by Chris Saunders
IDS News
September 30, 1999

You have 16 bars of music - about one minute. In that minute, prove you have a strong voice, unique stage presence and look the part, too. If they like you, you have a shot at landing a Broadway role; if not, have a nice day. Oh, and don't be nervous.

Sound like some pressure? Wednesday, about 300 young performers took to the IU Auditorium stage in hopes of overcoming that anxiety for a shot at performing in the Broadway musical "RENT."

Bloomington was one of the Midwest stopping spots on a whirlwind U.S. talent  search for replacements in the Broadway musical as well as the touring company.

"RENT" hopefuls were asked to prepare 16 bars of pop/rock/gospel music to use as their audition for the popular rock musical. Many of the young performers, who traveled from places ranging from Willkie Quad to Chicago, waited an hour or more to sing their 16 bars. If the casting team liked what it saw, the performers were asked to come back with a specific song from "RENT."

The casting team consisted of associates from Bernard Telsey Casting Inc., the New York-based casting company, which is renowned for casting young actors in rock musicals, such as "RENT" and the new "Saturday Night Fever."

Heading up the auditions was Casting Director Heidi Marshall.

"We saw about 300 people today, which is a pretty standard amount," Marshall said of the Bloomington turnout. "That's compared to 400 in Chicago, and our largest ever, 1,400 in New York last spring.

"Bloomington and Springfield were the first college towns that we've come to," she said. "It's been very interesting because I keep thinking that I'm going to be able to keep track of these college students while they're training, so when they get out I'll be able to use them."

While some auditioners came from Indianapolis and other surrounding cities, the vast majority of those trying out were IU students. One student, sophomore Matt Schaeffer, was seen twice Wednesday and is called back again today for the role of Mark.

"I got here at 8 a.m., but I didn't get an audition appointment until 12:30," Schaeffer said. "I had to leave to go to class to take a test, but I came back after that."

After Schaeffer's initial audition, members of the casting team decided they  wanted to see more of him, so they gave him two pieces of music from the show, sung by the character of Mark.

Schaeffer returned, having rehearsed the pieces by himself, and presented them to the casting table. Marshall gave him some direction and asked him to sing the pieces again.

"Don't make Mark so sympathetic," she advised. "He hates emotion. He always  tries to use logic, rather than feeling emotion." Schaeffer gave the pieces another shot, trying to incorporate the direction, and was told to return today.

"She's really good at what she does," Schaeffer said of Marshall. "She picked up on things I was doing right away and gave me ideas on how to play the character better."

Unfortunately, time did not afford most auditioners the opportunity to receive and incorporate such direction. Because of the amount of people auditioning in such a limited time, most auditioners Wednesday were only permitted to sing their 16 bars.

If the casting team did not see the potential for that auditioner to play a role in "RENT," that individual was thanked and sent along his or her way. If the casting team was unsure, the performer might have been asked to sing "Amazing Grace," or another song to demonstrate range and versatility.

Sometimes, as Marshall explained, the casting team labored over extending a  callback.

"I stall whenever I don't know what to do with somebody," she admitted. "I try to use my instincts, but if I'm completely on the fence, I will call them back. I'm always worried that I'm going to miss somebody."

Marshall offered direction to auditioners when she was unsure.

"Think of it as a conversation you're having," she told one auditioner. "In this case, the words are more important than just the quality of your singing," she told another.

Marshall and her associates usually spend about three days in each city  auditioning hundreds of people. About a week after the Bloomington audition, the casting team will select a handful of people for a callback Oct. 8-10 in Chicago.  After that, a performer could be asked to join a company - which would be unusual, but possible - or they could be asked to return for another callback in two or three months. Contracts for "RENT" usually last six months or one year.

Those not selected for "RENT" need not be completely discouraged. Marshall  constantly receives calls about other shows asking for talented young actors.

"Recently, the La Jolla Playhouse called and asked me to recommend 10 great  young actors for a show they were doing," she said. "I suggested 10, and all of them were cast. One of them was a 'RENT' auditionee I saw from Cleveland."