Kevin Allen’s Excellent Halloween Adventure

My laptop has been between repairs for a few weeks, and it’s kept me from blogging about my time rehearsing “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure”. That, a confidentiality agreement, respect for the director’s wishes, and a love of surprise. But Tuesday night was our preview, tomorrow night is our opening night, and I feel like blogging about it.

I have itching to talk about it and share experiences from it with friends. I’m going to wait until after opening weekend before sharing anything spoilery. Still, I have to talk about how great Tuesday night was.
I was wearing my first costume for the show, ready and waiting. Well, not waiting. I was so excited that preview night had finally come. I was happy for the cast and crew in finally getting to share our awesome show with everyone. I was elated. In general. I was walking around too happy and eager to be nervous or anxious that I was about to perform in the most fast-paced, specifically blocked, arena-audienced, dance-number-infused show I’ve ever been in. Still, I forced myself to sit and calm down. So, I take a spare seat on a very comfortable couch that just happens to be facing the largest of our backstage monitors. I find myself relaxing and watching television, and what I’m watching is the opening number for “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure”. I’m watching the show. But I’m also in the show. This is surreal. This is awesome! This show is so awesome! I had the unique pleasure of watching the highly anticipated premiere of a show that I have an absurd love for, while also knowing that in mere moments I get to go out and be a part of that show.
The incredibly spectacular and perfect opening number ends, so I get up and do last looks before making my way to the stage. Now I’m on stage. I’m concealed in shadow, my head is down hiding the audience from me, I’m just feeling the energy. It’s great. Suddenly I hear the entrance theme for Bill and Ted. And thank the director that I’m blocked to do so; I turn my head, look up, and above me is a smoking phone booth, out of which step Bill S. Preston, Esq. and Ted “Theodore” Logan. I can hardly contain my excitement. The audience is roaring, and I just want to roar with them. However, grinning from ear to ear is perfectly acceptable for me to do onstage, and I am. Right now I’m the fanboy I always have been, except now I just happen to have a pretty cool seat onstage. They come down to the stage, strolling around some of us characters, but Ted (the role I’ve always been after) turns to me and gives me a look that says “oh hey, it’s you!” I give the look back, as is perfectly in character. So that’s the moment I switch from being Kevin Allen (in a costume) to the character whose costume I’m wearing.

After that I stayed in character. I still am a professional after all.

The shows were great. We had three magnificent crowds of friends, peers, and well-wishers. They energy was more than we asked for, the response was so much more than we had hoped for. It was outstanding. The shows themselves weren’t perfect, as is to be expected. Technically we are still rehearsing. This is just the run through that incorporates the audience, the last element of the production, and the one that will change things the most. And due to the oh so unique and specific nature of this theme park stage production, we were still new to a lot of these show elements. So of course not everything went smoothly. I myself fell victim to some technical cues being missed, faulted with one of my quick changes, smacked my head on stone steps, and was almost engulfed in fire. And that was all in the second show. Each show had it’s on little bumps, and there were some things which repeated for all three. I messed up my… shall we call it, combat demonstration… in all three of the shows despite having little issues with it in rehearsal. But that’s just how it is. So none of the shows were perfect, but they were still amazing.
Even so, even through technical hiccups or fumbled stage directions, we were making adjustments that made the show even better. Some great moments came out of what should have been some bad ones. And then we take a step back and say, why didn’t we do that the first time! There were so many new moments that made the show crazy awesome. By the end of the third show, when we fixed our little mess-ups and those new discoveries were incorporated in, the show felt flawless. It wasn’t. But it sure felt like it! I know it was for me, I was having the time of my life!

Back to the first show for a moment. My first show. My first, long awaited performance in the ‘Bill & Ted show’. I got to watch the opening number as Kevin Allen, the fan. I performed in the show as Kevin Allen, the actor. The book portion of the show had wrapped. Then came the closing number. I rushed backstage for my last quick change, and someone had moved the wig for the final character I played. I’m wearing his ratty, grunge-era jeans, a t-shirt, suspenders, and hi-top Converse All-Stars. My cue finally comes, the wig is nowhere to be found, so I go out anyway. I ran out, hit my mark, and started rocking out. Okay, one spoiler, the final number is a rock anthem. So I went out there and did everything as rehearsed, but to me, I was just rocking out. And I happened to be wearing outfit that wasn’t mine, but is something I’d go to a concert in. (I used to wear suspenders every once in a while.) So for that closing number, I was Kevin Allen, the rocker. And all I was doing was rocking out on stage with Bill and Ted. It was the perfect and totally unexpected moment that every fanboy dreams of. After years of being a fan and wanting to hang out with the band, they pull me on stage and let me rock out with them. It was most surreal. And way awesome. And still I was having too much fun to notice. I was too busy having the time of my life.

