Next week you might be calling me Captain Braidbeard — or you might choose to be a dick and make fun of the braids in my beard. Either way there is a distinct possibility that I could be performing the role and a series of other roles for Theatreworks USA’s National Tour of “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”, a musical adaptation of Laura Numeroff’s book by the same name. This past week I was called in and called back to read for the role. Things went well but of course you never know until you know. Also, at the end of this month I will again be performing with the comedy group Chocolate Cake City, only this time I’ll be performing sketch comedy with the group in the absence of one of their group members. One performance will be on a rooftop in Queens (address to come) and the other will be at the Broadway Comedy Club (53rd between 8th and 9th) at 6pm, Aug 31st. Let’s keep this party going… Whew! (flashes car next to mine).

My hard work pays off and the cast of Rent helps me to celebrate the significance of my achievement.

For the past few weeks I’ve been going through the songs I know with a fine tooth and comb, selecting one for every occasions. I’ve had to find songs to sing when I’m asked to sing country music, when I’m asked for classical or contemporary music theater, up-tempo or ballad. On top of all of this I’ve had to steer clear of familiar favorites. Supposedly there is no worse crime in an audition than to sing a song from Rent or Wicked.

I can’t say that my process prepared me any for today — but I certainly felt more prepared to knock ‘em dead when I showed up to an audition for Theatreworks today. Theatreworks is a professional union theatre company that tours family oriented shows around the country. I’ve been wanting to do one of their shows since I arrived in New York. So when I showed up today and was informed that they were looking for a pop-rock song, I was a little nervous. I’d not yet found an appropriate pop-rock song to sing — and they’d asked for a contemporary musical theatre selection when they called my manager. Well, I had Beauty School Dropout from Grease and I’ve Got Life from Hair. Neither song seemed right. So, I didn’t do either. I stuck with my original choice. They seemed to like it and when I was done, they asked me to sing something that was a bit more pop-rockish. Read the rest of this entry »