The Lead

I have had several people lately accuse me of getting "all the leads". I think it's time I come clean:

This is not true.

I wish it were!

The truth is, in the last seven months, I have auditioned for 9 plays, been called back for 5, offered the ensemble in 2, and offered a lead role in none. I'm not even cast in most of the plays I audition for, even when I think I have a good chance because a friend is on the production team, or the theatre is obscure, or some such nonsense I tell myself to keep my confidence up, that doesn't matter when other fantastically talented people audition, or I simply don't fit what the pro team is looking for. Sometimes, just getting a callback is a huge win!

This is not to say that I am bitter about this fact. It's the nature of theatre to get a lot more rejection than success. There are a lot of people who want to perform. Even A-list Hollywood actors don't get every role they want, because they are competing against other A-list actors. There are never enough lead roles to go around!

How is it that I can audition so many times and not get discouraged? Well, that's a subject for another post. Long story short: Most of the time I do get discouraged, but I am also learning to accept reality. I have to honestly evaluate my strengths, weaknesses, and physical and performance "type", and accept there are some roles I'll probably never get to play -- like Anita in West Side Story, or Evita -- because I'm simply not right for them even though I would love to play them someday. Odds are, even if I think I'm perfect in the role, I won't be the person the production team wants every time. Sometimes I wish the odds were in my favor just a bit more often... and that they simultaneously favored my friends, too, so we could do these shows together...

I am rejected quite a lot... enough that I've fallen into the habit of not telling many people when I am auditioning, so that in case I don't get it and you ask about it, I don't have to admit I didn't get it again. However, I am very happy to share my successes!

...Maybe it's my fault that this false "Megan gets all the leads" impression came about...

Kim in Bye Bye Birdie -- I never would have
believed I'd be considered for this role as a
29 year old, let alone actually get it!

I have been super lucky and had the chance to play some great parts, especially in the last couple of years. I am very grateful for every past opportunity and hopeful that I will have more great parts in the future. There are so many theaters, Arts Councils, and other performing groups in the Salt Lake and Provo valleys that do so many of the same plays (for example, apparently there are 6 groups doing the Wizard of Oz within the next 6 months) I'm bound to get to play the roles I want sometime, right? I'm always hoping to find that magical production where the combination of talent, looks, compatibility and chemistry with the rest of the cast, and being in the right place at the right time tips the scales in my favor. I auditioned for Seven Brides, Bye Bye Birdie, Brigadoon, and Little Women (among others) multiple times before I found a production where I was the right fit for the part I really wanted. I just never know when it's going to work out. All I can do to make my dreams come true is keep trying!

Like I said, I wish it were true that I win the lead role for every show I audition for, and that opportunities for me appear on silver platters. But... I'm kind of glad that doesn't happen. Then, when I do get the good parts, they mean so much more, and I wouldn't trade the production teams, casts and crews that I have had the privilege to work with for anything!