When we all finally came down from our euphoria, and gathered for notes, cuz there were notes, we were still all very happy. The show was a success. The audience loved it. The technical crew made magic. The costuming crew performed miracles. The cast got cheers. The writer got laughs. The choreographer blew the roof off. The director put on one hell of a show. And the producers made it possible. We all were so happy for each other, and so proud of each other. I can’t say much about the show yet, but I can say this: I am so fortunate to get to work with such excellent teams of outstanding individuals who came together to pull off an unbelievable show. I kept saying if there was ever a year for me to finally be part of the show, I’m glad it’s this one. At first I said that because of the characters and the music were right up my alley. But now I’m saying because I got to work with so many talented people who believed in me when I showed up, supported me when I slipped, and praised me when I pulled it off. I am so very fortunate to be doing what I love with these people. The show really is outstanding, and it’s because of all the people involved. We have been most excellent to each other, and now we get to party on.

Sorry for the lame closing line, I can’t help being a fan.

Kevin’s Excellent News

Remember that big audition I blogged about last week? I GOT IT!!
I just got off the phone with Universal Studios Hollywood, and I'm very excited to say that they gave me an offer to join the cast and take part in the 2012 "Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure"! The show is the comic relief of their notorious Halloween Horror Nights event. So I'm thrilled that I get to continue being a part of HHN and returning to all my scare-acting buddies, but also that I get to do so in the show that I've been after since working at Universal Orlando.
I'm about to embark on a most unprecedented exposition.

Kevin's Excellent Audition

I’m a huge fan of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. I couldn’t really tell you why, I just love it. In high school I found out Universal Studios Orlando had this show they do every year for Halloween where Bill and Ted host a chaotic stage show of pop culture references and parodied characters. It’s basically pure craziness and fun on stage, centered around Bill and Ted. Ever since I heard about the show I’ve made it my goal to be part of that show. Every year I’ve had the chance to audition, I auditioned. This year was my sixth attempt. I finally made it all the way to the end of the audition, and I feel most triumphant.

So, going back a bit, I always wanted to play Ted “Theodore” Logan. Each year I would audition as Ted, and each year I would be called back for him and a major villain from whatever year it was. Like, Magneto, Sylar, Anton Chigurh… Each year I’d give a great read, get laughs, and make it past the cut onto the dance portion of the callback. And each year I would get after doing my best to follow along with the dancers. I’d always accept that I wasn’t a dancer and it’s no surprise I wasn’t picked for a very dance-heavy show. But it would also be frustrating watching the show each year and be unimpressed with the Ted onstage not living up to my fanboy expectation. After one year, when the repeatedly cast Ted actor decided not to do the role and I once again was not cast to replace him, I pretty much gave up on ever getting to play Ted. Much less be part of the show.
The next year I moved to California to do Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. But I missed out on the Bill & Ted Halloween Spectacular auditions. I, of course, still participated in HHN. And of course, I watched the show. Much to my surprise, I liked the Ted. I thought he looked the part, and he acted it well. Once again, I pretty much gave up hope of replacing the repeat choice, but I wasn’t bitter about it. I was just happy there was a good Ted on state. Still! I wanted to play the role! So I auditioned the following year, just so see what would happened. And once again, I was called back for Ted, then cut after the dance portion. It was very clear what it was I needed to improve upon if I were ever going to get into this show.

