Deborah & I backstage in Indianapolis late after an evening performance of CINDERELLA (which also starred the divine Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother.).
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Post-CINDERELLA in Indianapolis
Deborah & I backstage in Indianapolis late after an evening performance of CINDERELLA (which also starred the divine Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother.).
Post-CINDERELLA Matinee
Deborah and I in Indianapolis just after the matinee performance of CINDERELLA.
Pre-AIDS Walk Atlanta
Deborah and I just before the start of AIDS Walk Atlanta. She'd just finished singing, You'll Never Walk Alone to kick off the event.
Post-LES MISERABLES in NYC
Deborah and I just backstage at the Imperial Theater here in New York. She's 21 and I'm 16. Our first meeting.
CANAL ROOM
These are all shots from Deborah performance last Saturday night at the Canal Room - which is located down on Canal Street here in NYC (near China Town.). It was a fun, intimate evening of theater showtunes and 80's POP hits.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Marie Wiman - His Eye is on the Sparrow
Late last night I received word that Marie Wiman had passed away after a very, very long battle with cancer.
A little more than a year ago, after singing, Marie came up to me and wanted to know if she could talk to me for a second. I said absolutely.
She pulled me aside and told me that the last rounds of chemo she’d been through had been really difficult for her. She continued on saying that while she was lying there she kept hearing my voice singing to her. She said over and over again in her heart and mind she listened to me singing His Eye is on the Sparrow. She said it gave her strength and provided a sense of calm.
She looked at me, with tears filling her eyes, and said, “No one sings it like you.”
Then the tears came to my eyes. I was stunned. I can’t imagine higher praise. The idea that, during such a trying time in one’s life, someone would not only hear a song that I love but would hear my voice – moved me deeply. I can’t think of a better, deeper compliment. It has stayed with me.
Before leaving Atlanta I did my last concert and invited Marie and her husband Scott. It remains a highlight of my life that I was able to dedicate and sing His Eye is on the Sparrow for Marie.
She will forever be tied to that song for me. No matter where I go and when I sing it, I will also think of Marie.
Her funeral is this Thursday. I would love to be there to sing it for her one more time. To sing it as a prayer and as a celebration of her life.
I will miss you, Marie.
A little more than a year ago, after singing, Marie came up to me and wanted to know if she could talk to me for a second. I said absolutely.
She pulled me aside and told me that the last rounds of chemo she’d been through had been really difficult for her. She continued on saying that while she was lying there she kept hearing my voice singing to her. She said over and over again in her heart and mind she listened to me singing His Eye is on the Sparrow. She said it gave her strength and provided a sense of calm.
She looked at me, with tears filling her eyes, and said, “No one sings it like you.”
Then the tears came to my eyes. I was stunned. I can’t imagine higher praise. The idea that, during such a trying time in one’s life, someone would not only hear a song that I love but would hear my voice – moved me deeply. I can’t think of a better, deeper compliment. It has stayed with me.
Before leaving Atlanta I did my last concert and invited Marie and her husband Scott. It remains a highlight of my life that I was able to dedicate and sing His Eye is on the Sparrow for Marie.
She will forever be tied to that song for me. No matter where I go and when I sing it, I will also think of Marie.
Her funeral is this Thursday. I would love to be there to sing it for her one more time. To sing it as a prayer and as a celebration of her life.
I will miss you, Marie.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Jason Joins a FORTUNE 100 Company
I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I recently joined a brilliant Fortune 100 company. You may have heard of them, you may not have…yet.
Three weeks ago I accepted a position with The Container Store and tomorrow the new store will open at 58th and Lexington in the heart of Manhattan.
The leadership of this company has been nothing but wonderful and supportive of me. They made me an amazing monetary offer and gave me a set schedule that will allow me to make a living and still have mornings to write and audition.
For the last three weeks I’ve been immersed in training for the store’s opening. The training has been fun and engaging. I have been stretched in new ways and I’ve grown so much in such a short amount of time.
Every day and every step of the way I have seen lived out by everyone in the company the qualities – both moral and ethical – that have made them a FORTUNE 100 company seven years in a row (most years in the Top 10).
