Lucas: 'You win a few, you lose a few' -- either way, auditions aren't for the timid

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to audition for a play or musical at your local community theater?

I had the same thought.

So when the audition notice for the latest May River Theatre production "You Haven't Changed a Bit (And other Lies!)" crossed my desk, I jumped at the chance to follow along.

"It's torture, but it's a fun torture," said Nancy Laws, who showed up at the Ulmer Auditorium at Bluffton Town Hall on Tuesday night, where the theater company holds its productions.

Laws was there to read for "Sarah" -- a "very normal" Jewish mother, grandmother and good wife, the script said.

If cast, Laws will play one half of one of three Baby Boomer couples in this musical comedy set to run three weekends beginning Nov. 6. It's a production that the theater company's board deliberately picked since a good many of their audience members are older and can relate to the couples portrayed in the musical about "growing up at 60."

In fact, all of the talent who turned out Tuesday night were, as one person put it, "of a certain age."

Director Christine Grefe said she was looking for three men and three women, somewhere in the age range of 55-70.

"But that's loose," she said, adding that if someone could play older or was the right fit for the role, they would be considered.

"You (also) want the same energy level (between couples)," she said. "The energy is important, but the dynamic between them is very important."

As about a half dozen men and women went through their paces, Grefe moved around the theater watching how the couples interacted.

Laws, who was wearing a navy blue shirt dress with comfortable black flats, seemed every bit the part of a "very normal" Sarah -- the kind of woman you would not give a second look across the grocery aisle. But when Laws took to the stage and began to settle into the role, something curious happened.

You found yourself watching her, looking for that moment when her eyes would roll or her mouth would twitch in amusement.

Slowly, Laws was transforming into someone else -- that woman in your family who's witty demeanor and knowing smile has everyone laughing.

"Even if I don't get cast, I still want to see it," said Bob Fitzsimmons, who sat in the theater watching Laws and some of the other "competition" Tuesday night. He hadn't heard of the musical -- written by two sitcom writers -- before seeing the audition notice, but had looked it up online and thought it sounded "witty."

A self-described "ham," Fitzsimmons read for the part of Mike, an Irish Catholic retiree who hasn't found retirement easy.

Fitzsimmons, who has been in a number of May River productions since moving to Sun City eight years ago, had read for the part of Steve the night before but thought he could play either role.

Originally from Long Island, Fitzsimmons hadn't done much in the way of theater before 2001 when he was cast in his first role as Sgt. Krupke in a community theater's production of "West Side Story."

"I was totally typecasted," he said laughing.

But he was also hooked.

"I just love it," he said. "It challenges the creativity in you."

Asked if he ever gets nervous before auditioning, Fitzsimmons said he just tries to have fun and "exude confidence."

"If someone gets up there and they're quiet or timid, they're probably going to be an usher," he said.

Laws, who has been in several Sun City productions, said the cold reading is always the toughest. "Because you're trying to read and you're trying to act a little at the same time."

When asked how she thought she did at the end of the night, Laws said she always tried to "do her best."

Then, as she packed up her tidy green tote filled with sheet music and smoothed down the front of her dress, she added, "I guy I used to know years ago loved to say, 'You win a few, you lose a few, but you have to get dressed for them all.'"

Follow reporter Mindy Lucas on Twitter at twitter.com/MindyatIPBG.

Related content:

• 'No Time For Sergeants' coming to May River Theatre, Aug. 12, 2015

This story was originally published August 26, 2015 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Lucas: 'You win a few, you lose a few' -- either way, auditions aren't for the timid."