Two years later. I’m auditioning for the show again. However, this time I decide to audition as the major villain from the year, Loki. I love the character, I look the part, and every person I mentioned I was auditioning as him to would get wide eyed and proclaim I would be a perfect Loki. I felt great about it. I wrote up a monologue about how Halloween is the perfect occasion to bow down to the God of Mischief. I was ready for this one, and very excited to play the part, even if only for a minute. When my time to audition came, I sauntered in, slowly delivered my speech, and had a great audition.
I made it past the first cut. Now it was onto the dance portion. Things were different this year. Rather than have us dance to an overly poppy and happy remixed top 40 hit like Bill & Ted auditions usually do, they had us dance to an overly poppy and remixed version of Gotye’s smash “Somebody I Used to Know”, which has a very frustrated tone. So this year, they didn’t want us to smile and have that feeling of frustration instead. That made things easier on me. I felt inspired for this song, and it totally fit the Loki vibe I was trying to play. And the number itself was a lot of fun. I would’ve smiled and been happy dancing to it, but it’s so much more fun to be angsty when dancing to pop music. I have to say, I had a good grasp of the dance, despite some trippy footwork timing. And I was enjoying the hell out of having angry arm gestures and stomping to an artist I really like. I was having fun, I had a darn good grasp on the routine, and I was feeling pretty confident. But, like every year, as soon as they put us into small groups and had me do it for the judges, I screwed it up.
I thought this year was sure to be no different than every other year. But before I could collect my stuff to go feel that way, they wanted the guys to do one more thing. You ever heard of a shirt check? Cuz I hadn’t. But I knew exactly what it was. I’ve seen this show enough to know what they were looking for. All the guys, most of whom are dancers and stuntmen, lined up and took our shirts off. I did my best not to think twice about it. Or consider that I haven’t even worn short sleeves in public for half a year, with exception to one day in which I cropped a great deal of photos to keep people from knowing just how skinny I had become. So I took my shirt off and stood there like I wasn’t freaking out at all. And when they had seen enough, I walked out returning my two shirts to their rightful place and headed back to the waiting area to await judgement. When they came out with the golden tickets, I did my best to stay optimistic, like I do every year. I started changing my outfit, cuz ‘they’ll need me to wear this to do that cuz they still want me.’ And while I sat there like I wasn’t freaking out at all, they called my number.
It took me a moment to realize that had just happened. But when I did I stood up and couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. I was so proud. I was so excited! I made it past my ceiling! I finally made it past the one part that had thwarted me time and time again. I couldn’t believe it. I was ecstatic. I felt so privileged to have been chosen. And I was well aware I was not cast, and this meant very little in the long run. But I was just so proud. And relieved. This was a huge deal for me.

Today were the callbacks. The real callbacks. The one they told us to bring our game face for. It consisted of cold reads of sides, which I had done before with Universal Orlando. For the sake of not jinxing anything I am not going to get into what I read. But I will say it was not Loki. (Too tall.) But I will say that, just as in past years, I gave a pretty darn good read, got a laugh, and felt great about that portion of the callback. Then it was back to dancing.
They told us it would be a more intense dance number. I’m not sure what to think about it. I want to say it was easier, but it may just have been more fun. Or maybe just more akin to the sporadic style of hip hop dancing I do. Whatever it was, I was digging this combination. No clue about the song, but I was having a lot of fun with the dance. I felt like I had a great grasp of it too. But, I was totally aware that I’ve felt that way before, so I would mark through it every couple of plays just to make sure I wouldn’t forget a step. Well, I ended up being in the last group to go, so I had plenty of practice. It was just three of us, and I knew the other two weren’t big dancers which means I couldn’t leach off of them should I forget a step and need to get back on track. If I was gonna pull this off, I’d have to trust myself. So I got ready, took a deep breath, and then I threw all my nerves out the window and just partied with this dance number. I had fun. I just danced! I mean, I did all the right steps when they wanted me to do it. But I can’t imagine what my face looked like. Knowing me, I was making all kinds of stupid faces. Stupid, cocky, hamming-it-up faces. I had this. I was rockin’ this dance! We did two rounds of it. I got a little sharper the second time. And then we were all done. They thanked us for our time and talent, which I really did appreciate, and then I returned to the waiting area.

I really didn’t know what to feel this time. Or what to convince myself of how I should try to feel. But they came out to make one more cut. This was it. After this it would just be improv, which I always always always hoped to get to cuz I knew I could impress, and company paperwork like stuff. If I was going to go home, it would be right now. Being one of the last people to dance, I had to wait through the whole list of random numbers until finally, hopefully, if-only-ly…. 18. I was called. They wanted me back. They wanted me to continue in the audition. I could have crowed I was so excited. I honestly could not believe I had gotten this far. I still can’t. I became very familiar with the feeling of having been cut from this audition. Five times. This feeling though… this one was new. I freaking loved it!

After a break to get some lunch, I returned to the auditioning process for one more go at the dance, just for kicks, some light improv, and a whole lot of fun. For the sake of respecting their audition process and what they probably want people not to blather all over the internet, I will not say what went on and what they were looking for this round. And honestly that’s not the point. I don’t even care. When I was walking away to go have lunch I had to keep telling myself that I still needed to care about the rest of the audition. I was just so happy that I had made it past my dancing handicap and gotten as far as I did. I was so happy! Anything past that would just be icing on the cake. If I didn’t get cast I wouldn’t be upset at all. I mean, don’t get me wrong! I would LOVE to finally be a part of this show And as happy, honored, and proud as I am now, I can’t even tell you how big a deal it would be for me if I actually got cast. But for now, I’m thrilled just to been as successful as I have been today. I feel like Lincoln just announced how awesome I was to my whole high school class.

I mean it, I love that movie.

[wails on electric air guitar]