Audition Idol at Boulevard Theatre

TCD contributor Stephanie Graham goes through the rigors of an Actor’s greatest fear – being critiqued by peers

waiting backstage at Boulevard's AI: Actors relax before their turn

“What if I walk out onto the stage and forget my lines?”

“What if I walk out onto the stage and have a huge wedgie?”

“What if I walk out onto the stage and fall flat on my face in my heels?”

And worst: “What if I walk out onto the stage and disappoint both the audience and myself?”

These are all common worries an actor has before stepping out in front of the curtain. I know I had them. The show was Audition Idol at the Boulevard Theatre in Bay View, which ran for one weekend at the end of June. A panel of judges critique monologues performed by six hopeful actors (including myself) in a series of shows designed to give audiences some insight into the process.

So how did Boulevard come up with this crazy idea in the first place? Production Manager Paul Madden explains, “There are many people that would like to get useful feedback on their job interview skills, and we were able to provide that for actors. I really wanted this to be something the actors could learn from and take with them. We don’t often get many opportunities to rehearse our audition material, and rarely do we receive constructive feedback (unless we’re paying someone for it).”

Before I describe the how it works, an introduction is in order. In addition to my roles as TV News Producer and writer for ThirdCoast Digest, I feel fortunate enough to be cast in several community theater productions over the past few years. I have some theater background from high school and college days, but have been really trying to hone my craft recently — so this experience was both scary and exciting. I hope some of my insight here helps other amateur actors to take the plunge and try something new.

winners are declared at Audition Idol. Photo by Troy Freund

Here’s the process in a nutshell: Each actor had about two to three weeks to prepare a couple monologues to perform for the ‘AI’ judges and live audience. The distinguished panel was made up from various professional actors and directors that work in the area. The judges then critiqued each actor “American Idol”-style, offering constructive criticism in a humorous and educational way. After the first round, two actors were eliminated. In the second, each actor performed “cold readings” (scenes from a play the actor has never seen before) for the judges. Finally, a grand prize winner was chosen from those final 4 contestants.

After the event, Boulevard Theatre’s Artistic Director Mark Bucher offered some insight into why audiences would also benefit from this process. He explains, “the chance to expand their understanding of the rehearsal process, the acting/artist ‘mentality’ and the work it takes to simply restructure or ‘work’ a few lines from one monologue while gaining respect and empathy for both the individuals and the process of acting—perhaps this may result in patrons understanding that they themselves are their own best judges of what moves them, now that they may have gained a smattering of understanding and introduction to some basic acting/auditioning skills.”

My First Few Weeks

Acting coach Carol Zippel and the author go through lines before one segment

As one of the actors lucky enough to be chosen to perform in this unique production, my first step was to pick two contrasting monologues. I chose a piece from The Book Club Play by Karen Zacarías, and one fromThe Star Spangled Girl by Neil Simon. I felt the two characters had contrasting qualities, and would work well for this show. It helped that I performed The Book Club Play at Soulstice Theatre just a few months earlier, and was already familiar with the show.

Obviously, familiarity with the script is very important for an actor to truly understand a character. Memorizing or re-memorizing a monologue is hard enough, but to bring the character to life is a whole other story. That’s where the acting coaches came in. Each actor was assigned an acting coach. My coach was Carol Zippel, an actor/director who has worked in the area for years and one of the founding members of Milwaukee’s Windfall Theatre. Carol’s job was to watch me perform my monologues before the show, and to give me some tips for improvement.

Now I have to admit, as a television news producer I am used to constructive criticism. I have often had an editorial manager look at my work with raised eyebrows and basically ask me to change the entire thing! It’s not easy to take criticism, but in the end, it’s how you learn and grow as a writer.

However, for some reason, taking criticism as an actor is a lot harder for me. Maybe it’s because I don’t act every day. It took me a few minutes to get comfortable performing for Carol under a critical eye. Once I relaxed a little, though, Iactually found the experience very liberating. She also offered some great insight for improving my monologues.

The Final Week Leading up to Showtime

I took Carol’s suggestions and changed my approach in a few sections of my monologues. Every day that final week, I came home from work and practiced. I even practiced while driving in the car. I’ll admit, it got repetitive after awhile. But I felt my characterization improved the more comfortable I became. I was getting nervous, yet excited, to perform for the judges. Even if I didn’t win the grand prize, I knew the experience would be prize enough.

Opening Night!

After practicing the monologues for several weeks, the big night finally arrived. I had a stressful work day before the show, so once I arrived at the theater, I knew that the first step was to relax. Once all six actors arrived, we got to meet each other for the first time. It was interesting to talk to everyone and learn about the different experiences as actors. We may have been “competing” in this particular show, but in the end all of us local actors are in the same boat. We want to help our theaters continue to grow, and continue to bring quality productions to the city of Milwaukee. I am pleased to say that I made several friends during this show and look forward to keeping in touch.

We had to be at the theater an hour early, so we had plenty of time to relax and mentally prepare. Once showtime started, we were assigned random numbers to determine our order on stage. It was nerve-wracking waiting for my turn as it ended up I was chosen to perform last. While this gave me plenty of time to prepare, it also gave me plenty of time to psych myself out.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it was my moment. Nervous energy is a great adrenaline rush. I greeted the judges, took a moment to gather myself, and let loose. I performed both monologues without missing a word. Once I start acting, I just let the characters and emotions take over. I thought I nailed it.

The judges didn’t exactly agree. Overall, the judges were very critical. Not in a “you suck” kind of way but a constructive, nurturing way. They felt my first monologue seemed a little too rehearsed and unnatural. They liked my energy, but felt I could “tone it down” a little. They had me redo it in several different ways. You know what–they were right. It WAS much better. They also made a small suggestions about my second monologue, which I appreciated. I still walked off the stage feeling really good about myself.

Then a waiting game began. The judges were deciding who would go on to Round Two. I had no idea what my fate would be. All I knew was that I did my best, and it was all about the learning experience anyway, right?

Finally, the judges called us back inside for the moment of truth. They said it was a tough decision, but they narrowed the play field. I made it! I was so excited. I love cold readings, and looked forward to showing the judges a little more of what I could do with a different acting format. We had the chance to perform the show for a final time a couple days later. It gave the actors a chance to tweak our monologues, adding some of the suggestions the judges gave us the first night.

The curtain falls

I won’t bore you with the entire process again but — I didn’t make it to Round Two the second time around. Maybe I didn’t perform as well the second day…or maybe that second panel of judges just didn’t like my style as much as the first panel. Who knows? I can second-guess myself all day, but in the end, all that really matters is how I felt. Would I do it again? You bet.

I was disappointed, but it was a good lesson. Just like in life, not every audition will go according to plan. In the end, it’s what you learn from the experience that matters. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true.