Anything Goes auditions

9th of December, Tuesday

Today is my dear Emma Bergh's birthday, my South African host-sister, who was in Hungary with me, exactly a year ago. She's one of the sweetest people I've ever met!

  After a Monday night of practicing on the freezing porch in a coat, a heater and two blankets, playing the piano and singing my heart out, I thought I was ready for auditions today. I was so proud of myself, for the first time ever, I could play the piano and sing simultaneously.
  At two o'clock the following day, I was faced with another problem: I didn't know if I should wear my shorter blue dress or my longer violet one. Ms. Dyer asked for era-appropriate clothing, so I chose the violet one. I kinda looked like a grandma in it. That with Anne's super uncomfortable shoes, I could pass as a 30 year old. We gathered in the APAC, everybody got a number (I was 62), and we sat down, to see the auditions. Alma decided to accompany me, and to listen to all 70 kids sing. First, those, who had to hurry sang, then all the girls practiced. We had to sing 2 songs from the musical Anything Goes. The main song (Anything Goes) was everybody's first performance. Then the boys, the soprano girls, the bass and tenor boys, and finally, the alto girls. Each group had separate songs from the play, ours, the alto girls' was "I get a kick out of you". Mrs. Dearsteyn, the pianist lined up as many people as she could on the stage, and the person singing had to come forward to the middle.
  My goal was to sing loudly. Ms. Dyer was sitting further back, so if I wanted to make an impression, I needed to be heard. I figured, with all the practice that I put in these songs, I'm bound to be on key. But as I walked up to the front of the stage, and said my name and number, the whole performing started so quickly, I didn't even think it through. I forgot all my moves, and all my internal warnings about the tricky part. I woke up around halfway through, where I decided, that even if my singing was lousy, I'd go out with a BANG!. So I tried my best, and walked back to my place, when it was over. I was just glad, that I was done with the first, more difficult song. The second one was much easier, because we had to go from the APAC to the Forum room, which is much smaller and cozier.
  The whole thing ended at 6 o'clock for me, it took 4 hours to get through both songs of every 70 kids'. Due to communication difficulties, Herb got us at 7. We took Alma home, and I finally had a chicken wrap to eat, after a day of starving.
  It's interesting, how auditions can tire one out. I know I feel like I ran 5 kilometers. I couldn't really move, once I got home.