Last night I watched “SMASH” on TV and it reminded me how much I love Broadway performers, singers and dancers. Well yes, I was one once, and I treasure every moment I spent performing on several Broadway stages.
I remember those auditions - terrifying! If I got to audition first as a dancer, even in those huge cattle calls (as they were called) on stage where 400 dancers got whittled down to 30 or so for callbacks, I knew I had a very good chance. If then I got to audition as an actress, I knew I had a good chance. But as a singer? No, no, no.
I would have worked on a song or two with my coach in preparation, it would go somewhat OK, but the moment I was standing in front of that table of producers and directors, I knew I really sucked. And I knew it after the first few lines of the song, knew the directors wanted to cut me off and were being polite. I would feel so humiliated, and would usually hail a cab and cry in the back seat all the way home to my fourth floor walk-up apaprtment just down the street from Lincoln Center!
But dancing, yes, I usually made it to call-backs, and made it into four different Broadway Shows!
In fact, it was my experience as a dancer that got me my first costuming job. I met one of the producers of Ann-Margret’s lavish Las Vegas act who was looking for someone to co-ordinate the 12 dancers’ and 6 singers’ costumes for her show. I thought I didn’t know anything about costumes, only having worn them, never made them, but the man said I must know what dancers need, and so gave me the job. That was what started it all!
I certainly made some mistakes along the way, especially in the beginning. In one of my early jobs actually creating costumes, I asked to be allowed to make the dancers jumpsuits for a dance number to “Car Wash”. Believe it or not, two way stretch material was not yet on the market, but I was able to find a ski pant fabric that did stretch one way. Thinking the guys would need it to stretch sidesways to allow for their chest expansion, I cut the jumpsuits in the wrong direction. I got that call from Roger Smith that no-one just starting their career wants to get....”your costumes are all ripping at the waist when the boys do the dance number”. A good friend gave me some excellent advice. He said, the best way to deal with a big error like this is to offer several choices of solutions, so I got up my courage to call Roger back and suggest that I come to Las Vegas, and spend the day inserting a stretchy band at the waist so the guys could move. It was a LONG day, as I had 8 jumpsuits to fix in time for them to be worn that night in the show, but there seemed to be no hard feelings. And I NEVER cut stretchy costumes the wrong way again!
