Adventures in The Room

I recently saw a post on an actorsite about auditioning, called Adventures in the Room, and I love the notion of treating an audition like an adventure! Why not? It's far more fun that way!

Actually I've been so busy with gigs for the past few months that I haven't had time to attend an open audition for anything since August. All of my work has been coming from folks I've worked with in the past, and that's such a great feeling.

This week I go into rehearsals to revisit the musical, "Hell's Belles," performing next Sunday Nov. 13th at the Abingdon Theatre at 7 PM, and later this month I get to punk out again for "How To Marry a Divorced Man," a staged reading at The Mint Theatre Nov. 29th. Both of these shows are fun playgrounds, filled with wonderfully diverse characters.

(as Glenda in "How to Marry...")

It's funny how small the theatre world is - even in New York, which brings me to last week's theatrical adventure:

I was requested to audition for a new play called "Maybe This Time," playing a Bette Midler-type: the brassy, fun, big-hearted best friend of the male lead, a Liza Minelli impersonator.

I love playing these larger than life ladies!

When I arrived at the audition, I was the only woman there. All of the other characters are men, so there were a lot of fellas! ;) And one I had met before at the reading of "How To Marry a Divorced Man." He's a friend of the author and had approached me afterward to compliment me on my work. It was cool to see him at this audition.

And the other guys in line were just as lovely. I ended up chatting with a young man who's studying character work with Charles Busch, and I love that! I'm a big fan of Mr. Busch's work, and so it was cool to talk with one of his students.

We talked about "going to the source," reviewing actors before us who've paved the way, especially in comedy. And it's not just parodying these performers, it's finding your own way through the foundation they've set.

That made me think of Billy Crystal and Steve Martin, two of my faves, who talk about learning other comedians' routines when they were little kids, so they could repeat it word for word, getting the rhythm of it all. And of course this informed their work as adults.

I feel like I'm getting the chance to study with the greats, learning from Judy Garland and Janis Joplin and all the iconic women for for "Hell's Belles..."

...studying Deborah Harry and other punk rock ladies for "How To Marry a Divorced Man," and now, getting to play a Bette Midler impersonator for "Maybe This Time."

Yup, I got the job! ;)

And of course, I'm onto the next Adventure! ;)