Alex is no stranger to callbacks. Whenever one of the few professional theatre companies held auditions, both Angela and Carlos tended to rope him into going with them, so he had been on his fair share of second, third, sometimes even fifth filters to get a role in a musical or play.

The university however, was not a place where callback happened often. Theatre was an optional co-curricular, and very looked down upon, so it was odd to see more than two hundred people audition from the whole sixteen thousand people on campus; usually from those two hundred that came to audition only about forty to sixty people had training of some kind, mostly women, so… casting was not exactly something that required much mulling over. People either had potential, or they didn’t. Sometimes Luna and David would cast someone with no skills but the right mindset —particularly the guys since they were an endangered species— and they’d push them to grow. But this wasn’t a common occurrence. Students had grown used to seeing the same set of people per generation appearing on every musical, play and concert until the new “talented few” appeared. It was due to all of this that Alex was not surprised to see a crowd on Wednesday.

Alex had posted the casting list on Tuesday, just like Luna had asked, which only stated who would be the singers and who would be a part of the dance ensemble. Despite the fact that no proper roles would be announced until next Monday —and that only those involved had been made aware of the callbacks— gossip was faster than light, so every single cast member had turned up to see how things would turn out.

“So, who do you think told?” Luna whispers to Alex as they walk toward the Music Rooms, seeing a group of cast members down the hallway in front of the Studios and others on the sofas next to the Leadership Center, all of them similarly gossiping.

“My money is on the one who didn’t even audition,” he says dryly. As a note: he was right. “I can’t believe you guys invited her, she doesn’t even like musicals.”

“Don’t rope me into this, David told me to consider her because he wanted a safety net,” Luna says waving at the students as they enter the Music Rooms, ”and she does look the part.”

“So you would have casted her?”

“Maybe,” she shrugs, “if she had walked in. But she didn’t, Eva did and I trust my choice. She will show why I want her in this role today… and if she doesn’t at least she will know she had a shot and she blew it, so no one can say I didn’t give her a chance. Such is life!”

When they walk into the room, David is already there, moving the table and chairs where they are to sit. It is always funny to see David moving stuff because anything he is near looks minuscule. He might not be the tallest, but what he lacks in height he more than makes up in width: David is a mass of muscle that made more sense in a wrestling match rather than behind a piano. His tattoo sleeves, perma-scowl and short dark hair don’t help the picture much either; he was quite the intimidating figure to audition to.

“Hello,” he says eyeing both of them while lining up the desk. “You already got the whining about Estefanía out of your system, Alex?”

“Can’t believe you invited her,” is all Alex replies.

“I didn’t invite her, inviting her would have been to hand her the role outright. This an audition,” he says, sitting down. “I already know she can sing and act (even if she can be difficult, don’t you start), physically she has the type for the role, we had no other person audition that made sense for the roles so… we are pitting the best choices against one another to see which works. It’s that simple.”

Actually, David just wanted to prove Eva was a bad choice and get it over and done with. He didn’t understand Luna’s insistence on her casting choice, more so because Eva was what they wanted for the best friend role —she had no business being the lead in his opinion— so this had been the best way for both of them to prove, without a shadow of a doubt, which of them was right.

“Well, we have fifteen minutes before they arrive,” David says checking the clock. “It’s enough time to set up the camera and all, right Alex? Also, I brought some sides for you to help them with their cues.”

Alex grabs the sheets, somewhat annoyed at David, and just starts installing the camera as usual. He wonders how it would all go. He trusts his friends’ talent, but he knows talent is never enough, and there’s nothing more common than talent tainted by overconfidence. He just hopes they deliver.

They wait for bit, Luna and David asking Alex what excites him most about the musical and both complimenting his translations, much to his surprise, and then they hear the knock on the door. The heavy door drags with a gentle creek and five people cross its threshold single file, Eva and Estefanía leading the boys. Eva winks his way as soon as they all line up in front of the desk. Suddenly the air feels thicker.

“Hey, how are all of you doing?” says Luna with a warm smile.

“We’ll be better after this, hopefully,” Eva quips. The rest give appreciative laughs.

