Triple Sensation random thoughts

Triple Sensation finished airing on CBC this past weekend, and for those of you who don't know, I got to go to Montreal early this year for the second round of auditions. Now that it's all over, I thought I would write down some more details of what the process was like for me, and a review of sorts of the actual TV show.

The first audition, in Halifax, was not filmed. I had to sing one song from a list of possible selections, and one monologue of my own choice. I did "Reviewing the Situation" from Oliver, one of my favourites, largely because it's a character song and not just one note emotionally. The monologue I used was a piece I'd done for Nigel Bennett at the ATF, a comic bit from the film "How To Get Ahead In Advertising". I did well with that audition, and was selected to go to Montreal for the callback.

This was sweet. Not only did the folks at Triple Sensation pay for my plane ticket, they put me up at a swank hotel in downtown Montreal, right next to Chinatown and a 20 minute stroll from the Old Port. That, and no one at the hotel complained that Erin was staying with me in a room that was technically a single. :) Erin and I had an entire day to just wander around the city before auditions started the next day.

For the second audition, I sang "The Impossible Dream" which ended up being entirely fitting, and I did one of the Chorus parts from Henry V: "Now it is that time of night, when creeping murmur and the poring dark fill the wide vessel of the universe..." I thought this segment of the callback went very well, up until the point when they asked to see me enjoying myself. I was enjoying myself! Anyway, I got through it just dandy. I must say though, I do find that sort of audition to be awfully artificial. I would much rather do a cold read of scene with someone else than do monologues - acting is, in many ways, more about listening and relating than about going "TA DA!"

The dance call was the next day, and my thoughts on that catastrophe are here.

Anyway, I tuned in to the show over the last few weeks, just to see if anyone I knew made it through - turns out, one of the gals I hung out with after the dance call won the 2nd place prize! Go Anwyn! There's a picture out there somewhere of the two of us chillin'.

I only watched the last episode all the way through, which was very cool. I totally called the prize winners, though not the exact placements. Thought most of the song selections for the final performance were unfortunate: Gershwin is just overdone, period. I would have much preferred to see character songs rather than standards anyway. The Shakespeare scenes felt forced, aside from Anwyn and John-Michael's Kate and Petruchio, which is always fun. I wish some of the others had taken their scenes as far as those two did. Pierre Trudeau - I mean, Colm Feore showing up was kind of random. All in all, it was very well put together and tastefully produced, and I'm happy to have been part of the process.

ATF Blues

So, for all those of you who might possibly be interested, no, I am not going to be on stage at the Atlantic Theatre Festival this summer. I'm not saying don't buy tickets or anything, because I'm sure that there's going to be some interesting stuff going on and everyone should drag their families with them, but just don't expect me to be a part of it.

I can't tell you why I'm not in it again this year, because I really don't know. They only had one non-Equity position in the first place, and there are plenty of non-Equity actors out there. A dime a dozen, quite likely. I did try to get an audition (unsuccessfully) so I can't really get pissed off at myself for not giving it a shot.

There was an amateur company in Windsor of all places that wanted me to try out for the lead in their summer musical, but I turned them down. There might be a certain amount of irony in that, but according to Alanis Morissette, there's irony in almost everything. Meh.

The Impossible Dream

I'd like to relate a story of what happened to me this past weekend. Unfortunately, a tricky little thing called a non-disclosure agreement was signed, so I find myself wanting to express thoughts about something that really make very little sense out of context. I'll do my best anyway - I've got to get it out.

I went to what was essentially a "cattle-call" musical theatre audition. It was my first experience of the kind, and I really had very few expectations going in. No, wait, that's not entirely true. I did expect that I could handle whatever got thrown at me. I mean, I've been involved in musical theatre for years and years. The major part of the audition was the dance call, and boy, was I in for a shock. Or a treat, it all depends.

Nearly everyone there had some kind of dance training, and many of them were absolutely amazing dancers. I wasn't. In fact, I think it's fair to say that I was the most incompetent dancer there, period. I talked to some of the others who expressed consternation at their lack of dancin' mojo, but I don't think anyone else sucked nearly as much as me. A fact of which I take a certain twisted pride.

It wasn't that way at first, naturally. I'm the type of person who likes a challenge, especially if it's within the realm of things I know I can do. Anyone who was in Jenee Gowing's 2003 movement class at Acadia knows I can be just as much of a dancing fool as I am a singer and an actor. I just need plenty of rehearsal, which this particular situation did not offer me. With probably 80 people or more in the studio, and only a few hours to get through the whole thing - there wasn't time to teach everyone how to actually do the dance they were teaching. Just watch and learn, that was how it went. I was so frustrated.

I met a lot of nice people who were very encouraging. To everyone who told me I could do it, even when I knew that it was pointless, thank you. It made the day a lot better, and it allowed me a sort of Zen acceptance of the fact that I didn't make the cut. There were people who cheered me on when they didn't have to, and I appreciate that even more. A big thank you to everyone.

Here's the thing. I nearly gave up completely. I nearly said to myself, "This is nuts. I'm out of my league, time to go." I didn't. I could hardly stand being in the room, let alone try to dance, but I made the best I could of what I thought was a pretty much impossible situation. My old high school music teacher, Bob Rushton, used to say, "We can never be perfect, but we can always try." As trite as it is, often the effort is more important than success or failure. I stuck with the dancing, and tried to push the thoughts of humiliation out of my mind for long enough to get through it.

I think that I did make the cut, at least the one that really matters. If I hadn't bothered, if I'd left before the end, I would probably have hated myself for it. The whole trip, the whole experience, would have been nothing but a waste of time. Instead, I have not only a healthy sense of self-respect, but a better sense of who I am as an artist and what I want to keep doing. That's pretty fucking cool.