Please visit: www.thecontainerstore.com
Now…the back story…because so many people have written me asking about it…
Recently I started to really revisiting why I moved here and what I wanted to accomplish. I won’t dwell on negativity and won’t waste the time and energy to splash it all over my journal, but – as you might’ve guessed, my old job didn’t work out. For over six months I tried to make the most and the best out of a bad situation.
I don’t regret taking the position. I learned a lot. I do believe that the opportunity came into my life for a reason.
I think, in life, we’re all provided with lessons. If we learn them, we move on. We grow.
If we don’t "get it"…the lessons come around again.
One lesson I had to learn, at the end of a very damaging relationship, was that we teach other how they can treat us. A breakthrough in therapy came for me when I was asked to think about the times I accepted things that were unacceptable.
I thought I had learned the lesson. I hadn’t. The lesson revisited me. Recently I found myself once again accepting things that were unacceptable…and I wasn’t seeing it. I wasn’t stopping it. I was teaching someone how I they could treat me. My working environment became incredibly stressful. The way I was spoken to and how I was treated was beneath me.
I looked at my dreams. I asked myself all the hard questions. But that wasn’t enough. I had to take action. I had to reclaim the parts of my spirit that had been crushed.
So I did.
I began looking for another job. During the search I came in contact with The Container Store.
It was a long process but one that was well worth. For launching their company’s largest store The Container Store received over 5,000 applications and resumes. The interview process had many levels and I spoke with several different people before receiving the phone call offering me the job.
I have never felt so supported by such a large company. They have paid for me to have extensive training. They’ve empowered me to make huge customer related decisions for the company. Daily I’ve seen how so many of the decisions that are made for the company are made to best take care of their employees and customers.
Out of 5,000 applications, only 180 people were hired. Having spent the last two days with the two men who started the company in 1978, listening to the principles they believe in and beliefs they founded the business on, I am truly honored to be one of that 180.
I will share some training photos here soon. Also, I have pictures to share from the exclusive Private Party they threw last night. The party had over 2,000 guests and it went on for hours. The food was incredible. The flowers – laced through some of the company’s products – were gorgeous. The live band amazing and the dance floor packed. It was truly one of the grandest nights I’ve experienced.
Three weeks ago I accepted a position with The Container Store and tomorrow the new store will open at 58th and Lexington in the heart of Manhattan.
The leadership of this company has been nothing but wonderful and supportive of me. They made me an amazing monetary offer and gave me a set schedule that will allow me to make a living and still have mornings to write and audition.
For the last three weeks I’ve been immersed in training for the store’s opening. The training has been fun and engaging. I have been stretched in new ways and I’ve grown so much in such a short amount of time.
Every day and every step of the way I have seen lived out by everyone in the company the qualities – both moral and ethical – that have made them a FORTUNE 100 company seven years in a row (most years in the Top 10).
Please visit: www.thecontainerstore.com
Now…the back story…because so many people have written me asking about it…
Recently I started to really revisiting why I moved here and what I wanted to accomplish. I won’t dwell on negativity and won’t waste the time and energy to splash it all over my journal, but – as you might’ve guessed, my old job didn’t work out. For over six months I tried to make the most and the best out of a bad situation.
I don’t regret taking the position. I learned a lot. I do believe that the opportunity came into my life for a reason.
I think, in life, we’re all provided with lessons. If we learn them, we move on. We grow.
If we don’t "get it"…the lessons come around again.
One lesson I had to learn, at the end of a very damaging relationship, was that we teach other how they can treat us. A breakthrough in therapy came for me when I was asked to think about the times I accepted things that were unacceptable.
I thought I had learned the lesson. I hadn’t. The lesson revisited me. Recently I found myself once again accepting things that were unacceptable…and I wasn’t seeing it. I wasn’t stopping it. I was teaching someone how I they could treat me. My working environment became incredibly stressful. The way I was spoken to and how I was treated was beneath me.
I looked at my dreams. I asked myself all the hard questions. But that wasn’t enough. I had to take action. I had to reclaim the parts of my spirit that had been crushed.
So I did.
I began looking for another job. During the search I came in contact with The Container Store.
It was a long process but one that was well worth. For launching their company’s largest store The Container Store received over 5,000 applications and resumes. The interview process had many levels and I spoke with several different people before receiving the phone call offering me the job.
