I auditioned to be on Glee about 2 weeks ago in an open casting call to the general public. Now, I (and about 33,ooo+ hopefuls) wait. I'm trying not to think about it, but it's hard not to... to think that this just could be my one big chance...it's crazy.
The audition was 2 parts: Intro and Audition. You're allowed a 1 minute personal statement and then you sing a song (1 from 10 they provided). I chose "Don't Rain on my Parade" by Barbra Streisand. At first, i avoided the song bc i didn't know the words and thought it was very demanding vocally. but, after finally deciding to "just listen to it," i knew this was my song. i smiled listening to the song for the first time bc i knew i'd found "the song." i had to sing this song because the lyrics describe exactly how i feel at this moment. i immediately began looking up different versions of the song on itunes bc i didn't want to just imitate the way Rachel had sung it in Glee. That's when i heard Barbra Streisand's version...the emotion in which Barbra sings the song blew me away. what an inspiration to live up to! I immediately downloaded her original "Funny Girl" version, the Glee version, and Shirley Bassey's version. Then i got to work.
For 2 weeks i immersed myself in the lyrics and emotion of the song. on one trip to Raleigh, i borrowed Dan's explorer. his cd player has the ability to rewind, so on the entire way up, i practiced the song over and over like i was back in Acappology. I only listened to one phrase until i got it perfectly...if not, i rewinded it until it was perfect and the lead in to the next phrase was solid. that's the way my piano teacher, mrs. roche, used to drill me every lesson. i used to get so frustrated bc she wouldn't let me play a single note ahead until the notes before were played without hesitation. thinking back to those days makes me cringe, but she was just preparing me and teaching me the way. now i can only really learn lyrics that way. we did it the same way in aca. It drives Dan crazy listening to me sing that way. One time, i convinced him to practice a Chris Brown duet with me, and he bout went nutz every time i hit rewind. Needless to say, he never let me "teach" him a song ever again...
to further get me in the mood of the song, i added "Funny Girl" to my instant queue on netflix and started watching. That's when i fell in love with Barbra. Whoa. that girl can wail, and she's funny! I never knew what id been missing.
Not such a coincidence: a few weekends ago i was visiting with my aunt Cheryl and uncle Vernon in Loris. I was sitting on their living room floor watching "julie and julia" when my hand hit a book (or i thought it was). i picked it up, and it was a book on tape entitled "Barbra: The Barbra Streisand Biography" !!! i got so excited and surprised that i grabbed the box and stared at it all wide eyed. i asked if i could borrow the tapes and they obliged. incredible. i got to understand the "real" barbra and learn about where she came from and all the background stories of when she taped "funny girl" aka performed "dont rain." did you know she was just 24 years old when she began filming "funny girl" ?! I'm 24 years old! i listened and all the while kept a running math problem in my head... if she was born in 1942, then she was __ old when she did this!
the wednesday before i recorded my audition (th), i went to my high school to practice with my former high school chorus teacher, Mrs. palmieri. She's the one that really encouraged us to show the emotion of the song and shoot for the stars, and ive never forgotten those days. it was the first time i sang "dont rain" without music behind me. (i forgot to mention, i was singing the song a cappella for my audition). so i took out my trusty pitch pipe from my aca days, and sang for her. it was really nerve racking singing to an empty room with no one behind you singing the mmbops doo dahs behind you. eventually i warmed up for her (she moved to the back corner of the room while i sang), and we drilled the 2nd half of the song for an hour straight. mrs p is my rock of confidence. she really showed me what it meant to sing every meaning of every note. thanks, mrs p.
meredith came over to my place the day i recorded my audition. mrs. p told me to sing the final audition by myself, but i sang it with meredith watching. she gave me all the right nods and smiles when i hit the note, and kept me going. to ease my nerves before i did "the final take," meredith and i danced it out to some of our favorites..."I wanna dance w somebody" by whitney houston and "Leavin" by Jesse McCartney to name a couple.." Meredith-- i can't thank you enough for giving me the confidence and encouragement to go for that note (and kill it).
back to my story... the other night, i had just posted my Glee Intro video and my Glee Audition video to youtube. The audition required you to sign up for myspace and post your audition through myspace. However, when i checked on my submission, the Intro video had an error and didn't post correctly! when i found this out (about a week ago), i immediately broke down...emotionally, physically, mentally. i cried, asked God "why" and just lay in my bed thinking my life was over. i had no chance to realize my dream now. all bc of technology. Dan tried to comfort me, and he did his best. I eventually got over it (for the moment). On Tuesday morning, i had a relapse of my freak out. again, Dan was on the phone to console me...telling me that i can't compare myself to Barbra, etc. i finally got over myself and decided to do something. post my videos like crazy. if they weren't going to work on myspace, i'd post them to facebook and youtube...with hopes that maybe the glee judges would look elsewhere for my broken intro video. At least the audition video uploaded, right?
It's Tuesday night, and here's the conversation:
Amy: How do i get someone to watch my video 500 times?
Dan: Idk, it's gotta go viral. You shoulda put "naked" at the end of the title.
Amy: Dan! ...you're probably right
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