Call Back in the Morning, Will You?

Hi, everybody!



As many of you probably know, I like word plays, which is exactly what the title of this post is! I am very proud of it. Not only is "call back in the morning, will you?" a line in a song from Little Shop of Horrors, it is also in reference to the fact that yesterday was our day of callback auditions! Check out how clever I am! :)

I am actually really satisfied with our cast this year. It's not a huge cast and not nearly as big as last year, but it doesn't need to be for this show, and I prefer small casts anyway. That's probably why Little Shop is still my favorite show that I have ever done. And the best part is that we have just about as many boys as girls! Even better? We have 6 whole men with changed voices! This is great news. Especially since we only acquired two of them last night! I'm really excited about those two, Antonio and Luis Eladio, though, because they have been in shows in the past, and I have met and hung out with them, but I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better this summer. We also have some strong girls and some younger ones who show great promise.

I made up a new dance for callbacks to see how far I could push the girls we are looking at for Ronnette, Chiffon, and Crystal. It was much more stylized (think The Supremes) than the first dance was, and it was definitely more feminine. They did pretty well! It makes me really optimistic for the dancing in this show. The girls are, of course, quite unpolished, but with five weeks I know we can get to where I want them to be. I'm getting really excited for this group!

Working with FCCMT is stressful and exhausting, but it's also so rewarding and eye-opening. Sometimes the kids don't seem to understand why we push them so hard. They don't see what we see as far as their potential. Each of these kids has an area within musical theater in which they are already beginning to shine, so we want to push them even further and see where they can get in these next five weeks. And when they finally reach their potential, it's an amazing feeling for everyone involved because they realize it, too. It's times like those that I know my dream to have a community arts center here is worth it. There is talent and passion here that is yet untapped in most of the kids who come through FCCMT. However, there's even more simmering under the surfaces of countless other kids in the area who are simply unfamiliar with the performing or visual arts and, therefore, are not immediately willing to try it. My hope is that when my center opens, people will participate in the arts from a younger age and grow up with it the way my friends and I did. It's an opportunity that I think everyone should have available to them, even if it's not really their thing. They should at least get the chance to give it a shot.

Some food for thought.

Cast list to come!

Erin