I have never felt so supported by such a large company. They have paid for me to have extensive training. They’ve empowered me to make huge customer related decisions for the company. Daily I’ve seen how so many of the decisions that are made for the company are made to best take care of their employees and customers.
Out of 5,000 applications, only 180 people were hired. Having spent the last two days with the two men who started the company in 1978, listening to the principles they believe in and beliefs they founded the business on, I am truly honored to be one of that 180.
I will share some training photos here soon. Also, I have pictures to share from the exclusive Private Party they threw last night. The party had over 2,000 guests and it went on for hours. The food was incredible. The flowers – laced through some of the company’s products – were gorgeous. The live band amazing and the dance floor packed. It was truly one of the grandest nights I’ve experienced.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Valentine's Day - LET ME WALK BESIDE YOU - Lyrics
Since my brother’s wedding over a year ago, a lot of people who were at the wedding and many who weren’t, have asked me about the song I wrote as a gift to him and his wife, Janet.
Today is Valentine’s Day, so I thought today would be a great day to share the lyrics.
I was so happy and honored that my dear friend, Dennis Lewallen, was able to take the lyrics and the spirit of the event and write the most beautiful, enchanting melody.
Let Me Walk Beside You
Lyrics: Jason Daniel Hood
Music: Dennis Lewallen
Verse 1
Let me walk beside you
In days
In nights
In moments
In hours we pass through
Let me walk beside you
In joy
In pain
In the day to day
We carry or struggle through
Chorus
Let me walk beside you, not in front or behind you
Knowing always I am yours, you are mine
I won’t let tomorrow stumble on today
Borrowing trouble, inviting it in to stay
Verse 2
Let me walk beside you
Though gently laughing years
Our hopes
In perfect balance
With our fears
Let me walk beside you
And see in your eyes
What is true
Understood
Held in your heart
(interlude)
In all we carry
In all we struggle through
Bridge
I know this is Holy
The best of all things
All things in you
All things in me
The best yet to be
Ending
Let me walk beside you, not in front or behind you
Knowing always I am yours, you are mine
Always knowing I am yoursYou are mine
Today is Valentine’s Day, so I thought today would be a great day to share the lyrics.
I was so happy and honored that my dear friend, Dennis Lewallen, was able to take the lyrics and the spirit of the event and write the most beautiful, enchanting melody.
Let Me Walk Beside You
Lyrics: Jason Daniel Hood
Music: Dennis Lewallen
Verse 1
Let me walk beside you
In days
In nights
In moments
In hours we pass through
Let me walk beside you
In joy
In pain
In the day to day
We carry or struggle through
Chorus
Let me walk beside you, not in front or behind you
Knowing always I am yours, you are mine
I won’t let tomorrow stumble on today
Borrowing trouble, inviting it in to stay
Verse 2
Let me walk beside you
Though gently laughing years
Our hopes
In perfect balance
With our fears
Let me walk beside you
And see in your eyes
What is true
Understood
Held in your heart
(interlude)
In all we carry
In all we struggle through
Bridge
I know this is Holy
The best of all things
All things in you
All things in me
The best yet to be
Ending
Let me walk beside you, not in front or behind you
Knowing always I am yours, you are mine
Always knowing I am yoursYou are mine
Monday, February 13, 2006
Lunch...in NYC
It's all in a day...today I was eating lunch at my favorite little pizza place off Broadway (at 78th Street), and sitting across from me: Alec Baldwin. I'm constantly seeing people from the world of film, theater and television. I've walked on the side walk with Michael C. Hall (Six Feet Under), I've crossed at the light with Barbara Walters (20/20), and passed Kevin Bacon leaving Central Park. Yep, it's all in a day. A day in New York City.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
From Africa: The Events of the Birth of Jason
Good Morning on January 25 from Africa.
It is your birthday here...We get to celebrate it first. It's 6:15 a.m. here…[at this same moment 31 years ago] I was having labor pains and standing in front of the dresser holding on in pain....and saying, "I think I need to go on to the hospital."
Dad said from bed, "I thought you were going to wait as long as possible before we went to hospital."
I said, "I did, and I think I have waited as long as I can."
So we went on to hospital in a bit and you were born at 10:15 a.m. So when you decided it was time to come, you decided to come!!!! And come you did.
