Tag: Theater

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What’s It Like To Audition For A Play?

I am not an actor nor do I play one on TV! LOL! I don’t remember ever really thinking about acting. As a youngster, my dream was to grow up and play for the Milwaukee Braves. But by the time I got to high school, I knew that wasn’t gonna happen. But fortunately the Beatles came along and I was going to be a rock and roll star. And I guess I sorta was given what appears in the documentary “Taking The City By Storm” (available on YouTube from about 3:15 to 8:20) or the book Brick Through The Window. But I digress!

David Auburn’s Proof is my favorite play of the 21st Century. I have seen it twice so far. The first time about 20 years ago at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater and it grabbed me immediately. And I saw it again about two years ago at the American Players Theater. So when Lake Country Playhouse and Academy announced Proof as part of their 2024/25 season, I immediately put it at the top of the plays I wanted to see this season. And this is a perfect vehicle for their intimate stage and the fully engaged theater company that LCP has become.

And then earlier this spring one of their weekly emails included a note about auditions being scheduled for Proof. And I thought, that’s cool. And then the little voice in the back of my head started to whisper, why don’t you try out? Proof has four characters. A professor of mathematics, his two daughters, and a former student who is now also a professor. The audition notice said that the father, Robert, is 50 to 70. Well, I can play down to 70, right? And in some outlines or discussions around the internet he is described as a disheveled academic, which suits my style to a T! But then I just waved off the voice and went on my way.

But then I found myself ordering the script on line and waiting with tremendous anticipation until it arrived. And then I read it through and put it aside. And it kept popping up in my head…and then I finally logged into the LCP website and registered for an audition appointment. And then my mind and fears and shyness and procrastination and ego all went into overdrive to try to win out over the others.

And then the week before the audition arrived and I almost called to cancel the audition on Wednesday but talked myself out of it. And then on Thursday I re-read Robert’s parts in the play and was already to go. And then Friday I balked again and decided to cancel until my writer’s mind said: What’s the worst that can happen? You can embarrass yourself and then get a story out of it!

So that weekend I headed out to Hartland for my scheduled time. The auditions were being held in a church across the street from the theater and I met about a dozen others in the lobby all waiting for their turn to audition. I had to sign in and fill out a short form (I didn’t have the suggested head shot and stage resume since I am not an actor). Another auditioner showed me the sample scripts laying on the table and I took another read through the Robert parts. And then nervously leaned against the wall waiting my turn.

Now the group that I was waiting with were there for any number of the parts. And the stage manager was matching us up for scenes based on characters and our scheduled times. So actors would be selected two at a time and given their scripts and taken to the audition room. What I was surprised to find is the audition space was in the basement just at the bottom of the stairs from the lobby. And the doors were left open so we could all hear what was being being read…and my heart sank a bit because a number of the men that preceded me were clearly accomplished actors. But I also was able to put aside any thoughts about embarrassing myself, because somehow going through with this had given me some courage to continue.

When it was my turn, a woman actor was selected to read Catherine, one of Robert’s daughters and I was to read Robert. We were escorted to the church basement to a table where the director, Naomi Tiefel was seated with the script and we were given our copies as well. The scripts were clearly marked for where to begin and end and we each did our best to read accurately and animatedly and work with each other the best we could in this odd little situation. When we finished, I was handed another portion of the script that featured a monologue and when I finished Tiefel asked me a few questions and said the she would be emailing the results in a few days.

And as by now you surely know that I did not get the part. I waited excitedly for that email and when it came and I read it, I am not sure which emotion reigned, disappointment or relief. I was never sure how I would memorize all of those lines and then remember how to move on stage. But of course that is what rehearsals are for!

So I would like to thank Naomi Tiefel for her patience and kind words at the audition and her encouraging email rejection. And I would also like to thank my long suffering wife, Rosalie Beck for having to witness my on again off again decisions about auditioning in the first place.

And good luck to Michael Chobanoff, who gets to play Robert, you lucky devil. But I will be keeping my eye on you!

Please go see Proof at the Lake Country Playhouse & Academy. It is an outstanding play and I am sure LCP will knock it out of the park. It runs May 8 to 23, 2025 and more information and tickets can be found here!

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Espejos: Clean Explores The Intersections Of Class, Culture, Race, And Language…

but brings it all together through a depiction of family dynamics and physical and emotional abuse. This is the type of challenging storytelling that you expect from the Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Theater. And you will be challenged as well, as you are thrust into the explorations as an audience experiencing a multi-cultural, multi-class, multi-lingual event(s).