“Hopefully, indeed,” Luna offers. “Well, I am glad all of you came in. This is how it’s going to play out: we will start with the Warners, then the Paulettes, followed by Emmetts and finally the Elles. You will enter one by one, each will have one chance to perform the song and then you step out. If required, Alex here, our assistant director and you soon to be acting coach if all goes well, will be giving you your cues or dialogue required within the songs. The track we will use for this audition will be the same that we sent you and, of course, you will have to sing the materials we sent you in Spanish. We will give you our decision today, so we recommend you wait after all of you have performed, if you can’t please inform Alex in advance so we can send you the results via email. Any doubts? Fears? Regrets? Last words?” They all laugh at that and shake their heads.

“We will start with Benavidez and then move to you Fernandez,” David says, pointing first at Mario and then at Jaime. They both nod and the latter walks out with the rest.

Mario is a new fish. Alex has seen him on the Communications Hall, he is one of those teens that makes him wonder what the hell are people feeding the youth: almost Alex’s size but as muscular as Moritz, a stereotypical jock (an odd species to find on their theatrical safari). He had auditioned along with Eva and Carlos, and chosen “Creo en tí” from Reik as his song; an odd choice, but had left them all quite pleased. After his rendition, David had tested his range a bit, leaving the poor boy a bit of a nervous wreck, but his audition had been strong overall.

“Are you ready?” Alex asks and the kid nods, on the verge of becoming a sweaty mess if this doesn’t start quickly. Alex waits a bit and then hits play on the track and the camera.

The change is not apparent at first, Mario’s back relaxes, he lets a slow hum accompany the melody before his cue and then Alex can see it, a window into his vision for the character, just in his physicality: suave, charismatic, cocky, cold and insensitive. Then he starts singing, and he is effortlessly seducing his audience.

It is a great audition, even when Alex reads the Elle scene he is unbothered, flowing with easy comedy and carefree detachment. It is obvious the kid has done this before. This are the kind of surprises loves from and audition. When Mario finishes he smiles with open relief and thanks everyone. Alex then asks him to call Jaime in.

“Hey, guys. Ready for a real audition?” Jaime says as he steps in front of them. And this is how Alex knows he will flop: that damned overconfidence.

Jaime is… an acquired taste. He is decent looking, can be an excellent actor and his tenor had an enviable richness to it, however, his need for approval tends to make him lay it on thick when it comes to comedy, and that’s why some of his interpretations come out more like caricatures rather than characters. His current audition is a clear vision of the former: there’s no charm, only callousness. It doesn’t matter how delightful his voice is, his characterization is bombastic to say the least.

The audition ends and Jaime thinking he has shown something amazing. Alex just asks him to call Eva. As soon as he says it, he feels the nerves rise on him.

Eva enters confidently, as if the door had led her right into a runway, showing off her strong legs in frayed shorts with each step, all while her floaty floral dress top billows behind her and accentuates her waist. She stops in front of them tossing her black hair to the side with a cheeky smile. The look is purposeful: she wants them to see every curve, see the comfort she has on her skin and dares them to say she isn’t fabulous or hot. Alex smiles at that.

“Are you ready Eva?” Luna asks.

“Daydreaming an Irish husband is second nature to me, I’m good to go,” she says with a wink. Alex has to resist the urge to laugh. He waits a bit, looks at Eva in the eye and when she nods, he hits play..

Eva is comedy gold, as soon as the she sees Alex hit the button she starts the scene, they all can tell she knows her cues well, using her well placed silences and intentions for the music to catch up to her, and as soon as her cue arrives she flows. She has the self deprecation and innocence of Paulette down, her voice carrying the characters joy and chagrin. When they reach the lyric about the dog she pulls a photo from her cleavage like it’s nothing and her enthusiasm at shooting cheaters on the knees is well accounted for. She is good. Maybe too good. Alex wonders if she will be able to top this with her Elle. Wasn’t that what she wanted? Paulette is an amazing role, yes, but it is not what she wants. Will she settle?

As soons as Eva is done, both Luna and David smile and ask her to get Estefanía. This should be interesting.

