and a cartwheel right and left. Phew! Gollee gee wiz! What else rub my belly and pat my head. hahaha.
That went well, but then they asked if anybody was going to audition for the live role, the 1 person in the show who is just themselves, ( the girl in the picture), and there were only 4 , 2 guys and 2 girls. I asked if I had to have a monologue, and they were like yeah, besides the 2 songs, so I figured that I was not going to do it. Then I saw the others go, and was thinking to myself," are you kidding", Alfie come on you were born for improv, Oh by the way God has given me a great creative mind for Improv, I've gotten some cool accomplishments thru it. I basically challenged myself, "if you call your self a good actor you should be able to make up one on the spot, so, they called me up, and I knew I had this in the bag. I went on stage slated my name, sang my 2 songs as if the whole arena was full( something the others forgot), and then I introduced my monologue from the play "Alfies Mind" called I love clouds. It was awesome! I never felt so proud of myself, and so on, like I was just meant to perform. Left that audition knowing that I had rocked it. They should call me back in may for a fall tour.

New Candle light Theater

Two mondays ago I auditioned for The New Candle Light Dinner theater in ardentown Delaware,
a forty min train ride from philly, and my friend Jess from my show Aida picked me up, and when we got to the theater we saw our other friend from Aida Latasha. This is only cool because we were the 3 christians in that show. Tash just got done doing the tour of Hairspray, and Jess finished up doing Belle in B and the B. SO we're at this theatre and it looks kind of like glorified community theatre, and the people who were there to audition only helped with that feeling. I definitely felt that there was only a couple people there in the calibur of my friends and I. Now the show that they're doing is Chicago, so it was mostly girls, and everyone was dressed in black, and some kind of short mini skirt, (as they should be). Now I had only 15 mins to get ready for the train, so I ended up throwing clothes, jeans a sweater, I don't really look professional, more like a goofy kid who is just playing around, which I used for my advantage. And it so happens that I was not able to get pictures printed out from Cvs that day,( which was weird cause everyone else could), so I didn't have a head shot to give them, and we ended up just taking this poleroid of me. Well the picture came out great! I'm in this classic goofy pose from disney, Like an "Oh Boy!" thing with my arm, and this big old teeth smile, with this light, and dark green striped sweater on with a light, and dark blue scarf on and my penn state blue beanie on. If I can get a copy, you'd better believe I'll post it. I ask the stage manager if I should take the scarf and hat off for my singing audition, and she said hey be you, so I said heck no! I figure I do a switcharoo, and just change for the dancing and surprise every body.
I in go to sing, and the production staff has these weird smiles and smerks on their faces from my picture, like who in the world is this goofball. And then I sang, and surprised them even more. so done with that, and waiting with my friends again to dance. I decide to go change in this closet that was right behind us. As soon as I step out, I hear gasps from the room, and the stage manager yells out, "you weren't kidding! You are Hot!"
hahahaha
Anyway so we go into dance, And it was like every eye was on me. Now I have on my dance clothes on, all black, tight, no glasses, the way I would be expected to look for this musical. They just didn't know I could bring it. So now there is only 2 other guys there besides me to dance, this over over weight white kid who auditioned for Mary Sunshine( because in the stage show she's played by a man who sings Opera, which I didn't know), by the way he kicked it singing I was blown away. And the other guy was this tall skinny white kid. So I wasn't really troubled by competition. We learn the dance and split into groups, well people just couldn't believe that I looked so good doing this dance. All glory to God. But I was trained in Fosse at school, that's like one of the best looking dance forms on my body, and that is the whole style of this show. so anyway it went really well. When I wasn't dancing I'd go back to this goofy Guy I was playing.

So they called me 2 days later to offer me a role in the ensemble. Let's just say what they offered, was not reasonable, so I said no. But over the course of the week, something happened that has never happened before. The Theater kept calling me back and basically asked how they could accommodate me. and thru some negotiations , I decided to take the offer. So that made me feel really awesome, that they wanted me so much for there production. Helps build confidence, and makes me feel like this is just the beginning.

Rehearsals start April 1st, and the show runs from May4 til July 15, please pray that it is a great cast, that we all get along, and that I rely on God's strength, and perform well.( Thats Jess in the picture, she's in the movie Annapolis)

Well, I wish I would've have been able to start this from the beginning, There have been coutless auditions that I have gone thru, but I'm sure there will be countless more, so I will just have to tell you about the auditions that have made a lasting impact on my life, As I tell about the ones that currently go on. Who knows, we'll see, you'll just have to stay abreast, and keep in the story!