The young boys were brought onstage. There were about half as many of them as there were young girls. They got to sing a bit longer than we did.
Right off the bat, I knew which of them would be Gavroche. He fit the description in the book perfectly. It was like the character had walked right out of the book and into the theatre. He sang, "We'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give up!" beautifully. I really hoped he'd get it.
Then the teen girls. None of them popped out at me as the perfect Eponine. I wasn't sure how the song was supposed to go, but no one did it in a voice that Eponine would have in the book. In the book it said "the voice of a drunken convict." Yet they were all beautiful singers. Four of them gave me chills.
Teen boys went next. Then adult women.
As auditions continued, I slowly began to realize that this isn't something people just walk in and do. This isn't something you just "go for." Everyone here clearly had experience in theatre. No way could I match them, especially after that audition.
After all of the auditionees had done their assigned songs, Lizzie went up the stairs to the booth where Robert was with his microphone. I watched (since I was near the back) as Lizzie collected a few pieces of paper from him, reorganized them, and went back onto the stage with the microphone. We all stayed quiet.
"Ok! If I call your number, please make your way to the stage with me. I'll read numbers 1-500 first. Ok... 4, 9, 13, 31, 32, 40..." She continued to recite numbers until there was a large crowd squeezed onto the stage.
"489, 493, and 498. The rest of you, numbers 1-500, may go. Thank you."
She had called maybe 200 numbers. That was less than half of them. This director clearly wanted the best of the best of the best.
There was lots of moaning, and I'm pretty sure a grown man was crying behind me. I didn't want to look in case it was considered rude.
It took about ten minutes for everyone onstage to return to their seats again and the ones who had been cut to exit the theatre.
"Now, for numbers 501-1200."
That's me.
YOU ARE READING
A Rising Star
FanficShe didn't even have a name. She never thought about it. She never worried about clothing, because she wore the same thing every day. With her only friend being the bookseller Hailey Haddow, and her life consisting of only reading bits newspapers le...