The doctor told dad it would probably be all day before I delivered. Dad decided to go home a while (since he could not be with me in delivery).....he did and then came back in a bit because he thought, "He just might end up coming and I won't be there."
He came back to hospital...some one calling over loud speaker for a minister....he went to answer that call and pray with someone...........and then heard HIS name....and came back to my room and I was getting ready to go to delivery room.
So he almost missed your birth....and he would have been so sick because he had had such great anticipation.
Well, you arrived and you have been kicking ever since.
God has blessed you with love, family, friends, health, great abilities, insights, laughter, enthusiasm, height, a great personality and vision...plus a great work ethic. And most of all, you have known the love of God and His great salvation for you. So there have been great days in the past and you have great days ahead. And we pray that today will be a very special birthday and one with anticipation and joy, plus excitement at what God wants for your life.
We love you and are so happy to our YOU....OUR SON....OUR FIRST BORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is your birthday here...We get to celebrate it first. It's 6:15 a.m. here…[at this same moment 31 years ago] I was having labor pains and standing in front of the dresser holding on in pain....and saying, "I think I need to go on to the hospital."
Dad said from bed, "I thought you were going to wait as long as possible before we went to hospital."
I said, "I did, and I think I have waited as long as I can."
So we went on to hospital in a bit and you were born at 10:15 a.m. So when you decided it was time to come, you decided to come!!!! And come you did.
The doctor told dad it would probably be all day before I delivered. Dad decided to go home a while (since he could not be with me in delivery).....he did and then came back in a bit because he thought, "He just might end up coming and I won't be there."
He came back to hospital...some one calling over loud speaker for a minister....he went to answer that call and pray with someone...........and then heard HIS name....and came back to my room and I was getting ready to go to delivery room.
So he almost missed your birth....and he would have been so sick because he had had such great anticipation.
Well, you arrived and you have been kicking ever since.
God has blessed you with love, family, friends, health, great abilities, insights, laughter, enthusiasm, height, a great personality and vision...plus a great work ethic. And most of all, you have known the love of God and His great salvation for you. So there have been great days in the past and you have great days ahead. And we pray that today will be a very special birthday and one with anticipation and joy, plus excitement at what God wants for your life.
We love you and are so happy to our YOU....OUR SON....OUR FIRST BORN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reflections on My 30th Year / LOUDER THAN WORDS
What a year…my 30th year seems like it has been one long adventure.
Since turning 30 I’ve…celebrated despite an Atlanta ice storm…gotten a small tattoo…saw my parents off to Africa…completed my concert/cabaret trilogy…packed up my entire life into a rental truck…left a fabulous apartment…left a wonderful job and dear co-workers…drove for two days with my friend Greg riding shotgun…moved hundreds of boxes into a four flight walk-up in Spanish Harlem with the help of Greg and my NYC friend, Damon…got a job…quit job…repeat that 3 times…got through mononucleosis…survived the heat of a sidewalks in a New York summer…sold my car…rode the train to Richmond, VA to celebrate Thanksgiving in my brother’s new home…Discovered a renewed sense of humanity during the transit strike that crippled New York City for almost a week…Watched the ball in Times Square fall on New Year’s Eve (from the warm comfort of my living room)…and SO much more. It has been a full year.
by Jonathan Larson
Why do we play with fire?
Why do we run our finger through the flame?
Why do we leave our hand on the stove-
Although we know we're in for some pain?
Oh, why do we refuse to hang a light
When the streets are dangerous?
Why does it take an accident
Before the truth gets through to us?
Cages or wings?
Which do you prefer?
Ask the birds.
Fear or love, baby?
Don't say the answer
Actions speak louder than words.
Why should we try to be our best
When we can just get by and still gain?
Why do we nod our heads
Although we know
The boss is wrong as rain?
Why should we blaze a trail
When the well worn path seems safe and
So inviting?
How-as we travel, can we
See the dismay-
And keep from fighting?
Cages or wings?
Which do you prefer?
Ask the birds
Fear or love, baby?
Don't say the answer
Actions speak louder than words
What does it take
To wake up a generation?
How can you make someone
Take off and fly?
If we don't wake up
And shake up the nation
We'll eat the dust of the world
Wondering why
Why do we stay with lovers
Who we know, down deep
Just aren't right?
