Let It Go, Let It Go

Ladies and Gentlemen, after a healthy amount of thought and consideration, I decided to audition for "The Full Monty" musical, based on the movie of the same name. Let's get right to The Question shall we? Yes, the fully monty will be done in this production. You heard me right. Naked men on stage... and for some reason, I decided I wanted to try to be one of them.

If you haven't a clue as to what I look like, well, I'm 6' 0", about at least 70lbs overweight with approximately 10lbs of that being hair. Not exactly a sight that should be seen in public, much less charge people to see. To be honest, I have more than enough body issues that you'd think I wouldn't want to willingly be naked in front of the world. But, I do.

I guess I'm still trying to figure out exactly why. There is a part in the show that must be played by an overweight guy. "Dave" has to sing, do a strip tease, and be willing to drop trow. He is also very uncomfortable with his body image. Hey, look at that - I can sing and I'm uncomfortable with my body image. How many guys in this city can say the same thing AND be willing to be naked? Can't be too many I would think. So, I was thinking competeion for the part would be few.

Two days ago, I had my audition. It was comforting to know that I was number 3 to audition; get it over with early. It also helped to know alot of the folks who were auditioning. That would make it easier to disrobe should I be cast.

We did the singing audition in a small room in front of the director, music/vocal director and piano player. I wasn't too familar with the show music, so I stuck with my audition standard, "All Good Gifts," from Godspell. When they called my number, I was ready to go. Small talked a little and then began to sing.

There's a high note in the song that usually gives me trouble. The high G I can usually hit, but the high A is where my voice faulters. I sang the first verse and chorus. And, not to brag, but I felt this was the strongest and most sincere I have ever sounded with this song. When I hit the high G, I felt as though my voice would be able to hit a high C without trouble. They cut me off before the high A, so I don't know if I would have struggled with it, but I don't think I would have. For me, the key to this song is to sing the words sincerely. They tested my vocal range in the lower notes and I was done.

Then came the dance audition. We would be learning a portion of the strip routine without any actually clothing coming off. I'm not a good dancer, but I can be choreogpaphed. It might take me a long time to learn the steps, but I'm dedicated enough to come early and stay late and practice at home to learn them. Hopefully that showed. We took about 15-20 minutes to learn the routine. The co-choreos could probably tell I was having trouble, but hopefully my attitude helped sell me. It's not just a strip dance, it's acting sexy while stripping. I might not have hit all the steps, but the attitude I felt was good. Besides, fat man strip dancing is at the very least fucking funny.

We performed the dance a few times for the choreos and I did alright. Not great, but I probably showed them that I could be taught. Then, the director came in to watch us once. And, I completely forgot everything. Don't know what happened. Nerves, I suppose.

And that was it. We were told we'd know one way or the other by Sunday. So, I'm waiting by my cell phone for that call.

I've told several people I was auditioning and I was suprised at how supportive they were. Most reacted with happiness and enthusiasm for me. I half-expected them to give me some grief. Instead, I'm quite happy to say they've all been supportive. I've got good friends. Thank you.