One Down and (Maybe) One to Go

I received an email confirmation that I have been accepted to perform at the Talent Show at the Apollo Civic Theatre. The show will be in the third week of February, with two rehearsals prior to that. That should be fun. My slight remaining chest cold should be totally wiped out by then.

I now have about one week to make my next theatre based decision. I have to decide if I am going to try out for the musical Anything Goes at the Old Opera House.

There are no strong arguments against trying out I suppose. It is just a matter of deciding if I would like the show enough to do all the work a musical requires. I have never seen or read this show, and I am not sure I will be able to obtain a copy of the script before auditions would take place. (I like to read a whole script before trying out for a show.)

I admit that I hesitate to get back into a musical now. I cannot read sheet music, I have to do everything by ear when I learn songs. This can slow the process down. Still, it has been about one year since I appeared in a musical. Though musicals are not my main focus in the theatre, I made an agreement with myself that I would try to do at least one musical per year, just to keep my skills in the area sharp. I have heard of this musical before hand, which is a plus. It is sure to have pretty decent crowds, since it is very well known. Not to mention the fact that other than the one night talent show, I have nothing else going on at this time of the year. I would say I am 70% certain that I will go ahead and try out for it.

I am not at all sure, however, what my audition song will be. Since usually I am only in one musical per year, I have used the same audition song for all of them since college. ("Master of the House" from Les Miserables). I like the song, and can do 16 bars of it just fine. Yet I have worked with both this director and this musical director before. I thought it would be nice for them to see me doing something else. Buying sheet music can be expensive, however.

Enter a friend of mine, who already owns the sheet music to the musical Chicago. She told me there are a few songs in there I would be quite good at. (At least for 16 bars.) So for the sake of some variety, I am checking into those.

Truth be told, I have never been a fan of that show. I do not like most of the songs, and I thought the movie was terrible. My friend thought that the songs in question are closer to the type of music in Anything Goes than my usual audition song is. So I will start listening to the CD sometime today. I think I can stomach at least 16 bars of Chicago.

That is, if I choose to try out. I will keep everyone posted.