Estefanía is the perfect stereotype for a model, tall and angular. She walks in with a flowy, pink, polka dotted dress; her wavy blonde hair is parted, framing her long face, and styled into a teased high ponytail for volume, her smile is toothy and bright but it never quite reaches her eyes. There’s a sharp edge to all of her, but a strange fluidity that follows her every movement. She is the complete opposite of Eva.

“Hello,” she says courtly. Her voice is raspy and almost boozy, a staple of San Pedro girls, often a consequence of considerable drinking or the ever present AC wherever they are. Even in winter. Curiously, Estefanía voice was completely natural.

“Hey, Estefy,” Luna says. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen you. How are you?”

“I am fine, thank you. It was, like, a surprise and also an honor to be invited so, like, I will try to make this worth your while. Like, I love this movie, it is like a huge inspiration to me so, like, I am super happy to even be considered, like for real, super honored,” she says. There’s a drawl to her speech, and every word comes out somewhat muffled, the only clear word is “like” the signature crutch word for all Monterrey fresas. Alex wonders if his annoyance at her is stereotyping, a strange vestige of his ingrained misogyny (as Angela would say), pettiness or just an actual healthy dislike.

“Ok, then whenever you are ready,” Luna says appreciatively. Estefanía just nods and looks at Alex’s way, once she waves her finger at him, he presses play.

No one had expected what followed.

Estefanía is a woman who is always in control. It is the reason why she is so hard to direct: she doesn’t care for direction or feedback, her opinion is the most important in the room and she is constantly editing herself. She is used to being the alpha and the omega wherever she is. Being so methodical can be a helpful tool, but it can become a very draining thing to face when you are trying to help someone. Because of this, Alex doubts she’d thrive in comedy, he thinks she really isn’t a good fit for theatre, but much less for this production.

He is wrong.

Alex will not admit it, but she is even better than Eva. Estefanía is laid back, fun and her voice has a boozy quality that adds to her characterization. It is only by seeing Estefanía that he notices Eva’s weak points: she had been so caught up on being funny that a certain humanity had been lost. Estefanía feels natural. Her hilarity is more incidental than intentional, and that makes her performance leaps and bounds superior. She is even making his eyes water by the end!

Alex scowls. He is trying to push the thought away but, Eva had lost. That made him wonder, if Estefanía had been this good, how much better would she be when trying to audition for the lead?

“Thanks, Estefy,” Luna says with an appreciative smile. “Please call Jaime, ok?”

Alex watches her go, wondering what is she thinking right now. The answer is a simple thought: “That’ll show him”. And yes, the thought was directed at him.

“The hell did I do to her?” he thinks. Honestly? He had done quite a lot, like calling her a bratty Sampetrina, that coasted on her beauty, was unable to look past herself or take criticism, and wore her untrained talent as a badge of honor when it made her nothing but subpar. Alex’s eyes grow wide at this, since he has no recollection of it, even though it did happen; he is just not great at keeping track of what he says.

He is still thinking about what he has just heard when Jaime hops in.

This would be interesting. Jaime and Carlos. They always compete for the same roles, but Carlos has always been the superior singer, actor and dancer, much to Jaime’s pain; however, Jaime had never had the chance for a callback, so he is dying to prove himself.

“You know the drill,” Luna says as he steps in. He just smiles and marches directly to the center of the room, then he looks at Alex and nods his way.

The song was particularly long for a callback, so David had made a version of it that was more compact and focused only on Emmett’s parts., which in turn had forced Alex to edit his translation the very night in which he had sent the email to the auditionees. Both guys had studied with the original song besides the materials Alex had sent so, as he hits play, he prays the newer version won’t make the callback even more complicated for both guys.

His worries are misplaces. Jaime is more than prepared this time around, his audition allowing him to exploit his boyishness, good natured humor and snark. It is refreshing to see him play a human instead of a caricature of one. He doesn’t miss a beat or dialogue, and is likable enough to actually make everyone in the room want more. It is a glowing audition.

“Thank you, Jaime, that was good,” David says appreciatively. “Would you call Carlos next?”

Jaime walks out brimming with confidence, and Alex is happy for him, he has an excellent job but, Alex is sure Carlos will once again displace him.

It is because he is under said impression that this is the best time to tell him Carlos will tank his audition.