So I wasn't going to type up my adventures in Chicago, since at that audition I "figured out" stuff that shouldn't be posted on the web. (It would hurt these reality show reputations, and that's not really my style.) But I will say stuff, that relates to my Omaha story.
After getting "banned for life" from American Idol, I looked for other reality shows to win/get on the blooper reel and promote my DVD. There's a theater knockoff of American Idol, only instead of a recording conctract, you get to be on Broadway as Danny Zuko from Grease.
Now I have absolutely ZERO desire to "re-enact" the Grease movie for a year on Broadway. (And besides, I knew I couldn't possibly be the best John Travolta impersonator in the country.) But it would be fun to re-create Danny Zuko with my own unique artistry. Instead of a "stylized cool", I would portray Danny as "fake cool" around his friends, but over the course of the play, he solidifies his "actual cool" that he has deep down. (Which he always had, and why he is the leader of the pack, it's just that his experiences in the play make him recognize the value of this "deeper cool.")
I can sing and act, but I'm an amateur dancer. My plan as the Darkwinner to promote the DVD. I'd sing and act well, but come dance audition, I would be spectacular.
I would dance as silly/fun/bad as possible. I'd TRY not to bump in to other auditionees. I would Macarena and Electric Slide and Sprinkler and just grab as much attention as I could with my amusing antics. I would not leave the stage, even after they stop the music, I'd just be dancing away until they ask me what I'm doing.
I would say "Oh, I'm auditioning. If you want a stylized dancer to play Danny who can become very mediocre, very quickly, choose one of the other guys. If you want a Danny who commands the stage and can dance like a genuine untrained high school guy having fun, choose me."
Then I'd walk off the stage, stop and say, "Or better yet, just put me through, and let America choose if they want me to play Danny Zuko."
And then keep walking.
That would almost as spectacular as what I would do if I ever got to Simon Cowell. It would definitely get on TV, just for the silly dance factor, and the ballsy auditioning of a contestant. (Hey, if you can't do it well, at least do it with style.) 99% sure I'd get cut, but hey, I'd get the exposure for my DVDs, and nobody would blame the judges for not casting me. But there was a 1% chance that maybe they were looking for someone who didn't move like a trained dancer to contrast with all the pros they would find in New York and LA. Finally, it would alleviate my big fear: The last thing I wanted was to get stuck with a director who wanted to "re-enact" the movie. (If she "appreciated" my "spectacular" dance audition, she would have the courage to diverge from "traditional" Danny portrayals.)
Regardless, it would be fun to try, and it would be an almost lock that my antics would be blooper reel and get exposure for the DVD.
So my Round I judge in Chicago remembers me from Birmingham. (I don't recognize him at first, but eventually yes, it's Head Judge Birmingham (Head Judge B). An amazing coincidence, but it makes sense that NBC would hire the best for this new show, and who is more qualified than someone who worked for Idol?
I wasn't planning on fighting the judges. (I'm either what the director envisions for the role or not. Arguing would be like saying "Your favorite color isn't blue, it's yellow!") But Head Judge B sends a producer from London to let us know that it's completely appropriate to fight back.
I sing "Grapevine." The multiple Tony award winning director (Kathleen Marshall) tells me I am the "most entertaining" performance that day. The token mean British Judge (David Ian) tells me I was bad. I fight back [and win].
Side note: There was NO way I was going to position director Kathleen to conflict with producer David. If she wants me, she'd stand up for me. If not, I wouldn't make her agree with David's bad judgement or disagree and make David look like an idiot. She's a pro director - if she has a public spat with her producer, nobody would want to work with her ever again! Unlike Idol, where "in fights" are part of the fun, there was no way I'd do that for a theater show.
The point of this story is that Head Judge B remembered me after Birmingham months later in Chicago from my Birmingham audition, and was impressed by how I stood up for myself against Nigel. Further, he'd rather have my audition be about standing up to judges than about my singing/acting/dancing. (Which would have been fine, as long as I got my exposure...which I didn't....) If it was the same Head Judge from Birmingham, to Chicago, to Omaha that they wanted to see if "Victor" would stand up to the judges as well.