Thursday, May 14, 2015

From lemons to Limoncello.

Bosom Friends!

Yesterday I went to my first audition in a VERY long time.

I have never particularly enjoyed auditions.
If you are lucky you feel like a piece of meat ready to be chosen by a costumer at a butchery.
In any case showbiz wouldn't exist without auditions and rich Jewish patrons, so when life trows you lemons you better make Limoncello with them and drink your way to your goals.

I took all the lemons that I got thrown at during the last pageant I competed in and I just decided to do what I love doing: painting my face and singing a bit of opera arias. (check my The Chronicles of Pageant to find out all that went down that infamous night.)

I turned my lemons into something nicer by inventing this new character.
I put on my face, full make up and all, but I only wear a demure tuxedo and patent leather high heels.
Red nails and wedding black diamond to finish the look.

On my way to the theater.

Most important thing I sing like I always have since I found out I had the ability to force my voice into sounding very much like an operatic diva.

The audition took place at the Fillmore theater in South Beach. By the way that place is a gem!
Circx  (a traveling performance troupe and production company based out of Miami) was looking for new talents to add to their portfolio for an upcoming show they are putting together (26th and 27th of June, get your tickets!).
I cannot tell you how wonderful it was just walking into a theater from a backstage door. Seeing a stage from the only angle I have seen one for many years felt so damn right. Being a performer you get to see the sides of a stage with all its ropes and curtains. An audience only get to see what we want it to see.
As I said it felt just right.

My view from the wings at Fillmore.

Before my performance auditioned a belly dancer, an improv street style dancer, a girl who juggled things on fire (only they were not on fire right then and there for safety issues...) and some other acrobats of some sort.
As usual I stuck out like a sore thumb. I was the tallest and most done up of the whole lot.
Luckily my face didn't melt under the ferocious Miami sun even after I had to get off and back on the car three times to find the right entrance and having to ask to non English speaking valet parking hombres where the hell I could park without getting towed. A drag queen at two in the afternoon under an African sun trotting around in heels for sure left an ever lasting impression. I wish I had a photographer following me around to capture the singular situation I manage to get myself into. If you know of anybody interested...

Finally I got to sing my song.
I chose Giacomo Puccini's O Mio Babbino Caro from the short opera Gianni Schicchi.
Google it, I am sure you must have heard it one way or the other.

It felt so good standing in the middle of a stage and sing that beautiful aria.
Even if I was singing to an empty theater I loved every moment of it. The beautiful crystal chandelier inside the house were listening quietly and perfectly still.
I sang and listened to my voice for the first time reverberating inside a theater. Every word meant something more so since I was singing in my mother tongue, beautiful Italian.
Two and half minutes of bliss.

The founder and director of Circx was very happy with my performance.
More importantly I was reminded that all I have to do is to remain true to what I love and the result can only be a positive one.

I have no idea if this audition will lead to anything but those few moments I was gifted on the Fillmore stage were all I need to turn all the lemons I collected into delicious Limoncello.

Ciao for now.

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