Why would we rather
Put ourselves through hell
Than sleep alone at night?
Why do we follow leaders who never lead?
Why does it take catastrophe to start a revolution?
If we're so free, tell me why?
Someone tell me why
So many people bleed?
Cages or wings?
Which do you prefer?
Ask the birds.
Fear or love, baby?
Don't say the answer.
Actions speak louder than words
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
I'm CELEBRATING!!!!
I’m celebrating that I went to the audition, sang, got a callback, went to the callback, and did…my best. I got an email this morning that I was not cast in the show.
The callback was last Friday night and lasted almost 2 hours. It was gloriously harder than I could’ve imagined. It was a dance callback. In a callback of 40 there were probably 5 truly non-dancers. I took 2 years of movement and it prepared me for the callback but I still couldn’t keep up. The choreography was intricate and fascinating. I loved attempting to learn it.
I had a wonderful time meeting other actors, dancers and singers. It was interesting to swap stories and listen to how people “make it” or how they just survive on a daily basis. It was also extremely to watch those there who were trained dancers. They could see a step twice and then do it perfectly…watch it a third time and they could teach it if they had to. It was beautiful…people so in tune with their bodies as instruments or tools that they can move precisely and make it all look so easy.
I’m also celebrating that I’m Atlanta-bound for a long weekend!
I turn 31 on the 25th of this month, so the weekend following my birthday (the 27th – 29th) I will spend in Atlanta seeing family and friends. I confess that just booking the flight put a lump in my throat. I miss everyone SO much.
This visit will be good for my heart.
The callback was last Friday night and lasted almost 2 hours. It was gloriously harder than I could’ve imagined. It was a dance callback. In a callback of 40 there were probably 5 truly non-dancers. I took 2 years of movement and it prepared me for the callback but I still couldn’t keep up. The choreography was intricate and fascinating. I loved attempting to learn it.
I had a wonderful time meeting other actors, dancers and singers. It was interesting to swap stories and listen to how people “make it” or how they just survive on a daily basis. It was also extremely to watch those there who were trained dancers. They could see a step twice and then do it perfectly…watch it a third time and they could teach it if they had to. It was beautiful…people so in tune with their bodies as instruments or tools that they can move precisely and make it all look so easy.
I’m also celebrating that I’m Atlanta-bound for a long weekend!
I turn 31 on the 25th of this month, so the weekend following my birthday (the 27th – 29th) I will spend in Atlanta seeing family and friends. I confess that just booking the flight put a lump in my throat. I miss everyone SO much.
This visit will be good for my heart.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
I GOT a CALL BACK! (and, oh yeah, need a Root Canal)
What a day…I almost don’t even know where to start.
Yes, I do. I’ll start with yesterday.
Yesterday at lunch I thought I’d cracked a tooth. I was eating a new toasted sandwich from Subway when I felt something shift and crunch toward the back of my mouth that didn’t feel or sound right.
I got back to work and my fears were realized. I was missing a chunk of my tooth in the back of my mouth. It wasn’t terribly painful but it did start throbbing about an hour later.
So…this morning I was up and out early and on my way to Bellevue Hospital (which is manned by NYU students). There has been an on-going miscommunication about my health insurance, so Bellevue is the only place I could afford to go. I didn’t mind going there I just didn’t want to take advantage of a system that is designed for those with no benefits. This go around…I was one of those with no benefits.
It took a couple of hours – waiting with students without insurance, convicts from jail, immigrants, etc. – but I got seen. Ends up I need a root canal. I didn’t know exactly what that meant but I knew it would be expensive – wherever it was done. At Bellevue they could remove the tooth but could not perform the root canal. I could go to Dental School and have it done and pay on a sliding scale – but it would still be expensive. Of all my teeth, this one tooth has the longest root. The root runs up into my sinuses. It would take a while to heal and would leave me breathing out of a hole in my mouth for a couple of weeks. The tooth, on a whole, is still great and can be saved...so now it's onto getting it fixed.
I left and went to work where I was greeted with an email announcing a Call Back from my audition on Sunday. They liked my audition and want to hear me sings again and see me work with their choreographer.
First audition, first callback.
