When I first auditioned for the London Palladium production of ‘The King and I’ in December 2017, I was just hoping to get past the first round of auditions. Fast forward to February 2020 and I find myself preparing to do a full dress and tech run as one of the two titular characters on the UK/International tour of this timeless musical.
I keenly remember every step of this journey. I remember being completely surprised when I was sent audition material for the King in the final audition for the tour; I remember setting a goal for myself in that final audition to “immerse into the world of the character” and forget about the panel; I remember thinking and planning out what I needed to be able to accomplish that; I remember Nunt helping me with my Thai accent and Lori helping me run lines in my hotel room to the point where the front desk had to call us to tell us we were speaking so loudly it was disturbing the other guests; I remember being so nervous in the audition waiting room that my left leg could not stop shaking; I remember walking out of that audition room as if I had come out of a daze and only remembering that I had succeeded in achieving my goal; I remember sitting in as many King rehearsals as I could in London; I remember starting to work on memorizing the lines for the King in April; I remember every time Miiya and I ran lines between scenes in the corridor; I remember re-visiting and revising my character back story countless times; I remember making it a point to watch the choices that Jose, Kok Hwa, Ken and Darren made as King and lining it up against my own choices; I remember endlessly running blocking for the King; I remember watching the “Shall We Dance” video a thousand times to break down the marks we had to hit (and the pillars we had to avoid) and I remember breaking down each moment of the whipping scene so that I could be as clear as possible about the King’s physical, emotional and spiritual journey for the emotional climax of the show.
For the run, i set myself 2 goals: to treat it as a show and to walk away proud of what I had done.
Full disclosure: I accomplished both.
I also kept reminding myself to take away the pressure to deliver a perfect show. I watched the performances of Jose, Kok Hwa, Ken and Darren evolve over time. They have lived with the role and the show a lot longer than I have. So to expect myself to deliver something as nuanced, refined and holistic as what they would deliver would be entirely unrealisitic. It was something to aim for (like a 3rd goal) but it was more akin to a huge stretch target.
It would be extremely easy to get carried away and start to get ahead of myself. Yes, it is important to ask the questions, to keep pushing myself and to dream about someday playing the King on stage. But in the day to day, my eye is keenly focused on the present and what I can do to just be better.
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My name is Eu Jin. I embarked on a career as a professional actor after 20 years in the corporate world. I am a big advocate of personal growth in the performing arts. I dedcate time and energy in performing arts education, specifically in the arena of practical approaches to inner health because I believe that this lays the groundwork for a sustainable career as an artiste.
If you would like to engage in a conversation about a healthy inner life practice, please leave me a message on the "Contact" page of my website and a way to contact you. Thank you.