There are only two active characters on stage. Sarah, played by Dylan Brown, is a young privileged white woman from Canada, who is staying at a Cancun all-inclusive resort for her sister’s destination wedding. And Regina Carregha plays Adriana, an in control and serious Mexican woman who is the manager of house keeping at the resort. There are a few other characters and playwright Christine Quintana gives them life and presence in the script. They are the mother and sister of Sarah and the boyfriend, father, mother, aunt, and housekeeping staff in Adriana’s life. We only know them through monologues, narrations, and dialogues from Adriana and Sarah. But they bear heavily on the stories being told here.

Dylan Brown and Regina Carregha. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

So, Dylan Brown. Her Sarah is clearly a self-centered young woman who seems more than a little put out by the demands from her mother surrounding Sarah’s role as bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding. I mean, three rehearsals? Really? And Sarah also has a problem with alcohol. Sarah is aware of it and clearly doesn’t care. And she is also clearly aware of her privilege as she brags that her family and friends are financially able to hold this destination wedding. She also brags that her sister and mother are betting on when she will have her first fuck up. Her first interaction with Adriana is a rather demanding moment around the apparent cleanliness of the bathroom.

And Regina Carregha’s Adriana is clearly in charge and sure of her role until Sarah pushes her on the bathroom. Carregha can sometimes seem a bit officious as Adriana, but clearly has empathy for her staff as she carefully matches her supervision on their strengths and weaknesses. And at first Carregha gives us a woman who seemingly is removed from her family and determined to be herself…until we discover she isn’t necessarily here at the resort of her own volition. And then Carregha gives us a stunning example of someone trying to hold it together on the outside while falling apart on the inside after her aunt calls to relay that her father has passed.

Regina Carregha and Dylan Brown. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

But there is more to the stories behind both of our characters and they unwind (unravel?) as the play progresses. And then their relationship suddenly changes when Sarah witnesses an interaction between Adriana and her boyfriend. Did she see what she saw or was it something else? Despite Adriana’s denial, one is never quite sure. We don’t know if we should believe Sarah or Adriana. But both Brown and Carregha effectively make the pivot from their original personas to a newer one. Brown’s Sarah’s epiphany brings a more stable, more aware, and more emphatic character. Brown exudes a new inner strength here and becomes the in control human being you would expect. Carregha’s Adriana tries to exert her managerial persona but she can’t make it believable anymore.

Dylan Brown in tub and Regina Carregha in foreground. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

Quintana throws us a few more loops as she adds scenes that are false starts or dreams or nightmares that present alternative viewpoints. But finally some truths will out and we finally understand the under dramas that have driven our characters to be who they are and appear as they wont.

Director Juliette Carrillo certainly put this together seamlessly despite the various shifts in locale, personae, and moods. And those dreams/nightmares spoke as true magical realism and merged into the story and out again.

Dylan Brown in tub and Regina Carregha to the left. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

An important note. This play is presented in English and Spanish. Sarah speaks English all of the time except for a phrase or two of Spanish. When she is speaking, the Spanish translation appears as super-titles above the stage. And except when Adriana is speaking directly with Sarah in English, she is speaking in Spanish and the English translations appear as super-titles above the stage. Now, I am an English speaker, who like Sarah only knows a few phrases and words in Spanish, so I am glued to reading the super-titles. And this is too bad because Carregha is a fluid and dramatic actor and I missed her actions on stage while I tried to keep up!

The stage here was a simple modest workhorse. A bedroom that served as Sarah’s hotel room, a raised bathtub which was bathtub, beach, and shower, and chairs and tables that depending on the scene were whatever they needed to be. Quite dramatic, very effective, and thank you Luciana Stecconi!

And one more thing about the super-titles. I was there during the previews and I had trouble reading some of them. At times the contrast was too low, particularly when they were on the black back curtain or of there was a haze amplified by the spots or if the spots were too hot on the front of the stage.

Regina Carregha. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.

The Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Espejos: Clean at their Stiemke Theater from now through May 11, 2025. Additional information and tickets can be found here.

Extra Credit Reading: The Playbook

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LCP’s Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical Is Quite Literally A Tour de Force!

Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical isn’t exactly the story you remember from high school English class when you read Robert Louis Stevenson’s 19th C novella, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The core story is the same, where an inquisitive doctor delves into the two halves of man’s souls…the good vs. the evil…and experiments on himself. And there is still the sense of dread, the macabre, the horror, and the violence of the original, but there is also a bit more love as a number of female characters are included and Jekyll’s friends show their humanity as well.

The Company of Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical. Photo courtesy of Lake Country Playhouse and Academy. James Baker Jr. photographer.

Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical has a long history. Originally conceived for the stage by Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden, the musical has its book and lyrics from Leslie Bricusse with music by Frank Wildhorn. And this is a grand musical with most of the story told via 28 songs…this would be an opera if it were in Italian! LOL! But there are also 24 performers here who dominate the stage and provide a very thrilling indeed story of the macabre.

