ON AUDITIONING FOR SISTER ACT PARIS - PART 3ROUND 2 – Thursday December 8th
This time my audition is in the afternoon. I have plenty of time to sing through everything, run my lines and then address the eternally burning question, what should I wear? All black this time? Once again, I decide on a compromise: a long printed skirt and a black turtleneck. On my way to the Mogador Theater, I bump into Caro, who has already done her audition. She seems slightly feverish. I myself am feeling nauseous and a bit dizzy. When I get to the theater, I know almost all of the Mother Superiors who are waiting their turn. Nelly-Anne, Agnès, Brigitte… there is some amazing talent here today. We’re in such a state of nerves that we all have to pee every five minutes or so. Half of the women haven’t learned “I haven’t got a prayer” and they’re gathered around the piano in another room, learning the melody to try for the infamous belt. I see a new arrival who seems to be greeted like a long-lost friend by the casting staff. Canadian, she is dressed like a nun right down to her veil and the huge cross around her neck. Worst of all, she looks the right age. In fact, she looks exactly the part. And Canadian! We all know about Canadians. They can sing, dance, act ANYTHING. Why, oh why didn’t I dress all in black? I go from nauseous to ravenously hungry in the blink of an eye and wolf down half a banana. I’m starting to find myself slightly ridiculous and my sense of humor begins to assert itself. Why am I in such a state? The answer comes from the fact that over here in Paris we only get to audition maybe one to three times a year max. And that’s in a good year! There’s really almost no way to stay in audition “shape” and each audition takes on an importance that can be quite out of proportion. The woman before me goes in… My friend Frank is there to audition for the part of Monsignor and Bruno Berberes, the casting director, suggests that he do the scene with me. Oh yes! Carmen, the Canadian seems so right for the role that I think I probably have no chance of getting the part myself. So with nothing to lose, I head in for my turn. A television crew follows me into the room. Right! As if I didn’t have enough stage fright already! We start with “Haven’t got a prayer”. Carline Brouwer, the director, takes the time to answer some of my questions about the character. Oh no! Now not only do I want the part, I want to work with this woman! The music director, Simone Manfredini, accompanies me and he’s one of those dream pianists that makes you feel as though you’re flying as you perform the song. Now it’s on to the scene and after how many false starts (4? 5? Come on, girl! Get a grip!) I manage to act my way through it with Frank, the Monsignor, and head into the second song, which again is just a joy. By the time the audition is through, I would give anything to work with this fantastic, supportive team… Now the waiting game starts again – we should have an answer soon because the call-backs are in two days. That evening I go to a charity event to raise funds for AIDS research. Bruno calls to tell me I’ve made it to the next round just as I am listening to a speech by one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. I decide to take it as a sign! Stay tuned for Part 4… Click here for Part 1 Here’s the little television documentary that was shot during this round of the auditions. We all look like "death warmed over", as my great-aunt used to say - only to be expected when we're wearing no make-up, dressed all in black and flatteringly lit by neon lights... ON AUDITIONING FOR SISTER ACT PARIS - PART 2Click HERE for Part 1
THE CALLBACK November 2011 For the next round, we have a scene to prepare, a new song to learn, and new lyrics to “Here within these wall” which has been adapted into French. The callback is in a week. This round comes with its fair share of difficulties. The French adaptation is obviously a first draft as there are acCENTS on a lot of wrong syLLAbles. This requires quite a bit of fiddling around with the rhythm in order to make the lyrics comprehensible and sometimes limits your choices in terms of acting. I spend a lot of time trying to put this puzzle together. The new song is another challenge. There is no recorded version anywhere of “I Haven’t Got a Prayer” which was added when Sister Act went to Broadway. Luckily, I have a pianist “à domicile” in the form of my husband, who records a playback for me to practice to. I actually find the fact that there is no previously recorded version quite freeing and I dig into the emotions of the song with gusto. It’s another fabulous number with the Mother Superior in a full-blown crisis of faith. It’s time for me to admit the truth to myself: I really want this part! Oh boy, I am opening myself up to a whole world of hurt if I don’t get the role. I try not to think about it… The song goes up higher and higher. I am working hard to get a homogenous sound from way down at the bottom of my range, all the way up to the high notes which I am doing in a mix of head and chest voice. My friend Caro calls. She is going back in for Mother Superior too and wants to know if I’ve found a recording of the song. I send her my playback. She tells me she has been doing some of the ensemble callbacks and they really want high belts. Okay. Fine. Remain calm. I can belt those D’s and E’s, can’t I? Yes I can, by gum! The day before the audition, I go meet with a stage director friend, Jean-Michel, for a coaching session on the scene. This is the hard part for me. When a scene is new, I have a tendency to concentrate mostly on getting my text out without an accent. Acting is also the area where I doubt myself the most, afraid of sounding insincere. No matter how many acting jobs I am hired to do, this doubt never goes away and dates back to when I was playing Irene Malloy in “Hello Dolly!” with a particularly unpleasant director. One day he said to me, “Are you an actress? No, you’re not! So stop thinking, stop asking questions, just shut your trap and do what I say.” Stupid as it is, no amount of logic or experience can take away that little voice that sometimes pipes up to say, ”Are you an actress?”