I’m thrilled. If it works out or not, I’m excited to be getting this far my first time out auditioning. In this city of thousands of actors it is hard to get in to a lot auditions and when you do it can be a challenge just to be seen. If you do get seen, it is rare that you get a callback.
Yes, I do. I’ll start with yesterday.
Yesterday at lunch I thought I’d cracked a tooth. I was eating a new toasted sandwich from Subway when I felt something shift and crunch toward the back of my mouth that didn’t feel or sound right.
I got back to work and my fears were realized. I was missing a chunk of my tooth in the back of my mouth. It wasn’t terribly painful but it did start throbbing about an hour later.
So…this morning I was up and out early and on my way to Bellevue Hospital (which is manned by NYU students). There has been an on-going miscommunication about my health insurance, so Bellevue is the only place I could afford to go. I didn’t mind going there I just didn’t want to take advantage of a system that is designed for those with no benefits. This go around…I was one of those with no benefits.
It took a couple of hours – waiting with students without insurance, convicts from jail, immigrants, etc. – but I got seen. Ends up I need a root canal. I didn’t know exactly what that meant but I knew it would be expensive – wherever it was done. At Bellevue they could remove the tooth but could not perform the root canal. I could go to Dental School and have it done and pay on a sliding scale – but it would still be expensive. Of all my teeth, this one tooth has the longest root. The root runs up into my sinuses. It would take a while to heal and would leave me breathing out of a hole in my mouth for a couple of weeks. The tooth, on a whole, is still great and can be saved...so now it's onto getting it fixed.
I left and went to work where I was greeted with an email announcing a Call Back from my audition on Sunday. They liked my audition and want to hear me sings again and see me work with their choreographer.
First audition, first callback.
I’m thrilled. If it works out or not, I’m excited to be getting this far my first time out auditioning. In this city of thousands of actors it is hard to get in to a lot auditions and when you do it can be a challenge just to be seen. If you do get seen, it is rare that you get a callback.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
My First NYC Audition...YEP...Finally
Well…FINALLY…today I auditioned for my first gig in New York City. Actually in Brooklyn – but it still counts, right? It’s an Off-Off-Broadway theater with a great reputation and looking at the season line up I’m really impressed at the show’s they’ve done and are planning to do.
The show I auditioned for is the musical, Side Show. Side show is a beautiful musical about two conjoined twins who were a Vaudeville in the 1930's - I believe. The same team behind the musical Dreamgirls, wrote this show just a few years ago. I love the music in the show - but I've never seen it staged. It was a hit was critics when it opened on Broadway but it still didn't run for long.
Elizabeth and I found out about the audition just a couple of days ago…so there wasn’t a lot of time to prep. I was thrilled about the audition because it was on a weekend and I knew I could go. Last night…at 10:00 she and I were in a rehearsal studio in Chelsea working out the music we would use to audition. The notice said that you could sing full selections. With the rehearsal space closing and the audition today, I decided to go with a song I knew that I knew.
The song was Elaborate Lives. I’ve written about the song before. It’s one of the songs that followed me around Atlanta and a song that people expected me to sing anywhere that I would be singing. So…I decided to stay true to a song that has treated me so well.
We were both up early and on the train heading to Brooklyn and the audition. The audition was an Open Call, so there was no telling how many people would show up. The audition was open to people who weren’t Equity (members of the Actor’s Union), so that alone insured that the turn out would be big.
Elizabeth and I were there almost 2 hours before they would open the doors. There was only one person in line ahead of us. We made an Unofficial sign-in list and began the process of waiting.
Once we got inside…and had our names on the Official List – we started the next round of waiting. Every Equity actor who showed up was seen straight-away and the rest of the Non-Equity actors we moved down the list.
The wait wasn’t too bad. A group in the corner discovered a set of Uno cards and began a game, others listed to their iPods to relax or rehearse, Elizabeth pulled out sewing, and I went outside. I was uncontrollably nervous…it felt like I had never sung in front of people before. I walked the block and sang out Elaborate Lives to parked cars and the sidewalk.
It felt like a short trip to crazy and I was half way there.
I went back inside and just before my name was called they went from accepting full songs to hearing only 16 bars.
That was just the shot of panic I needed. Elizabeth was in auditioning when the decision was made. She came out and an Equity actor went in. She and I sat down and tried to find 16 measures that would work. If we counted 16 measures back from the end of the song, there wasn’t much to show. No money note. No range.