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews of plays at LCP, you know that they have a little jewel of a black box theater, with a stage probably 40 feet wide and maybe 25 feet deep and around 150 seats? So it is quite an intimate experience no matter what play is being presented but to support a cast of 24 singers/actors…particularly with 4 or 5 full company songs…is a real accomplishment of note for directors Breanne Brennan and Sandra Renick as well as choreographer Thom Cauley, and stage manager Lori Albers…that it all works so well and moves so smoothly in their compact home is a wonderful storytelling success. And set designer Chris Celetin has a very simple but versatile set. Backed by an evening view of a skyline implying a robust London in our background, the central feature converts from fountain, to hospital bed, to fireplace, to bordello bed, to finally, Dr. Jekyll’s lab…there is some smoke…but I didn’t catch any mirrors.

Emma Carew and Dr. Henry Jekyll. Photo courtesy of Lake Country Playhouse and Academy. James Baker Jr. photographer.

But it is time to delve into the characters. Of course the main character is Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. Is alter ego the correct word here? This role of course demands quite a bit from an actor, requiring any number of changes beyond a simple costume change. And Adrian Ford quite remarkably transitions from Jekyll to Hyde…through changes in posture, vocalizations, stature and personality. I am not quite sure how Ford manages all of this…going from the smooth lush voice for the songs belonging to the good doctor to the growls and screams of Hyde…but Ford has quite mastered it. Hopefully he can rest his voice and recover between performances.

Dr. Jekyll in his lab. Photo courtesy of Lake Country Playhouse and Academy. James Baker Jr. photographer.

And two of the changes from the novella include women who are in love with Dr. Jekyll. First is Alyssa Booton as Emma Carew, a very strong willed and independent woman who is engaged to Dr. Jekyll despite her father’s misgivings. But she affirms her right to choose her life partner over any parental obligations. And then there is Lucy Harris, a prostitute at the Red Rat, who is played by Jaime Nyland. Nyland also presents a strong willed character, at least on the surface, but emotionally unwilling or unable to remove herself from her surroundings, even when urged to leave by Jekyll and with funds he provides. She too loves the doctor for being a friend and comforter when she is injured by Hyde. Emma and Lucy have a very moving duet of sorts…more a song swap than a duet I guess…in the number, In His Eyes. This is an incredible piece and their voices will move right through you and enter your bones.

Emma (left) and Lucy. Photo courtesy of Lake Country Playhouse and Academy. James Baker Jr. photographer.

Three other characters of note are Gabriel John Utterson, an attorney and the best friend that Dr. Jekyll could ever hope to have. Bradley Wooten presents a very formal and effective lawyer Utterson at first, then he succumbs to some temptations, but rallies when the Jekyll/Hyde dichotomy starts to surface, despite having no idea how to solve the issue…until it is far too late. Andrew Byshenk is Sir Danvers Carew, Emma’s father, and a prominent citizen who supports Jekyll to a point but without much confidence…more out of love for his daughter as opposed to his own convictions. And John Rottier is Simon Stride, another prominent citizen who also loves Emma and tries to win her over up until the last minute. All three characters have prominent songs during the play and are dominant voices and clearly engaged in their songs and their characters.

The Red Rat Girls, Lucy back row center. Photo courtesy of Lake Country Playhouse and Academy. James Baker Jr. photographer.

What is quite remarkable are the numbers that involve the whole company or the group of Red Rat Girls. Not a note is out of place, everyone is in character, and they occupy the stage as one.

There is a live chamber group providing the instrumental accompaniment. And that is not an easy feat given the small footprint off the back corner of the stage given all of the activity occurring just inches away. The intrepid musicians? Jim Van Deusen, piano and conductor; Tracy Garon, piano; Tony Fenner, drums; Cheryl Miracle, French horn; and Glen Quarrie, woodwinds.

The wedding scene and the end of Jekyll/Hyde. Photo courtesy of Lake Country Playhouse and Academy. James Baker Jr. photographer.

No, I didn’t forget Sarah Jo Martens, the costume designer. This must have been a pull your hair out effort for Martens, given the number of characters, and the several costume changes for almost all of the principal characters here, particularly Jekyll/Hyde, Emma, and Lucy. This story would have been lacking some power without the costumes we experienced so elegantly.

Jekyll & Hyde, The Musical, is scheduled to run from now through April 13th, 2025. BUT it is sold out for the entire run. If you are interested, you can contact their box office to see if any tickets are returned for resale. Their email is info@lakecountryplayhousewi.org

And Mr. Edward Hyde. Photo courtesy of Lake Country Playhouse and Academy. James Baker Jr. photographer.