Chicago Callback: A Love Letter

This past week, I went to a callback.

(This isn’t a super exciting opening sentence. Let me try again…)

This past week, I went to a callback--and actually had an amazing, enjoyable time.

(There, that’s better!)

I think this is the first and only time I’ve ever penned that sentence. Callbacks can be extreme experiences; ‘enjoyable’ isn’t their usually-assigned adjective. A wise woman once described callbacks as ‘auditions on steroids, wherein everyone in the room is an Olympian’ (thanks, Mom!). A general audition can be a grab-bag experience for everyone involved, with all backgrounds and skill levels coming in and out of the audition room, but a callback...well, they’re different. A callback means getting together a specific group of individuals that have captured the audition panel’s attention--and that changes things significantly.

As an auditionee, the stakes get cranked up considerably at a callback. Because of this, callbacks are often harder to ‘nail’ as a performer than general auditions. Absolutely everyone in the room is very, very good at what they do. Everyone in the room is also currently being considered as a final casting choice. At a general audition, you never REALLY know who your direct competition for a particular role is--at a callback, you’re looking right at them. The expectation levels rise significantly in terms of the music and coaching, and emotions can run pretty high. The emphasis and the focus change rapidly, and it can be difficult to know exactly what the audition panel is looking for. Callbacks are often less about how you sound as an individual, and more about how you sound when placed in an ensemble with others. The panels tend to focus less on your training and more on your ability to adapt quickly. There’s often a mini-coaching session in a callback--can you try singing this passage straight-tone? Ok, now can you create more of a dynamic contrast? What about trying it as if you were a 40-ish year old woman? A twelve-year-old girl? A young man?

This particular callback was probably the most lovely experience I’ve ever had.

Part of this must be credited to the company itself for successful planning. The callback was on a Sunday, which is one of the best days for travel via public transportation in the city of Chicago. The company had selected an easy-to-reach location that was close to public transit, but also had a parking lot for those who drove. The venue also featured practice rooms--a feature that definitely made the singers feel appreciated! Nothing is worse than arriving warmed up to a callback only to sit quietly for an hour or more, waiting for your turn while internally panicking as your voice slowly grows stiff and cold from disuse. Including them was an unspoken nod of respect to the singers, a way of them saying, “We know you’re talented and we want you to do your best, so we are making sure to give you the resources to do so”. There was a ‘snack station’ set up, featuring water and oranges for everyone as they waited. There was also a large community-style table that the singers gathered around while waiting, encouraging us all to interact with one another.

And boy, did we ever!

Apologizes to the door monitor--we didn’t mean to laugh so loudly…

Part of what made this experience so damn delightful were my fellow singers. Sometimes, callbacks can be fraught with tension because of the performers involved. Sometimes, you’re in a small space directly competing with people who aren’t happy about something or other. Singers are remarkably sensitive animals--our empathy makes us more sensitive to interpretation, but it also makes us more likely to react to the energy around us without realizing it. Negative or nervous energy is a death sentence, compounding with every new arrival. Every singer has a callback story like this: you’re at a callback where the air practically crackles with tension and nervous energy, making everyone in it slightly-cranky and anxious. People tend to huddle into the corners of the room at these auditions, isolating themselves by burying their faces into scores and slipping earbuds into their ears. Almost every audition and callback experience I’ve ever had in New York and Philadelphia has felt like this.

Not this callback.

Instead, the singers all grabbed a chair around the community table. Many of us knew one another from previous productions or work, and those of us who didn’t quickly got introduced. Maybe it was the sunny weather outside, maybe it was the welcoming arrival we got with water and oranges for all. Maybe we just were genuinely happy to see each other (there was a lot of hugging at each new arrival), but the atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive. We openly giggled over television shows and gossiped about the best places to buy a bargain designer dress. We laughed over current fashion trends and complained about fitness classes. We lamented over bra shopping, and commiserated over changes in classical music as a whole. Several project ideas were proposed and volunteers immediately came forward. A fundraiser was planned and the resources arranged, in between swapping the names of the ‘best places in the city to grab brunch’. Several of us DID grab brunch afterwards, taking advantage the rare opportunity of having all of us together in the same location at the same time. We sat there for over THREE HOURS, laughing and chatting and having a lovely time. At one point, I sat back and said, “This is so nice, just hanging out with all of you!!!” And everyone agreed--it was.

This is one of the many, many reasons that I love this city so much.

If you live in the city of Chicago, chances are your creative colleagues are some of the most generous, openly-friendly and happy people around. We’re a magical combination of Midwestern niceties and no-nonsense training. Everyone could hear their fellow musicians singing one-by-one through the door. Everyone made sure to honestly compliment each other for a job well-done as they came out. Everyone in that room could act up a storm and sing the shit out of the material they were presenting-- and we all knew that, so why waste the time and energy being unpleasant to one another, especially when we all had so much in common??

THIS is the magic of a callback--the creation of a community of collaborators, all equal in terms of talent and drive, all just happy to be in the same room together.

THIS is the possibility of a production--the ability to draw together creators who, while they are waiting, can dream up new and exciting projects and events for the sheer joy of working with each other.

THIS is the kind of work I want to do these days---less emphasis on the size of the venue or the company, more emphasis on the quality of the music and my colleagues’ visions.

Chicago, I love you.

I am in you, and I am here to stay.