“Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong…“ whispers Meda Victor, seemingly lost in the stage light, her baggy trousers cinched with a man’s belt over her hips.

You certainly know her face, with high cheekbones and black, almond eyes that give her an Asian countenance, because it stuck in yout mind when you first saw her on stage (in shows directed by Afrim and Mălăele) or on the screen (in Mălăele’s film Silent Wedding).

A story by Adina Scorțescu

“Try to do what you know best, act! Stop thinking about singing,” Adrian George Popescu, the “musical third” of the pre-selection jury for the “Total Actor” fall workshop, encouragingly tells her from behind his Yamaha piano.

The other members are Răzvan Mazilu, the workshop manager, and Marina Constantinescu, theater critic and director of the National Theater Festival. They are all looking for a gifted actor that gives one thrills, with a mobile body, which can be choreographically modeled / a would-be Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, as it were. In fact, several Fred Astaires are highly sought-after, as they will deliver the terrific performance at the end of the festival.

The audition list, an A4 sheet strewn on a table in the foyer of the National Theater’s Little Hall, includes 28 pen-written names. Suppose you are number 9. Your name doesn’t matter, at least not to the technician in seasonal jeans (knee-low and full of pockets as compulsory features), who comes and calls out: Is number 9 here?

 – “Yes,” a raspy voice replies, after having spent some time with a half-liter Coke bottle and a couple of cigarettes.

 – “OK, let me fasten your lapel mic,” the technician continues, with the air of a medical assistant who has seen thousands of patients like you and can’t wait for the weekend to begin (it’s coming soon, tomorrow is Saturday, except there will be auditions tomorrow as well).

So, you’re number 9 and step on the stage. In front of you, seated at the desks in semi-darkness, is the jury; on the chairs in the auditorium, five or six lost fellows (friends, one or two journalists, and other numbers, like you / say, 15, 17 and 20).

An evaluating smile

You must present two songs, a dance (the dance is supposed to happen while you’re singing, but if you’re a forgetful candidate, the dance will happen separately); after that, a monologue of your choosing , preferably the one you announced when you registered online. (Well, you can always come up with excuses such as “I had no internet access so I asked a friend to sign me up.” It will do, since Mrs. Marina is a darling.)

Then you start singing. While doing so, your mic may come off, and if you’re on the ball you’ll stick that charger, or battery, or whatever that black rectangle that you must somehow attach to yourself is, into your bra.

If you’re even quicker to react (and if you’re playing the luscious Velma from Chicago ,the musical), you make this gesture casually, then with both hands nudge your breasts, and get on with your job, i.e. the dancing and the singing.

How do you know if your voice is worth something? Adrian Popescu’s pupils dilate and the corners of his mouth will go up in a feeble smile. (If you’re really good, the smile will extend up to the ears, and at the end you may hear a “bravo” from Mazilu. But this is a long shot for you.)

Let us suppose you’re a regular candidate. For good or for worse, you’ll say your monologue (you’re an acting graduate after all!), but when the music strikes you, your arms go slightly numb, and they hang loose along your body or nervously seek refuge in your pockets.

Mazilu will ask you, “Can you also move while you’re dancing?”. You’ll try. And you’ll look like a crane with clipped wings (if the tune is slow) or an animated cartoon character (if the music is more… animated).

If you’re really amateurish and had better try another occupation, you’ll hear Marina Constantinescu’s extremely polite voice coming from the void of the auditorium: “Whose class were you in?”

Then Adrian Popescu will say again: “Let’s give it another try. But sing with your eyes, stop thinking about the voice!” Singing with your eyes is like improvising a little dance.

Attempts of a generation

 – “Dance to whatever tune you want!” Mazilu encourages you.

 – “Could I do this without the music?” Meda Victor asks, like a schoolboy caught without his homework. There is silence in the auditorium.

 – “?!” Mazilu is probably raising his eyebrows, but you can’t see it, because it’s too dark. “Sure you can. Go right ahead!”

So you do as you wish (something involving a chair; almost all choreographies these days include a chair, much to Mazilu’s chagrin), then you’re told “thank you” (rather than “goodbye”).

You’re often told “goodbye” in this profession. Even if your name is Ana Bianca Popescu or Oana Cristina Pușcatu and you’re pretty good at it. You’ve got a good voice, you move easily, you acted in Chicago at university, and learned with Nadia Trohin, the jazz singer. You have just finished a masters course at the NUTCA in Gelu Colceag and Tania Filip’s class. Upon graduation, Colceag told you: “You’re part of a good generation, good luck!”

What’s one to do? Act in independent projects (with “Drama for the Masses” at Godot café), send your resume around, and hope that some experiences will carry more weight than others (e.g. a “Complete Actor” workshop coordinated by Răzvan Mazilu).

As for the rest, see you at in theatre. Oh, and remember: “Sing with your eyes!” 

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Photos: Adi Bulboacă

INFO

On 18 and 19 July 2014, the National Theater Festival (NTF) organized an audition at the National Theater of Bucharest’s Small Hall for the selection of participants in a workshop by Răzvan Mazilu.

A new workshop premieres alongside the 24th edition of the NTF (24 October-2 November) ,whose theme will be The Musical. The goal: The Complete Actor / one who performs in drama, choreography, and music. Graduates of acting schools aged up to 35 have registered. The contestants in the pre-selection will present two choreographic scenes and a monologue (adding up to a total of 15 minutes).

Those who will be admitted will participate in a three-week workshop for dance, acting, drama, and music ,between the 13th of October until 2nd of November . The resulting performances will be presented in the festival as this edition’s very own productions.

For the first time in the National Theater Festival ,the Musical has attracted more than 100 aspiring young performers in the pre- selection organized by UNITER and dancer/choreographer Răzvan Mazilu.The preselection jury included Marina Constantinescu / NTF director, Răzvan Mazilu / project manager, and Adrian George Popescu / music consultant.

20 July 2014