...And Again...
The Ghost of TourCo Auditions Past (pt 2)October of 2003 was my next audition for SC-Chicago's TourCo. From my old journal:
"On Sunday, I took an audition workshop taught by Liz Cackowski. Not only did she give us great insight into the audition process, she also gave us tools and strategies to take into the audition itself. It was very enlightening--especially for someone like me who hasn't auditioned in two years because I cast and produce my own little improv projects. This is a good time to be auditioning because there are only two understudies right now, two Tour Co people are leaving soon and (unofficially) another two are planning to leave also. So, all three Second City Touring Companies will be looking for people.
One of the most surprising things was the caliber of performers who were taking the workshop. I was really surprised at who was in it. Performers who rock my world also were there to pick up tips and pointers along with the audition newbies. It definitely made me feel a bit better about being rusty at auditioning and having to take a workshop.
Tuesday morning I strut my stuff.
Cross those fingers folks.
* * *
Magnificent Bastards. All of 'em.
* * *
I left work at 10 and made it over to Second City via the Brown Line around 10:30. On the way to Piper's Alley, where all the SC theaters are located, I ran into some people I knew (Rebecca Hanson, Chad Reinhart, Scott Goodman, Angela Faruggia) who had just auditioned. We chatted a bit and went our separate ways. I went to Starbucks, ran into another improvisor (Erin), grabbed the Trib's sports section and tried to forget why the hell I was there.
No dice.
Every time I looked out the window, it seemed like I saw an improvisor I knew. Every time I closed my eyes and tried to focus on something, anything (!), other than improv all I could do was think of initiations and characters and scenes and what ifs and what thens.
So I gave up.
I just sat there, nibbled on my Banana Nut Bread, slurped my Grande Soy Mocha (with whip) and let my mind wander. I knew there was no way to rein in my nervous A.D.D. brain, so I tried to enjoy anxiety-induced ride while the bank clock on the other side of Wells took forever to reach 11:15 a.m.
I knew how I wanted to attack this audition. I knew that I would be playing with people I was familiar with (but didn't know exactly who just yet). I knew who would be auditing us. I knew that I would be nervous no matter how cool and casual I wanted to be.
I finally left Starbucks and took the escalators up to the top floor of Piper's Alley. John Lutz's laughter echoed down from Donny's Skybox "lounge" area. (Lutz, a current Tour Co performer, would be our warm-up/advice guy for the auditions.)
After checking in, I finally found out who I would be auditioning with. Eric Rutherford. Marc Ovies. Shelly Gossman. Ryan Gowland. Katie Nahnsen. Cesar Jamie.
The last couple of weeks, I had made it a point not to find out who I would be playing with...it was a superstition thing. Now that I knew who I was with, I was totally blown away by who I would be doing scenes with--I knew everybody and everybody was a damn fine player! We chatted and yapped for a bit before Lutz took us next door to the Training Center and to warm us up. We did a simple name game / "yes" exercise. Lutz then gave us a little advice on the audition and told us that we were very lucky to be playing with such a talented group of people in our audition. He was about take us back out to the Skybox when a new person, that none of us knew, arrived.
Lutz had mentioned someone was running late earlier, but I forgot about it once warm-ups began. Well, here she was. I felt a bit awkward--everyone in the group had either played with each other in the past, currently performed in an ensemble with one another or at least hung out socially...and now this girl was stepping into this unknowingly. Not only that, she had missed the warm-ups and the banter of earlier. We did a quick round of introductions and then stepped out into the Skybox lounge.
Beth Klingerman popped out from the theater to grab our headshots and told us it'd be a few minutes.
Waiting for Beth to come out again felt like forever.
During that wait, that's when it hit; that's when it all felt real--that I was auditioning for Second City. After years of training and performing, I finally felt comfortable auditioning again at Second City and this was my moment to step out and serve notice that I was a solid player.
During the sleepness night before, I thought about some of my improv heroes who have never performed at Second City, like Joe Bill, Mark Sutton and Paul Gronde. You don't need SC to succeed, but it's definitely a rush to be a part of such a storied organization.
The other underlying motivation I had was to have a solid audition in front of Marc Warzecha (former SC Detroit Mainstage, current TourCo director) and Nancy Hayden (also former SC Detroit, current SC Detroit producer). None of the people who I really looked up to in Detroit who have moved to Chicago have seen me perform. I really wanted to do well just to show that, hey, I came out here, put in the time and I'm doing alright...and if I ever moved back to Detroit, maybe I could leverage a solid audition into a SC Detroit TourCo understudy gig.
