Darien DeVries

Last Wednesday was the first audition I’ve done in a long time that required me to have a monologue. I auditioned for the Kaiser Permanente Educational School Tour. I was rather hoping to get this opportunity because it tours locally for ten months and would give me a touring experience I’ve not yet had. Not to mention it pays well and provides benefits! They were looking for people who could play characters between the ages of 8 and 18. The school shows cover a variety of topics from healthy eating to dealing with puberty and conflict resolution. I remember these sorts of shows coming to my school growing up and even though they are a little campy, I absolutely loved them and would be thrilled to perform them. Another interesting thing about this opportunity is that we would be put in a role of peer counselor for the students in the audience. Talk about a learning experience!

I liked the audition process – KP was very strict on the auditionees keeping their monologues to one minute or less. While in some ways this felt like we were being rushed along like cattle, it also meant that no one’s time got wasted. Yes, not even our time got wasted, which I very much appreciated. We were in and out of there in about an hour and could still get lots of other tasks accomplished in the daylight.

I’m pleased with the monologue I chose. I had, in fact, looked at some adolescent monologues I found online. Since I did not have as much time to prepare as I would have liked, I decided, rather than to learn a new monologue, to adapt my story for the upcoming clown show into a monologue.I think it went over well. Although once I finished my monologue, the panel was so nice and polite that it was really hard to tell if they liked me or not. I suppose that’s not too bad of a problem to have.

Needless to say, I didn’t get a callback. Neither did my two classmates who also auditioned. Listening to the names listed on the callback recording, it seemed to us that they were seeking a more culturally diverse cast for the current shows. That’s fine – I recognize that there are plenty of 20-something Caucasian females to go around at any audition – although I think we would have preferred the type being advertised in the casting call. Perhaps they felt because they were under the umbrella of a corporate entity, that they could not put such a thing in the casting call, as it would be perceived as discriminatory. The audition definitely have the feel of something more corporate so those organizing the school tours must need to tread a fine line between the industry norms of corporate office and theater.

Friday evening was our Clown Conservatory show – Fools Come Early or as it is on the fantastic flier my classmate created: Fools! Fools! Fools! I performed my story piece from the first show and I’m rather happy with how it turned out. I wish we were able to do this show over and over for an audience so I could really get the rhythm of it. The audience also liked the coat switch routine with my classmate. Oddly enough, they didn’t seem to care as much about the payoff (after the tussle, I end up with the coat while my partner celebrates her wrestling victory. Then once I scuttle offstage, she claims my tiny hat, which fell off my head, unbeknownst to me.) but applauded for the wrestling itself. While I’m thrilled they appreciated the technique, I hope they were entertained!

I feel that our duck mime piece – Fowl Revenge – went over quite well and that we hit our marks. There were a few last-minute things we’d added that very day that were forgotten in the adrenaline-frenzy of the show, but we received a positive response. Can’t ask for more than that!

Today, I watched part of the video from our show and once again, I need to remember to slow down and really allow moments to happen. It’s never until I see videos of myself that I realize I’m moving too fast through a piece. When I’m onstage, it always feels like I am moving more slowly than I am.

A note on performing for an audience of strangers vs an audience of fellow performers. I don’t like testing a piece out on my fellow performers. It’s not that I dislike them or don’t trust their judgment or anything like that. The problem is that we, as performers, look at artistic pieces with a critical eye. It’s not out of malice – on the contrary, we are often  looking for ways to help our classmates improve. However, we are judging because of that. And knowing that your audience is judging you changes the energy of your piece, just as being nervous when singing tightens up the throat and changes the performance.  When I am in front of an audience that’s there to be entertained, they are hoping I do well. They want me to succeed (because nothing is more embarrassing to an audience member than watching a performer obviously flounder on stage) and are channeling positive energy to that end. But they also have no expectations of me. I can feel myself and ready to go in front of that audience.

Southern Faire is coming around again. I look forward to having lots of audience again. And to singing with the Merry Wives. Hope to see you there!