. Of course I am, but still… We run the lines, do a little staging, talk about Mother Superior’s relationship with God, with the Monsignor, with her nuns. As I am on my way home, I get a text message from the casting director’s assistant: Check your e-mail! What do I find waiting for me? A recording of “Haven’t got a prayer” in from the Italian version of Sister Act. And the interpretation doesn’t sound anything like what I’ve prepared for the next day. Too late now. Ready or not, it’s callback time. Click HERE for Part 3 ON AUDITIONING FOR SISTER ACT PARIS - PART 1 September 2011 The news has spread like wildfire across the Internet. Stage Entertainment is accepting submissions to audition for their next big musical, Sister Act. Please read descriptions on their site and submit if you correspond to a role… Really good musical theater productions in France are rare. Long-running productions the caliber of Stage Entertainment’s shows are rarer yet. Like almost every musical theater performer in France, I click and read through the descriptions with hope in my heart. Sister Mary Robert? I’m too old. Sister Mary Patrick? Too thin (for once!). Mother Superior? Too young. Mary Lazarus? Way too young. Darn it! My agent tells me she has submitted me for Mother Superior. Really? The description says they want someone between 55 and 70 years old. Surely I’m too young. The days pass with no news. I am not surprised. November 2011 I have been called in for the role of Mother Superior. Give me a break! I don’t have a hope! Do I look like Maggie Smith? I’m supposed to prepare a song of my choice as well as “Here within these walls” from Sister Act. I read through the music. What a beautiful song! I begin my research, watching every interview and excerpt I can find to click my mouse on. I listen to Sheila Hancock, to Victoria Clark, whose voice is stunning… Wait a minute, surely she’s not that much older than I am? In spite of myself, I am falling in love with the music and lyrics, I’m starting to hope… I work on the song, which is a sheer joy to sing, imagining the situation, wondering how I would respond to a crazy show-girl showing up in my convent. 10 days later, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be and it’s almost time to bite the bullet and run the gauntlet. Two days before the audition, there is an e-mail. Be sure your music has chord changes on it so the pianist can accompany you. If you can, send it by e-mail ahead of time. You may sing a cappella if you wish. Uh, oh. That doesn’t sound good. I make a last minute change and switch from “Everybody says don’t” to “Broadway Baby” for my second song. I can sing it in my sleep and surely it will be simple enough for even the shakiest of the notoriously shaky pianists who always seem to accompany auditions in France. I send off the scan of my music. I am trying not to fall into my usual pre-audition jitters, but it’s hard. ROUND 1 – Tuesday, November 22nd There’s only one final question: what to wear? I decide all black is a little too much for the first round and head out to the audition in a long striped skirt and black turtleneck. I am a modern nun. 11 am – The auditions are running late, but there are plenty of people to schmooze with. Schmoozing helps relax me. It tricks my mind into thinking I’m at a social function instead of about to strip myself naked in front of total strangers. I know about half of the various nuns, gangsters, and priests who are crowded into the room. Two gorgeous Deloris’s are vocalizing down the hall. People mill around in various stages of nerves. One young singer bursts into tears when she is told to come back later for the dance audition. A camera crew captures it all on film, interviewing anyone who isn’t too nervous to be able to speak in complete sentences. Suddenly it’s my turn. Concentrate in the antechamber. The casting director, Bruno, pokes his head out the door and seems happy to see me. He whispers some last minute acting directions. Authoritative. Right. Strict. Yes. But with a sense of humor. Okay. I’m supposed to start with “Broadway Baby”. I hand my music to the pianist and start to walk him through it but… What do you mean, you want to do the beginning freely? I’d like to start slowly and gradually accelerate. Can you follow me? Follow you how? What am I supposed to play? The chords… But that’s not what’s written. I’m sorry, I thought you read chords. Ummm… Okay, never mind, let’s do what’s written, that’s fine. Well, what’s the tempo? Oh wow, that’s really fast. I’ll try. ???? (Someone told me later that he was actually a guitar player. What?) Anyway, off we go with the song and, after the second line, he skips a measure or