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A tale of two stages
Stage one: the auditions
By Adam Goldstein
goldstea@mscd.edu

Laurence Olivier once said, “I believe that in a great city, or even in a small city or a village, a great theater is the outward and visible sign of an inward and probable culture.”

In this three-part series, we explore Metro’s homegrown dramatic culture. The series follows the development of a Metro play, from its first auditions, through its rehearsals, to its first performances in front of an audience.

Part 1 | 2 | 3

Photo by Johanna Snow • snowj@mscd.edu From left: Winston King, Jake Williamson, Rob Janzen, Ben Cowhick, Sherean Samimi and Jose Zuniga audition for Metro’s production of The Robber Bridegroom Oct. 6 in the King Center’s Stage Theatre.

Slivers of dialogue and snippets of song rang through the wide main corridor of the King Center as a group of almost 30 Metro students congregated in front of one of the building’s small theaters. They were feverishly reciting and singing their prepared parts one last time before their big moment, busily preparing for one performance that carried as its prize six weeks of long rehearsals, exhausting physical training and a truncated social life.

Welcome to audition day for Metro’s fall play, Alfred Uhry and Robert Waldman’s The Robber Bridegroom. Fifteen minutes before the screening process began, even the veteran actors in the group showed signs of stress.

“I am extremely nervous,” Kris Jansen said as he scanned a sheet of music. The fact that he was a chorus member in the concurrent production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It did nothing to lessen his anticipation, and neither did his past roles in Metro plays such as Pirates of Penzance, Brigadoon and Damn Yankees.

“I’m always nervous, always on pins and needles,” he confessed.

Meanwhile, Metro freshman Ben Cowhick sat quietly on a bench, eyeing his music and mentally cycling through his material.

“It’s just kind of frustrating,” he said. “I’m the lead in As You Like It, and tonight’s our second opening night, and I have an audition … Then again, that’s the lifestyle. That’s what I want to do.”

Despite his primary role in As You Like It, Cowhick had no grandiose expectations for today’s audition.

“At this point, I’ll take what I can get and do my best with it,” he said.

The hurried recitations and last minute run-throughs were abruptly cut short as the theater doors opened. The hopefuls took deep breaths, filed into the small space and mentally prepared one last time.

“I hope you’re all excited just to have a good time today,” said Scott Lubinski, the play’s director, after the crowd assembled in the small studio. His tone was reassuring and measured, and he encouraged everyone to take deep breaths, relax and practice encouraging applause.

“We just want you to have fun,” he said.

After a collaborative warm-up process, the auditions began in earnest. Each student had the opportunity to deliver a short monologue and perform a musical piece.

Rob Janzen, an old hat in the theater department who described himself as a character actor, sings “Bless Your Beautiful Hide” from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Nancy Evans showed off her impressive falsetto in her performance of “It’s a Privilege to Pee” from Urinetown. Jared Ming elicited a chorus of laughter with his rendition of “Great Big Stuff” from the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

Almost four hours after the doors opened, the last students wrapped up their auditions. Lubinski was left to consult with his dance director, stage director and music director, debating the strongest candidates and their possible contributions.

The play requires comedic expertise for its success, Lubinski explained.

“The show is not dependent upon my ability to create a comedy; it’s their ability to create a comedy,” he said. “In other words, the comedy is not written into the show.”

From today’s performances, he saw a great deal of potential, despite a limited rehearsal schedule of six weeks.

“I’m encouraged,” he said. “If I have a cast of 14 people who are incredible comedy creators … my job gets easier. I feel that whatever route we go, there’s not going to be a weak link.”

The day’s auditions were also a success in a larger sense for Lubinski and his crew. Along with finding actors for the play’s roles, Lubinski succeeded in a more overarching aim.

“Success to me is that everybody engaged in the process,” he said. “Everybody came to the table and participated fully."