Notes for TALENT SHOW #1: All: !

You should already be seated when the audience comes in, dont come in with them. This will save time. ! Even if your character is the competitive type, still be supportive of the other auditioners (in terms of responding and applause). This will cue the audience that its okay to laugh and clap, etc. You are already really listening to each other very well, good! ! You have ten minutes to perform the entire scene. LUCA will have a cell phone with a stopwatch, which should begin once the audience is seated. If you guys are pressed for time, simply eliminate the audience volunteer. If you need to fill the time, then LUCA should call more than one audience member. LUCA will be the timekeeper, so listen to his hints if he says Well, were running out of time, or lets hurry it along, etc. LUCY: ! When you go to fetch the audience from the Papp, do not give too much away that these are auditions, we dont want them to know theyre part of the show yet. Simply say, Is this my next group? Great. And lead them into the theater. Theyll find out its an audition once theyre seated and you introduce it (see below). They will already have numbers (in the double digits). ! You are the hostess of this scene, let LUCA run the nuts and bolts of it. Your job is to be all smiles and elegant, as you know this is an important fund-raising event for your father, and he has put you in charge to see if you can handle responsibility. You suspect he has even planted people in the audience as spies to watch, so youre on your best behavior and must hide your stress, and show how calm and collected you can be. ! Write down on an index card your brief intro speech so it is specific and plugs your fathers organization. You dont have to have this memorized. This would be the type of thing you would read off a cue card anyway. Keep it very brief. Something along the lines of: Thank you so much for coming ladies and gentleman to the Hidden Wonders Talent Show auditions. As you know, proceeds from the show will benefit the Wonder Community Center which offers free support groups and career advocacy to the community, open to all. The Center has been very important to my father, before he ran for mayor, when he was just a civilian. So, I thank you again. And break a leg to all of you! LUCY and LUCA: ! The audience will have numbers already (in the double digits). The masks should all be ranging numbers 1-10 (chosen at random). You both should pay very close attention as they audience are walking in, as to who would be a good person to call to stage. Immediately write down the numbers you think you should call and

decide on someone beforehand. LUCA will begin calling numbers. You DONT have to explain that you are going to call a number, etc., theyll figure it out. Just say Number 4 and JACK will take the stage. ! LUCA, as you are running the show, you are the anchor of this scene, and will have to decide if there is enough time to call an audience (or two) to the stage. You will have to manage the audience as well to keep them controlled. ! Since Jacks song selection will seem quite strange in January, you may want to comment on how perfect that would have been last month, or something to that effect to exchange pleasantries with the old man. JACK: ! The second time we ran it, you were making more specific choices with your body language, which is good. Really determine Jacks center when you walk and take the stage, as well as his pacing. ! The song selection is great as is his sweet singing. Dont be surprised if audiences are afraid to laugh as you are the first to go, and they may think this is your best singing voice. Thats fine, Jack would not be bothered. ! Try and determine a genuine reason Jack is wanting to be there, perhaps the community center has helped you a lot while Ellie has been sick, and your trying to show gratitude. FRANZ: ! The pantomime works great. You made really bold physical choices and they paid off hilariously. Really funny. The comedy of the scene works because all you said was Id like to re-enact a scene from my childhood, which makes people think it will be this sweet, nostalgic thing, and you start out in what appears to be a nice little boat ride, or something. So the direction it took was just hilarious. Keep that, and be careful not to say anything else that would reveal where its going. ! You really used the entire space, which was fantastic. You also used the cubes, which simply looked spontaneous, and worked great. Flipping your body and shuddering was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen, which was why I was crying. ! The challenge for you will be to keep it fresh, as this is such a bold choice. Just really commit to the specificity of your vicious battle with the walrus and youll be fine. If audiences are afraid to laugh, thats okay, just battle it out with the walrus, eventually theyll realize its okay. ! If you want to keep in the bit of your character getting up at the wrong time (if that was intentional?), its fine, but make sure you dont get up simultaneously with an audience member, as that will confuse them, and theyll just sit down (and chicken out). If you want to keep the bit, do it AFTER you have already gone up, go up a SECOND time (with Allison), so that the judges have to tell you youve already gone. ! When ALLISONS audition turns racy, this is Franzs idea of entertainment. You should leap to your feet and shout Ya! and clap, stomp, etc.

ALLISON: ! The comedy in your choice comes from the fact that it starts as one thing and then becomes something else entirely, which is great. Be sure to really commit to the first part, stressing, This is a song from my choir, as it clearly sounds like a hymn. ! When you make it racy, at first turn your back completely to the audience for a beat, still singing, so we dont know whats happening. Then wiggle as you slip the dress off a shoulder, coyly turning around. (Make sure the dress does not go below the waist). The audience will immediately get whats going on. ! LUCY should jump up from the judges table to block the audiences view, (she should be facing the audience with her back to you). When she does this, come down off the stage and start pelvic-thrusting to the right. When she sees you out of the corner of her eye and shuffles to block you from view, QUICKLY shift to the left and thrust out in the other direction, since youre faster than her, forcing her to turn towards you and say Okay, okay. Thank you, thank you, thats ! Keep the bit about, I thought you wanted a little (you can shimmy here or wiggle, whatever). Direct this line to LUCA, as hes the man. He can gently tell you no. When he does, go back up to the stage and look at them both for a beat, like you did before. That moment of confusion and embarrassment worked really well, as your character has a real sweetness to her. CHARLIE: ! Try to choose a somewhat recognizable song to rock out on. Even if your character does it really badly, and off-key, it will be funnier if we can kind of tell what youre going for. ! The body language is great, throughout. As Charlie is really trying to live out his inner rock-God fantasy here, just let go, you cant really be too big. ! If the audience laughs, you can center yourself (to keep from laughing) by turning your back to them and still rocking out. Just ground yourself in you want to win (as you imagine theres a big trophy or something) for Bertha. ! The spinning/shirt worked great. However, only spin about 5 times. Once the judges have ushered you off the stage, simply leave the stage (dont keep spinning), and take your seat. Its a great moment, so better to keep it precise. MADALYNNE: ! It makes sense that your character, who is the most well-read of this group, would read from a poem for her audition. Just take your time. The language is a bit formal, and very poetic, so find meaning in all of the images. Many people know this poem and treasure it. Make sure to say its an excerpt, so people dont expect you to read the entire thing.