Nasia Thomas '15 discusses her audition experience for "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical" and advice she offers current students.
Nasia Thomas’ road to the national tour of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” took several unexpected turns. When the Elon alumna found out that Stephen Kopel was casting the tour, she initially sent her headshot and resume in, and soon after sent in a video to the casting director. Within a few days, Thomas received an email back that she was invited to final callbacks in New York the next month. Next thing Thomas knew, she was in New York City in a room with 15 other girls.
The callbacks were spread out between two days – the first day to learn the choreography (taught by the current dance captain in “Beautiful” on Broadway) and the second day to attend the actual dance call with the choreographer. After the dance call, Thomas and the other girls went in to sing. Thomas did the two songs and sides from the initial video submission and an additional side.
That same day of the callbacks, however, Thomas needed to make it back to Elon’s campus in North Carolina for the evening shows of “Grand Night,” which is the annual musical revue that the Music Theatre program performs every year. Thomas, who was in several pieces in the revue, had promised that she would make it back in time for the shows that night. Thomas, along with the casting director, worked it out so she could go in first and would be able to catch the earliest flight that would get her back in time.
“The whole morning I was biting my nails and praying that I would make my 1 p.m. flight with an 11 a.m. audition,” Thomas said. Halfway through her cab ride to the airport, Thomas found out her flight was delayed. Then, upon arriving at the airport, she found out her flight was actually cancelled. “I checked all the flights, waited in line for an hour to see if there was anyway I could get to North Carolina before the show. No luck.”
The best flight they could book her on was one that would arrive in North Carolina at 11 p.m. that night.
“I was going to miss Grand Night. I remember calling Cathy, the head of my program, and weeping in a corner,” she said. “Then, by the grace of God, an employee booked me a seat on a flight that would get me to North Carolina, but only after the show would have already started.”
Thomas took the flight knowing that she would just have to miss some of the show, but being there for some of the performance was better than not being there at all.
Her day took a turn for the best. “As I was landing, I found out that I booked the national tour and I was able to somehow make it to the show 10 minutes before I had to be on stage. God is so good!”
On her experience from the annual Elon Music Theatre Casting Director series, Thomas said “it was really great to hear and experience the reality of auditions and the real world from casting directors. They gave us the answers we needed to hear versus what we wanted to hear. It also taught me how to audition for different types of people and to be prepared for anything in the room.”
There were a variety of people who came to work with the class of 2015 in the casting director series. With each casting director or agent, Thomas felt more relaxed, prepared and comfortable. “There were a lot of different cards that were being played in the room,” Thomas said. “Sometimes we would expect to go in having things prepared, but in all actuality we needed to have those things prepared and then some! It always kept us on our toes and kept our craft fresh.”
The casting director series was a success for Thomas, who met Jim Wilhelm from DGRW Agency at Elon. After meeting Thomas in the room, seeing her package of multiple songs and dance combinations, Wilhelm called Thomas in for a meeting and ultimately signed her to his agency.
“Be yourself, and ultimately love and be proud of who you are and what you have to offer,” Thomas advises current students. “There are many talented people, but it is important to remember that what you have to offer this world is special and unique and truly nobody else in this world besides you can give that.”
Click this link for the show’s touring schedule to see Thomas in a theatre near you.