Paws and Passion Paw-t Deux!

Hahahaha. I went back to another CATS call ready to be entertained. And I was! :-)

My first audition in New York was actually for this same tour. I was scared beyond belief. There were hundreds of girls. Some of them looked crazy but others looked really intimidating. There was a girl in a tie-dyed unitard. What had I gotten myself into?

I was in the first group because I'd been there before 7 (am. Gross.). The director/choreographer and his assistant were teaching the combo. Two tall, thin, super gay men in black tees and v necks. (They were both supernice though. And that makes them being unknowingly funny even better!)We got a huge lecture as they taught the combo about how our fingers must disappear. They must become paws! As we started dancing it, he asked for our "passion." "Paws and passion. Remember, this is CATS!" (I'm convinced that whenever you refer to this show, it must be un all caps with an exclamation point.) So of course paws and passion became my favorite new saying. And the cat paw gesture must always come with it!

I wasn't asked to stay, but I had a fresh confidence in myself. I could dance as well (if not better) than most of the girls in the room. I could do this for a living. New York wasn't all that scary. It's just a city full of paws and passion!

So, when I saw a fresh call for replacements, I was psyched. I don't expect to ever get a job in the show that never dies. I'm simply too average in height. They use short and tall. I'm firmly in the middle. Plus I always manage to look too weighted when I dance it. I don't fit it, but the auditions are so much fun!I was still loose from the crazy afternoon audition yesterday. (It was awesome. No one had any idea what was going on, so we just had fun. There were maybe a dozen of us, and we were all clueless. I spent two hours with these auditors, and I still don't know what I was auditio ning for! None of us did.)

In the CATS holding room, I ran into a girl I knew from church back in Houston. It was her first pro audition in the city. She's going to school at Fordam. I also met a girl named Rachel that looked like Rachel McAdams. She was super sweet, and I hope to see her again around the audition circuit! Then it was time to dance. My paws were ready! It was the director/choreographer again! No v neck and no assistant, but were Latin lady cats this time. When he started to talk about the importance of paws, I almost chuckled aloud. There was no talk of passion, but there was talk of animality and flair. Hahahaha!

I rocked it, had fun, and didn't get asked to sing. Holding room rumours were that they only needed one girl. They had over a hundred to pick from! Oh well. I was royally entertained and got a free dance class. Who needs cable TV when there are CATS auditions? Paws and passion y'all!