highlights

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. This was a weekend to remember. I have witnessed interesting auditions in the past, but the last three days contained three of the craziest audition experiences I have had yet. Here they are, in all their glory:

• FRIDAY:
• It was towards the end of the audition day, and we were with our final young group- about 10 children, all under 8 years old. The last one to sing was a tiny girl with short, blond hair and big, round glasses. She spoke quickly, in a typically high little girl voice. She asked if she could sing a song she wrote called "When The Stars Fall, Catch Them." Then, she started singing. It was the lowest, swoopy-est sound I have ever heard, and I wish we had it on tape because I can't possible imitate it justly. Incredible.
• SATURDAY:
• It was a small audition group, just 4 kids and only one boy, who looked like a "My Buddy" doll from the 1980s. He was clad in a suit, with no shirt underneath. That's right, he was bearing his little 6 year old chest like a true player. Half way through the audition, right after singing an over-the-top, dramatic rendition of "There's a Hole in My Bucket," this little boy exclaimed "now would be a good time for me to show you my costume!" With that, he whipped off his suit coat and began undoing his pants. He flipped off his shoes, tore off his socks and tied a red tea towel around his waist. "Men wear skirts where Aladdin is from." 
• SUNDAY:
• It was a sham-wow of a day. Paperwork was left at Saturday's location causing confusion and quick thinking, last minute changes. We had 20 people who were not signed up for an audition show up in the first 20 minutes, along with the scheduled 15. The space was crowded. My staff was overwhelmed. Children were picking up on the crazy vibes and getting more mischievous by the moment. Then a crazy- legitimately nuts- mother LOST IT for no logical reason. I'm talking yelling at my face, mere inches from my nose, making quite a scene. All with her 6 year old daughter sitting quietly by. She finally left- was escorted out of the building by police- and other parents apologized that they didn't have a drink ("or a whole bottle!") to give me. 

Never had I ever had a child strip down to his underwear during an audition. Never had I ever had a parent escorted from auditions by police (rehearsal, yes- but not auditions). My oh my. What a weekend.