Beth came back out and we headed into the Skybox.
Mick Napier was running the audition. Even though Mick's not a current SC director or performer, SC respects him enough to have Mick run things. We got on the stage, listened to Mick's quick audition advice spiel and began the standard SC audition--intros, quick scenes, slower two-person scenes, pick-up scenes.
To start an SC audition, the group lines up on the stage. One by one, the performers introduce themselves by saying their names and then revealing one non-theater related fact about themself. I ended up being the last one and went with, "My name is Sammy Tamimi. My mother is Filipino. My Father is Palestinian. And at least once a day, no matter where I am in Chicago, the Loop, in a restaurant, wherever, some one tries to speak Spanish to me. I'm trying to teach myself Italian, but I'm considering learning Spanish just to make my life easier."
Eric Rutherford, bless his heart, simply said, "I'm Eric Rutherford and I want a saxaphone."
Intros complete, Mick began the audition in earnest...
* * *
The first part of the audition is simple.
The 8 performers form a backline. Mick calls out a name. That person steps forward to do a scene. Anyone can join them. Mick will call scene and then name someone else to for the next scene. That's it.
These are quick scenes, not necessarily bitty but definitely gamey. Mick even told us that this would be the time to take chances and that we should show our range of characters--we would be doing slower scenes later.
Tips culled from the Audition Workshop and from veteran improvisors about this part of the audition:
*Your first line should be about you, your partner or the environment*
"I'm so in love with you!" "You don't look so good..." "Your yacht is magnificent!" etc. Establish the who, what and where --and the game-- early. The scene won't last that long but you need hit the basics hard and fast.
*Make strong choices*
Have an emotion. Have a physicality. Take a chance. Endow yourself and give your partner something to play off of. But remember...
*Keep it simple*
Simple ideas and simple initiations are best. You don't have time to puzzle out a complicated initiation or off-kilter response.
*Play a range of characters*
Be aware if you're playing the same type of character over and over. You'll get 3 or 4 chances to switch it up at the top of the audition so take advantage of that opportunity. (Some people have told me that this part of the audition is the place to showcase the types of characters you do well--it's not cheating by playing a character type you do well (dumb jock, midwest mom) because you're still improvising; you're just showing to the auditors your character range.)
So, Mick begins the round of short scenes...
...and I get a little rattled.
As I watch scenes fly by, I realize I'm not getting out there. Sometimes I start to step forward, see someone else also moving and I let 'em go on instead. When I get out there, the scene gets called pretty quick. I return to the backline not liking what I just put out there. I start to worry about how I'm standing on the backline. Is my posture defensive? Am I blocking anyone? Am I paying enough attention? These are among the things that battle with my stage focus. I watch my fellow auditioners rock out and attack the stage. I get out a couple of more times and feel good about one scene out of the bunch.
Mick ends the first part of the audition. He has us sit in the front row of the theater and introduces the next part of the audition, the two-person scene. He'll name two people. Those people will take the stage, get a suggestion and do a two person scene for a couple of minutes.
I sit down and manage to rally my focus while the first scene is going on. The first part of the audition is over and done with, I tell myself. Gotta just go out and do a good scene. That's all that matters.
I get called up second with Ryan Gowland. Candy Store owner and Candy Store customer scene with the simple game of he knows I'm filching candy and I try to distract him with flattery or whatnot. Fun scene that I take my hat off to Ryan for setting up and driving home. I came off the stage feeling good about that scene and knew, that if anything, at least I was in a good two-person scene.
While the two-person scenes are going on, I heard Mick moving around the room, checking in with (I assume) the TourCo directors. After all 8 people have cycled through, there's usually time for a couple more scenes and the people the TourCo directors or Mick want to see again go up for another two-person scene. Being called up is neither a good thing or a bad thing--for whatever reason, they want to see you improvise some more (which can be good, but if you tank it, that can be bad).
After a pair of extra scenes (I was in neither), Mick thanked us and let us know that the calls would go out Wednesday night and callbacks would be Friday.
With that, we left the theater and went back to the lobby.
