Main > Series > Articles/Interviews > Open Dance Auditions If you've ever wanted to take part in a Fame Audition, read this report from our US writer, Kay Anderson. Although Bruno, Leroy, Doris, Danny, Coco, Julie and Montgomery play the main student roles in FAME, the School of Arts has many other pupils who play vital supporting roles, particularly during the dance sequences. Special auditions are held every so often to find these 'extras'. The producers certainly aren't looking for mere background figures, or people to make up a crowd, but for talented performers who can speak the odd line and add something to each episode. At the top of this page we've reproduced a recent ad which appeared in a West Coast stage paper inviting dancers over 18 to audition for an unnamed TV show. There are strict regulations which make it difficult for TV and film companies to employ people under that age. I decided to go along and watch the auditions, for there was no doubt in anyone's mind as to what show the dancers were wanted for - it just had to be FAME! And I knew you'd be interested to know what the atmosphere is like at a FAME audition, because I'm sure many of you would like to be there. I joined a vast crowd of over 300 nervous, hopeful young dancers lined up on the narrow sidewalk of Washington Boulevard, every single one of them dreaming of landing a coveted role in FAME, because the show is so enormously successful that lots of influential people watch it, and the cast stand a good chance of being noticed by important talent spotters! But personal ambition isn't the only thing which draws people to audition for FAME. Word has got round that it's an extremely happy show to work on, with everybody - cast, crew and producers alike getting on extremely well together. And what dancer wouldn't grab a chance of working for top-class choreographers like Debbie Allen and her assistant Otis Salid? Although the October weather was fairly cool, the day was nevertheless grey, clammy and humid as Los Angeles caught the tail end of a Pacific hurricane. The auditions weren't due to start until noon, but people had been gathering since early morning, anxious to get to the head of the queue and make an impression on the casting officials before they grew tired after watching endless streams of dancers pass before their eyes. The auditions were being held in FAME's permanent rehearsal hall, a small, nearly empty soundstage right next to the production offices. Although it's small as soundstages go, to you or me it would seem enormous. It's at least 200 feet long and 100 feet across, with a vast ceiling which curves up to a height of 60 or 70 feet. A special floor of brown vinyl over half an inch of foam rubber has been laid down for the benefit of the dancers' feet. The FAME troupe practises in this hall for four or five hours nearly every working day in order to learn the two new dance numbers that are included in each episode. The dancers were ushered into the hall in groups of about 25 and each was given a stick-on paper badge with a number scribbled on it in felt-tipped pen. It was quite cool inside the room, as all the doors and windows had been left open to admit the maximum amount of air and breeze. They didn't want anyone flaking out from the heat. Normally Otis and Debbie conduct the auditions together, but on this particular day just Otis was in charge as Debbie was working on some scenes for one of the new episodes. However, she was expected to pop down later, towards the end of the afternoon, to watch the final selection of dancers. Donna Lee, FAME's production co-ordinator, and Jerry Franks, the casting director, sat behind a folding table which was set up against one wall, facing the long mirrored wall and the rows of dancers. The first bunch of performers was ushered in. They all seemed to be lugging huge, bulging shoulder bags, stuffed with everything they could possibly need during the waiting period and the try-out itself - dancing shoes, sweaters or sweatshirts, extra leg-warmers, a jacket, a towel, boxes of tissues and some kind of high-energy snack. They each put their bag down on the growing pile by the door and quickly took their places on the dance floor, in numerical order. Otis introduced himself and told them what they had already guessed, that the audition was for FAME. He also explained that they were looking for certain types of people, as well as dancing ability. They needed performers of certain heights, builds and colouring, so those who were eliminated weren't to feel that it was because they couldn't dance well enough. But everyone was to be given a chance to show what they could do, even if they weren't the kind that were needed right then. The dancers were asked to execute a series of ballet steps and movements first. As Otis was having some leg trouble himself, he demonstrated only a few of the moves, and called the others out. To a non-dancer, it would sound totally incomprehensible, but the dancers had no trouble following instructions such as: "One and a front, full turn, and a second and a double pirouette, and a fifth and a da-da dum." They went through this routine two or three times, with Otis walking amongst them and studying their reflections in the mirrored walls. Finally, all but four or five were dismissed with a "Thank you very much for coming down, we really appreciate it." Those who had been asked to stay sat down to watch the next group go through the same routine. Each round of elimination took about 20 minutes. After about five of these, when Otis had picked out about 25 dancers, he put them through the next test. They had to learn an instant jazz routine, to music. (The ballet steps had been accomplished without music). One of the dancers on the show, Eartha Robinson, came in to assist Otis and together they demonstrated a set of eight moves, one per beat of a fast jazz track blaring from a tape recorder on the table. The dancers picked it up quickly. It was fascinating to see them looking like a practised troupe already, zapping through the steps to the funky, driving music. Afterwards, all but five or six of them were dismissed with the same polite thanks, and the lucky ones remaining were asked to report back to the hall at 5.00pm. Otis then began all over again with another two dozen dancers, going through the ballet routine, picking out the four or five he wanted, until he'd accumulated another group to run through the jazz steps with. A two-man crew from a television news magazine programme dropped in to film an item on the auditions, and it was funny to see the cameraman unconsciously shuffling along to the beat as he followed the dancers out onto the floor. Various other people came and went during the day, including Gene Anthony Ray, Carlo Imperato and Morgan Stevens, who plays the new drama teacher in the second series. By five o'clock that afternoon, Otis and Donna had seen every single dancer. The final group of 'possibles' had been assembled and Otis started to run through the jazz steps with them again. Then Debbie came in and her electric personality seemed to send a vibration throughout the entire hall of people. The weary dancers peaked up and even the by now familiar music sounded fresh and inspiring again. A light rain had begun to fall outside in the narrow studio street and the sky was lit by one of Los Angeles' familiar red sunsets. But inside the hall, some kind of magic was taking place as thirty individuals started to become a single thing - a real troupe. And each knew in their hearts that this was it, that any minute now their fate would be decided and they'd hear the decision they'd been waiting for: whether they were to become a Fame Kid or not. This interview was provided to me by Stuart Farrell.
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