two. I stop. You know what? Can I just sing this a cappella? Now it’s time for “Here within these walls”. The music director and stage director seem to be Dutch and speak in English. The assistant director and the casting director are French. The audition is being filmed. Who are those other people sitting on the floor? Concentrate! I imagine my convent walls and slip inside my mental nun’s habit. It’s worth going through the anxiety just to be able to sing this song… which seems to have gone well, as I am asked to stay for the dance audition at two. I end up going to lunch with the two gorgeous Deloris’s who turn out to be Americans too. This is the great part of auditions, meeting new people and having one of those instant bonding things that can only come through fighting side by side in mortal combat on the battlefield, or going through the audition process together. Back at the studio now in our sweats and sneakers, we learn the dance routine. And this bit is just pure fun. The choreographer is calm and friendly, guiding us through the process with all the patience and encouragement that non-dancers could possibly hope for. In the group are two others up for the role of Mother Superior, Laure and Sarah, both of whom I’ve known for ages. We’re so different that I’m not sure we can even be considered to be in competition – it will all boil down to what they’re looking for. And I’m still convinced that we are, all three of us, too young. Everyone dances their hearts out. It’s 4pm. Thank you all. We’ll let you know within the next few days… 5 days go by… No news. A week… No news. 10 days… Oh well. But on Day 11, I am called back for round two. Click HERE for Part 2 FANT@SMES DE DEMOISELLES - REVIEW Take a 92 year old playright, have him write about personal ads, and what do you get? An extended lyrical poem, often fairly risqué, but always elegant and flowing. René de Obaldia, to quote wikipedia, "has been, for more than fifty years, one of the most-produced French playwrights on the planet, as well as the most internationally renowned (having been translated into 28 languages). Critics have admired the remarkable ease of Obaldia's style. His plays always take place within a framework of contemporary times and concern modern subjects, treating these in a comical manner." Fant@ames de demoiselles (Young ladies' fantasies) is right in keeping then with Obaldia's well-established practice in treating a subject that is thouroughly modern: internet dating. The show is a series of personal ads, more often than not set to music, with all the atttendant fantasies that go with a hungry longing for love. We have only to hear, "Cherche jeune homme..." (Seeking young man...) to know that we are off on another search: for a gentleman, a military man, a poet,  a cook, a priest, a shrink... Two women, wonderfully portrayed by Isabelle Ferron and Manon Landowski, read and write their own personal ads after hours in their office. Their two co-workers (Pierre Jacquemont and the very funny Laurent Conoir) are transformed time after time into the objects of the women's fantasies. Will Prince Charming ever appear? You'll have to see the show to find out...The music by Lionel Privat is a delight and contributes greatly to the flow of the show. Two musicians, piano and accordeon/percussion, accompany the many different changes in style and tempo. There are also three additional songs by Manon Landowski and arranged by Lionel Privat. The result is a coherent soundscape that brings Obaldia's poetry to life. I am very pleased to be able to bring you not so much as a sneak peek, as a sneak listen to some of the music. These are the demo versions that were recorded by Manon and Lionel before the start of rehearsals:
"Cherche cuisiner" (Seeking a man who can cook) by Lionel Privat and René de Obaldia "Cherche fiévreux" (Seeking a feverish man) by Lionel Privat and René de Obaldia The show's choreography is by Sonia Enquin who also contributed to the staging, a series of changing lights and shifting panels by the director, Pierre Jacquemont, who has brilliantly adapted Obaldia's original book into this stage version. The show will run at the Théâtre 14 until October 22 (reserve your tickets HERE) before transferring to the Théâtre le Ranelagh from October 26 to November 19. And if you enjoy this play, don't hesitate to explore the Ranelagh's site (HERE) - they have just started an "Obaldia" festival and will be featuring many of his plays over the next few months.
SNEAK PEEK - rehearsal photos of "Frankenstein Junior" Young Frankenstein, aka Frankenstein Junior in it's French adaptation, is opening on the 14th of October at the Théâtre Dejazet. Needless to say, we are all awaiting the result with bated breath! Directed by Ned Gurjic, adapted by Stéphane Laporte, choreography by Philippe Bonhommeau, the show boasts an impeccable cast: Vincent Heden (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein), Zacharie Saal (Igor), Camille Glémet (Inga), Valérie Zaccomer (Frau Blucher), Patrice Latronche(the monster), Gaëlle Pinheiro (Elizabeth) to name a few of the taleneted performers. Here's a sneak peek of some rehearsal photos (by Alfred Perrin and Gaëlle Pinheiro). If you don't have your tickets yet, you can reserve HERE. Enjoy! PS They are previewing tonight and tomorrow at the Espace Carpeaux to sold-out audiences. A big "merde" to the whole team! |
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