We stood around chatting and talking about the audition--there were some hot, hot scenes cooked up by this crew. A couple of us went to the dive bar known as the Ale House and had a couple of beers, spending the first few minutes lost in that quiet and weird relief/contemplation limbo that follows an audition. Drinking a couple pints on a nearly empty stomach got me a bit buzzed.
After catching a train with Andrea Swanson (and comparing audition notes and discusing KOKO biz) , I finally made it back to work by 2 pm. I had been gone 4 hours. I hid in the back room and replayed and analyzed the audition in my head until 5 rolled around. Office productivity yesterday was near zero. I treated myself to Kill Bill after work and called it an early night when I got home--I was emotionally and physically drained.
And now, a day later, I still cringe a little bit when I think about my audition. I'm sure it was par for the course--nothing spectacular but nothing atrocious either. I feel like I could have done much better, but I'm glad I had a good scene with Ryan to remember this year's audition by.
Now, I'm not hopeful about getting a phone call from SC for callbacks...but I am hopeful for all my friends...
* * *
On the Red Line home from work, I run into Tony Seales. We compare audition notes and chat. He hopes he gets called back but doesn't think he will. We part ways at Addison.
I head over to the Currency Exchange by Cornelia and Broadway because ComEd doesn't think I'm real. Well, they didn't put exactly that way, but that's how it came out. When I called ComEd to get the electric in my name, I was told I had to go to a Currency Exchange to fill out an application to prove I was who I said I was. Huh? Probably some roundabout way of saying, "You have shitty credit. We want your info on file."
For those of you who don't know what a Currency Exchange is, it's basically a run-down storefront financial institution that makes a profit from various transactions. They can cash checks, write money orders, directpay utility bills for you, make change, etc., but they tack on service charges that add up. They also sell CTA passes, parking stickers, license plate renewals, phone cards and other things a Chicago person might need.
The person who uses the Currency Exchange the most is the one who can least afford it--usually the poor, indigent or illegal who can't (or won't) have an account at a bank are the ones who most likely to use a local Currency Exchange for all their financial needs. And since the Currency Exchange makes money off every transaction...
After filling out the ComEd application and paying $2.50 to have it processed, I decided to hop on the old weighing scale that cost only a nickel.
280 lbs.
On the nose.
(C'mon body, let's find a new, lower setpoint for ourselves, ok?)
I waddled over to Salt & Pepper, running into and walking with a lady improvisor part of the way. I loved the fact that she had a 12-pack of beer and a grocery bag full of chips. I offered to carry the beer for her, but she declined ;)
And, of course, we talked about SC auditions.
She had a great story--In Starbucks, right before she was to audition, her belt broke. Her pants were loose and would show her underwear if she bent over or moved too much and she was beginning to panic. Luckily, a male improvisor who she knew just happened to be in Starbucks--he had already auditioned earlier in the day! And like the true gentleman he was, he loaned her his belt for the audition.
Yes and... and support, people! Ain't it beautiful?
I rolled into S&P and stuffed myself into a booth. Tony Seales came in a little later and sat in the booth behind me. I read my Onion and had my coffee. He read his copy of Something Wonderful Right Away.
His cellphone rang. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the way he answered and the manner in which he spoke really caught my ear. I turned around and looked at him. Through his replies I figured it out.
He was getting called back!
I was beyond psyched! Not even 2 hours ago he said he didn't think he'd get called back and that even if he was, he'd being onstage at ImprovOlympic and wouldn't know until way later. And, at random, here he was at Salt & Pepper reading his Second City history book, waiting for his IO team and he gets the call from Beth Klingerman. Rock!
After he hung up, I gave him a high five and congratulated him. I went back to my booth and when April, the S&P waitress, walked by I leaned over and whispered to her that I would be buying Tony's dinner that night--it was my way of saying congrats :)
After that, I tried to read my newspaper. I was way happy for Seales but I was also a little sad inside--I knew I wouldn't getting that call, not that I deserved it, but it still stung to know that.
Well...there's always next year.
I hope."
(Not only did Tony get called back, he got hired as an understudy! From my audition group Ryan Gowland would go on to perform with Boom! Chicago. Shelly Gossman would get picked up for TourCo and is currently at SC-Las Vegas. Eric Rutherford would also get picked up and do the TourCo thing. Katie Nahnsen can be seen Sports Action Team on NBC.)
posted by Sammy @ 4:27 PM
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