Absinthe-minded!

This afternoon I hopped the 4 train down to Fulton Street and walked/jogged the five or six cobblestone-paved city streets of lower Manhattan (in my black heels, mind you) to the audition venue at South Street Seaport.

When I arrived I was directed to a holding area where four or five other girls were waiting to be called upon. This is one of those absurd realities of the entertainment industry. You're constantly face to face with your competition. I used to find this a bit unnerving, but I just smile and say hello and try to behave like a normal person. More often than not I have found that everyone behaves in a pleasant and civil manner while we all secretly size each other up. I mean, not that I'm sizing people up. I'm totally confident in myself, yeah! I don't need to size anyone up - no, not me! I'm totally confident in myself, yeah... that's me! (whew!)

Yeah, "normal" is such a relative term.

Despite the fact that I was in a room with several other girls who were all after the same cool job, I felt okay. Several of us made small talk about the show and what we did around town while one girl pulled out all the stops by festooning herself in a burlesque costume of scarves, glitter, gold sequin pasties, bells and all! (Was I a little threatened by this act of going above and beyond? Maybe a little - but shredding up my pretty dress to make boob tassels was definitely a last resort.)

She really was there with bells on!

One of the women who had seen the show, was describing the type of music that the Cabaret singer sang in the show. Apparently the songs were a little more rock n' roll (ie Janice Joplin's "Bobby McGee") and a little less Cabaret standard (ie "Fever" by Peggy Lee.) This made me think again about singing a Tori Amos song.

I was fifth in line to go on, so I had to take decisive action. Either I sing from my CD or ask to sing "If Love Is A Red Dress" a capella. That song seemed to me the perfect blend of blues and jazz and rock n' roll and cabaret all rolled into one, so I was hoping that they would agree to it.

When it was my turn to go, I entered the audition space which had the feel of a circus tent with Cabaret style seating and a small round stage in the center beneath a tented roof. I handed the tech guy who was manning the sound board my CD of tracks, but warned that I might not be making use of it after all.

Once in front of the audition panel which consisted of the Producer, Casting Director and Emcee of the show, I asked them if they preferred that I sing with a track.
"Whichever you feel shows you off best," said the Producer.

And so away I went, with my number one choice "If Love Is A Red Dress."

At the end the Producer came down from his post in the back of the theater, which I took to be a good sign.
"What do you do in New York?" he asked.
"I perform a lot of musical improv," I replied.
"Sounds terrifying!" he said.

Hard to tell how this will pan out, but all in all I think that my audition went well. The panel of three were very friendly and kind which made the audition a very pleasant and fun experience. The show sounds like a blast and I would love to be a part of it so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

When I returned to the holding area, another girl who was waiting to go in for her audition said,
"I think I heard you. Were you hitting some higher notes in there? You sounded great!"
"Thank you," I said. "That's really nice of you to say."

Feeling satisfied that I had put my best foot forward in the audition, I headed back up town to work. When I had a few moments to spare here and there, I took a second, third and fourth look at the song that I'm writing for "The Spotlight" on November 7th. I had another band practice tonight, and this time I planned on being prepared with something that the guys could work with.

People always say, "write what you know" so that's just what I did. The song is basically an autobiographical tune about myself (yes, I'm afraid I am that egocentric.) Here are a few lyrics to give you a taste of my ego and eccentricity...

Ever since I was a little girl
No one doubted I could dream,
Everywhere I went I knew just
how to make a scene

Sometimes I'd sit and watch myself cry
In the mirror for an hour or three
You might think that was a waste of time
but not for this drama queen

Chorus:
Because I just wanted to be a little bit famous
(I could taste it in my tears)
Yeah I just wanted to be a little bit famous
(Yeah I cried for my own entertainment)

Well I grew up, as an only child
I could be quiet and I could be mild
But when there was a gathering of the family
I had an audience and I was free to be me!

I would sing at any chance
That would come my way
I even wrote a little Oscar speech
So I'd be prepared for that day

Chorus:
Because I just wanted to be a little bit famous
(singing in the living room)
Yeah I just wanted to be a little bit famous
(I still feel like I grew up a little too soon)

Now I'm grown and I still wanna see my full name up in lights,
Although it would be fine by me if the marquis is not that bright...

And so on and so forth. I think it paints a truthful, but fairly amusing picture of my life and how I came to be where I am today. After playing it a couple times through, my guitarist remarked, "You know, I think I've learned more about you from this song than I have in all of our conversations in the past year." Cool! Then I'm on the right track! Our studio session was pretty successful and while I have some verses to add and lyrics to adjust, I think we're more than half way there. Perhaps I'll try to find a clever and not-so-subtle way of mentioning my blog in the song. (what, too much?) Anyway, we'll likely only have one or two more rehearsals before the big day - but I know we're gonna rock it and maybe, just maybe this song will get us all one step closer to being "just a little bit famous."