Is there a Blue Man inside you?
Photo by Newsday photographer Ari Mintz
When we heard about an open casting call [PHOTOS] for the Blue Man Group, we expected to find a manic-panic-cacophonous affair, and it was, but it turns out there are some rules too.
Rule No. 1: Don't show up painted blue
"We look for someone who kind of has a Blue Man inside them already, and then we work to bring that Blue Man out," said Blue Man casting director Deb Burton at Monday's auditions, which were held at the Blue Man Training Center at 412 Broadway, just south of Canal St.
Rule No. 2 - Don't PhotoShop your face blue on your headshot or send your resume disguised as a pipe bomb.
Both of these things have happened says Burton, adding, "those types of things are entirely unnecessary because part of our process is for US to discover what the person will look like in the makeup. [laughing] We don't really need people to do that ahead of the game."
Rule No. 3 - You must be between 5'10" and 6'1"
No elaboration here, them's just the facts. You must be tall and you must have rhythm -- but you DON'T have to be a man to play a blue man. So all you blue ladies out there, come on down. We met one woman in the audition waiting room Monday, dancer Oceane McCord, who lives in Manhattan.
"It's kind of out of my normal auditioning experience, usually i'm surrounded by hundreds of women," McCord said, adding she thinks as a female performer, she might bring an interesting layer of vulnerability to the Blue Man character.
Blue Man hopefuls don't get painted blue in the first round, it's more of a screening and drum check, said Burton, to see "what kind of person they are, how they react to drumming with another blue man performer." The full audition process can last up to six months.
Drummer John Donovan, 32, from Deer Park, Long Island, said the week-long wait to find out if he makes it to round two will be "the longest week of my life so far."
He's a drummer and he misses working with drummers. "I miss it all the time," he said. "I miss playing with other drummers terribly -- like it aches at me."
Comments (1)
Thank you very much for the press exposure Lauren!
Your staff was very friendly and professional.