There was no choice but to lift 16 measures out of the middle, cold – and just hope for the best. So that’s what we did.
I walked in and everyone greeted me warmly. I was still marking my sheet music as I walked to the piano. I handed it to the pianist (also the show’s musical director), set a tempo with her, then turned to the six faces looking at me, waiting to see what I could do.
It was an odd place to start but I jumped in...and the piano caught up with me. I sang through my 16 measures and though I didn’t get to the end of the song, I found a nice place to bow out.
I left the audition glad that it was over, glad that I had gone and feeling good about how I sounded. Who knows what will actually come of it…but it feels good to get my feet wet.
Elizabeth headed to a babysitting job and I went to Target and met up with an old co-worker from Peachtree, Ivory. It was SO good to see her and catch up. We took a picture together at the entrance of the store, so I’ll have to post that later.
We had lunch and caught up. She’s living in Brooklyn and though we’ve talked a couple of times since I moved here – I hadn’t actually SEEN her.
Good times!
The show I auditioned for is the musical, Side Show. Side show is a beautiful musical about two conjoined twins who were a Vaudeville in the 1930's - I believe. The same team behind the musical Dreamgirls, wrote this show just a few years ago. I love the music in the show - but I've never seen it staged. It was a hit was critics when it opened on Broadway but it still didn't run for long.
Elizabeth and I found out about the audition just a couple of days ago…so there wasn’t a lot of time to prep. I was thrilled about the audition because it was on a weekend and I knew I could go. Last night…at 10:00 she and I were in a rehearsal studio in Chelsea working out the music we would use to audition. The notice said that you could sing full selections. With the rehearsal space closing and the audition today, I decided to go with a song I knew that I knew.
The song was Elaborate Lives. I’ve written about the song before. It’s one of the songs that followed me around Atlanta and a song that people expected me to sing anywhere that I would be singing. So…I decided to stay true to a song that has treated me so well.
We were both up early and on the train heading to Brooklyn and the audition. The audition was an Open Call, so there was no telling how many people would show up. The audition was open to people who weren’t Equity (members of the Actor’s Union), so that alone insured that the turn out would be big.
Elizabeth and I were there almost 2 hours before they would open the doors. There was only one person in line ahead of us. We made an Unofficial sign-in list and began the process of waiting.
Once we got inside…and had our names on the Official List – we started the next round of waiting. Every Equity actor who showed up was seen straight-away and the rest of the Non-Equity actors we moved down the list.
The wait wasn’t too bad. A group in the corner discovered a set of Uno cards and began a game, others listed to their iPods to relax or rehearse, Elizabeth pulled out sewing, and I went outside. I was uncontrollably nervous…it felt like I had never sung in front of people before. I walked the block and sang out Elaborate Lives to parked cars and the sidewalk.
It felt like a short trip to crazy and I was half way there.
I went back inside and just before my name was called they went from accepting full songs to hearing only 16 bars.
That was just the shot of panic I needed. Elizabeth was in auditioning when the decision was made. She came out and an Equity actor went in. She and I sat down and tried to find 16 measures that would work. If we counted 16 measures back from the end of the song, there wasn’t much to show. No money note. No range.
There was no choice but to lift 16 measures out of the middle, cold – and just hope for the best. So that’s what we did.
I walked in and everyone greeted me warmly. I was still marking my sheet music as I walked to the piano. I handed it to the pianist (also the show’s musical director), set a tempo with her, then turned to the six faces looking at me, waiting to see what I could do.
It was an odd place to start but I jumped in...and the piano caught up with me. I sang through my 16 measures and though I didn’t get to the end of the song, I found a nice place to bow out.
I left the audition glad that it was over, glad that I had gone and feeling good about how I sounded. Who knows what will actually come of it…but it feels good to get my feet wet.
Elizabeth headed to a babysitting job and I went to Target and met up with an old co-worker from Peachtree, Ivory. It was SO good to see her and catch up. We took a picture together at the entrance of the store, so I’ll have to post that later.
We had lunch and caught up. She’s living in Brooklyn and though we’ve talked a couple of times since I moved here – I hadn’t actually SEEN her.
Good times!
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