It’s
often said when we start having a family that we lose a part of ourselves. Over
recent years I have sometimes been asked what my hobbies are and, after wracking
my brains, eventually have to admit I don’t have any.
When I
was school age I did a decade of ballet, then there were the piano lessons,
girl guides and pony club but they all stopped when I went to uni, then did the
OE and returned to start a family. Who has time for hobbies?
But
lately, with the kids all at school, I’ve been feeling like I need something
for myself. The suggestions included a photography course (I studied manual
photography at high school and polytech in the pre-digital days), getting
another horse and ladies golf. Then I spotted an ad for auditions for Mamma Mia and a light bulb went off.
I’ve
always loved performing on stage but, although I can sing in tune, I don’t have
a great voice and so I phoned and enquired if I could audition for a dancing
and chorus (background) part with no solo singing involved.
I went
along and reminded them that I wasn’t there to sing. Sitting there waiting I
was feeling alright about everything when in walks a 17-year-old who starts
warming up by promptly sinking into the splits, before touching her toes to her
head in a back arch. At this point I grabbed my bag and started making a run
for it when the choreographer called us both in.
She
was lovely, as was the girl I was auditioning with who happened to mention she
had just made it into the Australian School of Dance. I wanted to leg it as we
were taken through our routine and I clumsily tried to keep up. Six years ago,
I was in Disco Inferno as chorus and
dancer and, afterwards, I declared it the best thing I had done after having
children. But this was clearly a totally different calibre.
“Right,”
said the choreographer. “Who would like to go through first?”
“Where
to?” I stupidly asked.
“Through
to the audition,” she replied smiling.
Gulp.
“You mean … that wasn’t the audition …?”
The
confident teen went through ahead of me, making my plight even worse. Not only
would I look like a complete doofus, but, following the likes of her, I would
look like a geriatric flunk.
She
went through and, again, I considered bailing.
But
then the doors opened and it was my turn. I went before a panel of four or five
who, although were extremely pleasant, had had a day of auditions and, I would
imagine, would not have the time for the likes of me.
“Would
you like me to do the routine with you.” asked the lovely choreographer, seeing
my discomfort and realising I was a long way off mastering the routine.
“Yes
please,” I gratefully replied.
And
with that, for the next five minutes I assailed their senses by flustering my
way through the steps, making some up as I went along.
“Now,
can you sing?” asked the pianist.
I
shook my head in a vehement no.
“It’s
alright, we’ll just get you to sing Happy
Birthday and we’ll sing it with you,” he soothed.
Off
they went in a pitch that was way too high for me and, oh-em-gee, it was high
school speeches all over again.
I
mean, have you ever tried to sing Happy
Birthday solo when you’re not at a kid’s party with all the racket to drown
out your own voice? It’s terrible!
Halfway
through, I stopped.
“You
can sing in tune,” the pianist euphemistically declared, no doubt, seeing my
mortification.
I must
admit, the panel were very gracious about my disastrous audition and I thanked
them for tolerating me, then fled.
So
ladies golf it is. Look out Pines Golf Course, here I come and, I promise, no
singing or dancing on the golf course!