Broadway auditions, unlike traditional job interviews, involve a nearly absurd amount of down time - both before and during the audition process, as well as after you've given your all. Then you wait .... for who knows how long ... to see if the casting directors will make up their minds for or against you.
Yesterday I went back to dance for the Cats National Tour. I arrived at around 7am to sign up for the 10am call, then had breakfast, printed some resumes, ran up and down the stairs a few times, and gave myself a ballet barre/intense yoga warm-up until go time.
--- If ever you're in Pearl Studios when Cats is auditioning new dancers, don't let the cute pictures of different cats all over the holding room fool you, this audition is SERIOUS ---
Cats is one of those rare and wonderful opportunities for a dancer's dancer, because it is one of the most challenging shows, choreography-wise, in production today. As such, one must have substantial confidence in one's technique to even show up at this audition. Extreme athletic ability and specificity of movement are crucial to the fluidity and awe factor of the show... and the audition experience is both intimidating and grueling.
The dance call started right at 10am. They must have known exactly what they were looking for this time, because there was NO playing around. Richard [Stafford, Cats' Director/Choreographer] got right to the hard stuff. His old associate Susan used to love to give a first round of choreography, which eased the dancers into the day and was evidently designed to allow the dancers to showcase their acting skills.
The new associate Josh, a hard wall of dance muscle with none of Susan's warmth and charm, made it clear that the quality of this audition would be different from what some of us were used to.
Indeed, after the first three movements of Richard's choreography (pulled from the show's production number for Jellicle Ball), I not only watched but FELT fear jettison into half the dancers in the room. The two men taught the four counts of eight in no more than 5 minutes. Then they broke us up into two groups, had us do the piece by ourselves, gave some quick corrections and formed us into small groups to begin the audition, with scarcely any time left over to breathe!
I love and LIVE for these kinds of auditions. Richard really separates the cats from the kittens, if you know what I mean. There was such a palpable current of tension in the room that I couldn't help but feed off of it. They wanted intensity, joy, sex, and specificity - so you best BELIEVE I gave it to them.
....And it felt soooo good. I danced that choreography to the best of my ability, literally oozing with every luxurious catlike ounce of character I could muster. In a step toward the direction of true success, I was genuinely happy with my performance alone. In regards to the job... we'll see what happens. I should hear by Friday, one way or another.
And now the waiting really begins...
**For anyone going to the Cats call in the future, I also remembered the rogue term that Richard used last year to describe what he most wanted to see from us: starkness. He repeatedly emphasizes the importance of stark movement. I've never heard that term applied to dance before, but listening to feedback like this and incorporating it into your movement is key to demonstrating to directors that you pay attention and can work well. Send that to the brain bank!
Purrrrr,
A Broadway Baby
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