Acting Citizen: Auditioning (Part 2)

By James Knudsen

Last month I auditioned for a local theatre and provided some insights into the woes of the actor hoping for a callback. In the process, I revisited a song in my book of sheet music, Why Can’t I Walk Away, and learned more about the musical for which the song was written. To refresh your memory, the musical is Maggie Flynn. Its creators, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss, based the story on the Civil War Draft Riots of 1863 and an orphanage that was burned to the ground during the unrest. The show’s development occurred in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War.

Acting Citizen: Auditioning (Part 1)

By James Knudsen

“Once more into the breach.”
    The famous words that propelled Henry’s forces against the walled town of Harfleur. This time it’s a far less heroic task, auditioning.
    In recent years, auditioning has become something I’m rarely asked to do. This has nothing to do with my fame, I have none. Nor my talent, I have only a little more of that. It is the result of the people casting shows knowing my work. The people involved with the group I auditioned for this past weekend may have seen my work, but their policy is, “everyone auditions.”