Velma Takes The Stand – Part One

I first heard about the auditions for Chicago from some friends at work. I decided, somewhat spur of the moment, to go ahead and give it a try. I have an extensive background in theatre–in fact, that’s what I studied in college! I worked for several years as a professional actor in and around St. Louis. Now, that may sound glamorous but it actually entails long months with no auditions in sight, spaced between short intervals living out of a suitcase several hours from home. In between out of town gigs, I waited tables and bartended (just like every actor on the face of the earth!). Finally, about two years ago I decided I no longer wanted that gypsy sort of lifestyle and I took an acting break.

My audition for Chicago was my first in more than two years, and I was worried that I had gotten rusty! I decided to sing a song by the same composers who wrote Chicago–John Kander and Fred Ebb. I’ve always been taught that it’s ideal to sing something from a similar musical style so that the director can more easily picture you in the show. The song I picked is a not-very-well known jazzy belt song, called “The World Goes ‘Round.” It not only shows off my vocal range well, it also has a similar “attitude” to a song that Velma Kelly might sing. It’s a song about sucking it up, because life is hard for everyone and the world won’t stop turning for you. I could DEFINITELY picture Velma saying those exact words!

I felt like it went well, but as always, I would have loved another chance to do it even BETTER! We had a really great group of people in the room when I auditioned, and it was really cool to get to hear the songs that other people had selected. After everyone had a chance to sing, we all learned the dance routine together. The dance audition is always my kryptonite, but Rachel (the choreographer) taught it really well and it went okay.

The next day Andrew offered me the role of Velma Kelly! He told me he didn’t need to see me again at callbacks because he liked what I had done at the first round of auditions! Sometimes that can happen, but it’s pretty rare, so I was really honored. I couldn’t wait to get started! When the first rehearsal rolled around, I was so excited to meet my fellow cast members and the awesome crew that is going to make us look good! After that first read through, I can honestly say that I have never been so excited to tackle a role! We have such an amazing, diverse group of people that only good things lie ahead.

Now to work on those lines…