From Being Comfortable on Stage...To Panicking at Auditions

“I could never get up in front of all those people and do what you do!” I get that a lot. When you’re well-rehearsed, performing on stage is a blast! Once you have the script under your belt you can be free to really dive into the character. You can spend time fine-tuning certain lines based on crowd reaction, to get that joke just right. Or work on that certain emotion to really get the crowd to come along with you.

I love getting to that point where I’m comfortable enough on stage, when I can try new, subtle things. Toward the end of our run of Grosse Pointe Theatre’s The Music Man, Jennifer Jones, (my Marian the Librarian opposite me as Harold Hill) said she was getting emotional in some of the scenes toward the end of the show, but didn’t want to cry for fear it might throw me off. I was excited and told her, “Go for it!” So, in one very moving performance, a huge tear rolled down her cheek. It was perfect, it’s just what her character would’ve done. For me, I knew exactly where I was in relation to the song that was already started, so I gave it an extra pause, and gently wiped the tear away – a gesture that brought Harold and Marian even closer together. This kind of subtlety might be missed in the back row, but I’m sure it pulled heart-strings for those who caught it. And it was fun for us actors too.

Now I say all this to shine a light on how absurd the opposite point is. The point where you don’t know anything. We call that: Auditions. The cruel and unusual punishment where actors in street clothes pretend they are seventeenth century swash-bucklers, or Grosse Pointers with a fake Texas twang. Oh, they are scary. More often than not, you are paired with a complete stranger and told to read a love scene. Or asked to solve a Rubik’s cube, recite the Gettysburg Address all the while hopping on one leg, blindfolded.   

Okay, that might’ve been a dream I had, but still...

The point is, auditions can be scary. For me, I need to be as prepared as possible.  When I auditioned for The Will Rogers Follies back in 2004, I wanted the part of Will so much that I practiced twirling a rope outside in my driveway all winter. It got down to eighteen degrees once while I practiced spinning a flat-loop that I could jump into. Just one more thing for the file that the neighbors are keeping on me...

For The Music Man, I dragged fellow co-worker Cyndy Nehr to a conference room to listen to me practice the pre-amble to “76 Trombones” over and over. She was nice enough to go along with it, even though I made her miss several lunches. I wonder if that’s why she subconsciously grabs a snack from her purse whenever she hears that song now.

Now, I in no way want to dissuade anyone from coming out to audition for a show.  Just the opposite! Everyone is encouraged to audition for one of GPT’s shows.  You don’t have to be a seasoned professional. Remember, everyone had their first time stepping out onto the stage. And we’ll take good care of you. The above is just my personal paranoia. 

Actually, auditions can be pretty fun. Like when we had to learn a quick dance step for The Music Man, I might’ve taken it a little too far. Thankfully, the choreographers make audition dance steps fairly simple. They just want to see if you can move to the left when they say “Move to the left.” etc.

At the end of our mini-dance, everyone auditioning for Marian was to shake their finger at all the Harolds, while backing them up for a count of four. No big deal right? Well, I wanted to add a little extra to get the director to notice me. So, I was crouching down and adding character, when I fell flat on my Grosse Pointe Patch. I also slid backward about five feet. Luckily everyone cheered. “Awesome character choice there Tim!” Yeeeeah, sure, that was planned...

Well, either way, I got the part.

P.S.  Thankfully, Alan Canning, Sandi Haney and Danielle Caralis didn’t read the above and get scared off. This past weekend, they went through the process of Auditions for GPT’s third show Jekyll & Hyde and are cast as the leads! 

Sandi is new to the group, making J&H the fourth show in a row where a leading lady is making her GPT debut. Let’s all go see it, shall we?

Tim Reinman portrayed Professor Harold Hill in Grosse Pointe Theatre’s The Music Man, which opened the season this September.  GPT’s current show is The Trip to Bountiful running now through November 19th at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial’s Fries Auditorium.  Call (313) 881-4004 for tickets or on-line at www.gpt.org.