continued Memory..

Then there was the audition for Beauty & the Beast. This time, Katie made *sure* that it was an adult production, and practiced the audition song for weeks.... feeling prepared and hopeful, she arrived at the theater an hour early to review & warm up. Wanting to exude some "Belle" without looking like she tried too hard, Katie wore a floor-length linen dress & cashmere cardigan. Several hundred people competing for a handful of roles made for a tense atmosphere in the auditorium. After the singing portion of the auditions, groups of actors were taken backstage to learn a dance sequence. "No problem", she thought when dressing for the evening-"I was a cheerleader in school; I have rhythmic ability- I should do fine with a few 8-counts." Oddly, some of the women would leave the room after performing, only to return minutes later wearing tiny spandex outfits. While more & more began appearing in their yoga pants and leotards, Katie thought,"Relax, people! It's not like you're auditioning for the Ballet or something! " In her view, the spandex was an obvious cry for attention.
As Katie performed her song, she relaxed and felt the relief of knowing she'd done her best. She took her seat with the next group waiting to go backstage. Suddenly the director stopped, looked directly at her, and said,"The next group to dance will be going backstage in five minutes. If *any* of you haven't changed yet, *this* would be the time."
Blink.
The ill-fated Katie fought to look casual as she absorbed his words. She was not alone - four other women in heels and non-stretchy clothes looked desperate as well, one of whom was quite obese. Quickly considering her options, she left the auditorium and walked across the street to her car.
She knew she could NOT dance in her long dress & heels...and the director had looked right at her & suggested changing! So, her options were clear: 1)dance without changing, rip dress, fall on butt, disrespect director; 2)leave and accept defeat gracefully, free to try again another day(learn from past experience); or 3) rummage through messy car to find something/anything to wear.
Thankfully, the usually embarrassing clutter yielded what she needed: 1 HUGE t-shirt, 1 pair grubby running shoes, & 1 pair Husband's blue swimtrunks.
Yep, she really did.
As she hurriedly changed in the theater bathrooms, Jessica Simpson/Barichniekov(sp?) touched up her makeup in the mirror close by. To make things *less* awkward, Katie stated, "Yes. These are men's swimtrunks." With all the dignity she could muster(and THIS took some acting skills), Katie followed the rest of the group backstage.
Seated at a table in the front of the room was the head of the local ballet company. She introduced "Mr. French-name-ballet-prodigy-guy", who demonstrated the dance sequence. Sparing the details, a brief summary: ...."Pirouette, two ,three, ARMS, pretty fingers, stretch, LEAP!, 7,8, .....stepstepTURNstepstepLEAP-spin, 3,4, stick it-LAND-POSE! Own it!....Again! ......This time for the camera! "
If they were grading on heart, she definitely was in the top ten. Unfortunately, they seemed to be grading on dancing. And they must have taken points off for things like accidentally elbowing the real dancers, or not wearing spandex.
Katie learned an important lesson that day: when things get awkward, she inevitably chooses the *most* embarrassing solution. This trait could help her get into, maybe, improv?



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