Have you ever been in a mosh pit at a rock concert? Well if you have, then you have some idea of what it’s like to go to an Equity chorus call – bodies crushed together, writhing in unison and people so close together that you can smell the perspiration. It’s just like that but without the music, the nose rings or the fun.
The Equity chorus call is a science experiment that attempts to determine the number of bodies that can fit into a finite space at one time. It is a Buddhist exercise in patience. It is the world’s largest game of Twister being played out by unwitting participants.
The chorus call comes in two varieties, the singers call and the dancers call, or as I like to think of the two, the screamers and the jumpers. Unlike its cousin, the Equity Principal Audition (E.P.A.), you don’t receive a specific audition time at a chorus call. Instead of a time slot you are given an audition number which will determine when you will be seen.
In some ways the chorus call is a little more civilized. You don’t have to sit out in the cold at the crack of dawn in order to get an audition like you do at an E.P.A. The Equity chorus call makes use of a list. A sign up list gets posted in the Actors’ Equity Association building one week before the actual audition. You can sign up for the audition by adding your name to the list at any time during the week. I often make use of the buddy system. Myself and a couple of friends work together. Whoever of us gets to the sign up list first will add all of our names to the list.
Once you’re on the list you just need to make sure that you show up a half an hour before the start of the audition. It’s at this point that the names will be called out in the order in which they appear and those people present will be given an audition number. But don’t dawdle because the audition monitors are not forgiving and they’ll smack you across the knuckles if you try to grab an audition card after being late. Okay, so maybe they won’t hit you, but if you miss the reciting of your name you’ll have to wait until all of the names on the list have been called before you’ll be given the opportunity to get a number. You’ll have to go to the back of the line, mister.
Once you get a number, you’re set. All you have to do is sit back, relax and wait… and wait… and wait. Here’s where the E.P.A. gets its payback. Although you didn’t have to wait out in the cold, you also don’t get a specific time to audition, so now you have to wait until they come to your number. This could go quickly or you might get the chance to catch up on a little light reading like War and Peace.
If you’re singing you usually get 16 bars to prove your merit (sometimes 8 bars if there are a lot of people to be seen). That typically breaks down to about 60 people in and out of the audition room per hour. If you’re number 192 you’ll probably have time to pop out, grab a cup of coffee and read a chapter or six.
If you’re dancing, the day might take a little longer. You’ll probably be broken up into groups and taught the combination. Your group might learn the combination and audition directly afterwards. But you might also be taught the combination then be sent out of the room while the next group is brought in to learn the steps. In that case you’ll have time to get sucked into the Tolstoy classic and thereby forget all that was taught to you earlier.
If you’re lucky they will “type” at the audition. The casting people will bring everyone in groups into the room before the audition ever begins. They will take a look at everyone and only choose a fraction of those people that they think are the right type for the show. These are the only people that they will want to see audition and everyone else is free to get back to the Bezukhovs, the Bolkonskis and the Rostovs.
I once got typed out at a call for The Sound of Music. The audition notice said they were looking for six foot tall Aryan types. I’m exactly six feet tall, my heritage is German/Austrian and I have blond hair and blue eyes. I thought that I was in for a long day of auditioning. But they typed, and I got typed out. I can’t imagine another audition where I felt I was more right for what they were looking for but the casting people didn’t see it that way. And in the end I was grateful that they didn’t waste my time or fill me with false hope.
So if chorus calls are so tedious, trying and time consuming why even bother? Why fight the crowds for what seems like an exercise in futility? For that matter why would anyone want to endure a mosh pit? Well in both cases it’s the same reason – it gets you closer to the stage. Closer to the possibility that you might be one of the lucky few who gets plucked from the crowd to spend some time on stage.
It happened to me. I booked my first Broadway show from a chorus call. I fought the crowds in the morning, got called back to dance in the afternoon and sang once more that afternoon. The audition took up most of my day but was well worth it once the casting director called and offered me the job.
I still haven’t ever been pulled up on stage at a concert. Maybe I’m not wearing the right clothes or maybe I need to change my hair or maybe I’m not cheering loud enough. Who knows? But perhaps the main problem is that a mosh pit never seems to materialize at a Barry Manilow concert.
