Nailed it, again

My audition yesterday in New York City was to play King Arthur in "Camelot." I had been preparing the material and the character for the better part of a week, and I went up there on the early morning (i.e. still dark morning) bus full of ideas on how to play the role that might be new and fresh to the auditors. After singing both songs and doing most of the monologue, I knew that I had nailed the audition. I had done exactly what I wanted to do with the audition. I figured that most people would go into that audition and play the imposing, self-important regal figure of England's mythic king. Since most of the material they asked us to prepare was from the beginning of the play, I decided to honor the scenes and play Arthur as a young man who was unprepared for the greatness that had been thrust upon him. Far from being the confident king, he was still a young man trying to make his way in the world. So I played up that nervousness, that unsure quality, that element of feeling uncomfortable in his own position, trusting that I would allow my own sense of inner nobility to shine through underneath. It was a layered audition in which I was actually playing the role for a very short time. I wasn't showing them how good I could be playing Arthur, for those ten minutes in a cramped little room, I was playing King Arthur. It was fun.

I also lucked out that the artistic director knew a former professor/director of mine from college, so we talked about him for a minute and then also discussed the Thursday night at-the-buzzer antics of the Villanova basketball team. (Go Wildcats!) I should know the results of this audition by the middle of April after the artistic team has a few more weeks of auditions. But I hope that I'll get the chance to be king.