Friday I auditioned for the Christmas Revels on my way out of town for the weekend. I was first given a name tag and ushered downstairs to get my picture taken. I was then sent up to the mezzanine to learn the dance combination, which turned out to be a piece of an Irish set dance, complete with a couples turn. That part was fun - it had been much too long since I'd done that sort of thing and I had to restrain myself so I wouldn't throw my partner & me into a wall or another couple. :D We ran that sequence several times, then I was summoned back to the main floor to sing my two a cappella pieces. Each of us went in individually, so unless you listened at the door, you didn't hear how anyone else did.
The singing was enjoyable, too; very "live" room, unlike some, where you can't hear yourself so it's easy to oversing and go off pitch. No, I knew exactly where my pitch was, and the room seemed to be just the right size for my voice, which was feeling pretty good. It certainly didn't hurt that the young woman who seemed to be there in an assistant capacity had a big smile on her face the whole time I sang, and the music director pulled one of those "not bad!" faces.
After everyone in my group had done our solo pieces, the whole group was called in to do the dance sequence. We ran it once, then were told to do it again while talking with each other: "This is a social dance, after all!" Then again, "and this time make some noise."
They gave us a few minutes to catch our breaths before having us do a little group singing. The MD gave each of us a copy of a section of a 3-part kyrie, assigned each of us a line to sing, went over each part, then had us sing together. There were 6 of us, so 2 on a part, and we seemed to be pretty well matched. I thought we sounded pretty good, anyway. The MD then had 2 of us switch parts, then we all sang the kyrie again. It was a very pretty arrangement; I wouldn't have minded singing another repetition or few, but we were only the first group of the evening and they had to move things along.
For the last part of the audition, two of us chose the option of reading a few lines, available ahead of time, "in your best Irish accent". Considering that I'd never attempted an Irish accent before, I won't vouch for how well (or poorly) I did, but at least they didn't laugh me outta there. ;)
The unusual part was how everyone treated us. I had auditioned and been cast once before, but had to withdraw when I got assigned an extended business trip. That was 7 years ago, yet the couple who are the life & soul of the local Revels organization both remembered me and even recognized me, despite my weight loss and hair cut! They and everyone else working the auditions was very welcoming and encouraging, wishing everyone good luck.
But what impressed me the most was Mrs. Revels' response when I asked when we might hear back. She told me we should all hear by Wednesday, with the Yeses hearing last. This was because she started with the Noes, giving each person feedback! They anticipated 70-80 people auditioning; I don't know how many they'll cast. Even if they cast 40, that's still a LOT of individual feedback emails! Every other company I've ever auditioned for notifies the Yeses first; those not cast usually get a form email. Which is fine; it's certainly better than not hearing at all. But feedback on an audition? That NEVER happens!
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