Page 13 of Final Verdict
I grab my backpack and rush out of my dorm, racing down several blocks until I reach Gershwin Theater.
Wicked is casting for a few minor and supporting characters due to injuries, and I’m willing to take the role of a munchkin or a flying monkey.
If I can land anything that pays better than the temp agency, I’ll consider that a win.
By the time I arrive at the glittering entrance, a security guard is locking the doors.
“Please let me in!” I yell as I near him. “Please!”
He shakes his head at me, but he opens the door.
“You’re late, lady,” he warns. “Take a seat in the back left so no one will notice.”
“Thank you so much.” I move past him and take a quick twirl around the lobby.
I shut my eyes and envision signing autographs here after a show someday, or maybe?—
“Which part of you’re late didn’t you understand, lady?” The guard interrupts my thoughts.
“Right, sorry.” I follow his instructions and slip inside the back of the theater.
Grabbing a check-in card, I scribble my name on the back and resist the urge to roll my eyes at the question at the top:
Why do you want to be a Broadway actor/actress?
I write the same answer I always give—a simple “I’ve always loved performing,” but only because the truth is far worse.
And it doesn’t fit on one line.
“I’ve spent my entire life slithering into fictional characters’ skin, so I don’t have to face what comes with sliding around in my own…”
Taking my seat, I watch audition after audition, feeling my confidence drop with each one.
“Actor sixty-seven-eleven!” The guide’s voice echoes off the theater’s walls after an hour. “Sixty-seven-eleven?”
“That’s me.” I stand up from my seat. “I’m here.”
“Well, hurry up and take your place backstage,” he says. “Do you need a miniature version of the script?”
“No, I haveWickedmemorized like the back of my hand. Thank you.”
“Today’s auditions require warm readings from various Shakespeare texts, miss.”
Oh.“Well, I have most of those memorized, too.” I shrug and move forward.
Dropping my card at the judges’ table, I take my place onstage and wait for the stage director to hand me a sheet.
Juliet’s monologue
Act 2, scene 2
Romeo & Juliet
Ugh…I try not to groan as I stare at it.
“Actor sixty-seven-eleven, you may begin when the lights dim…”
I nod, taking a deep breath as the house lights fall away.
