WICKED CHARACTERS

[wwasser]

Posted: 4/18/06 at 11:49pm

Hello! I was wondering if anyone knew anything of how well of a dancer you need to be in order to be an ensemble member in Wicked...?...do some chorus roles have small amounts of dancing? Also, to be Boq or understudy Boq do you have to be very short....I am 5'10...is this too tall ? Id anyone has a link to a character breakdown that would be helpful too! Thanks!

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 12:07am

1. As good as you have to be to get into any other show. (DAMN good)

2. No.

3. Probably.

4. Check playbill.com job listings.

yup.

[missyrose87]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 12:16am

i may be wrong, but for wicked swing characters, i think you need to be a hell of a dancer and an ok singer. i think the dancing is more important than the singing

[Jnartz45]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 12:20am

Hey! What a good question...i'm afraid I must say that Missy and InlovewithJerry are wrong in their responses. Let's just say I would know the answer to these questions....

1. There are a few male and female ensenble members who do not do a whole lot of dancing in the show.

2. There have been/are Boq understudies that are atleast 5'10'

3. Def don't need to be a DAMN good dancer to be in Wicked..its not 42nd street...you DO have to be a DAMN good singer!

4. Good Luck wwasser!!

[Sparklesss]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 4:00pm

I read something on playbill.com about an audition notice and it listed the type of dance you needed to be able to do etc..so check that out :) i agree, it seemed dance was more important than singing.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 4:02pm

I don't remember Wicked being a major dance show anyways, so you could probably pick up on any choreography if you weren't a professional dancer.

[Elphie_Maureen]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 4:32pm

I'm almost sure you would have to be a VERY GOOD dancer to get in

Boq does not have to be short

Ensemble members do a lot of dancing

[Fosse76]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 4:53pm

"Ensemble members do a lot of dancing"

Is that what you call it? Looks like the ensemble is having a collective seizure as opposed to dancing.

[WhenURScrap]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 5:03pm

The choreography in Wicked does not look very "dansy" unless you are looking at the ensemble choreography for "Dancing Through Life" which, of course, is pretty much ballroom-type dancing ... because ya know it's in a ballroom...

Other than that, the choreography is more movement that seems to be pretty easily picked up ... especially "What is this Feeling" and "One Short Day".

[Popular]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 5:08pm

Some of you aren't taking into consideration the weight and awkwardness of the costumes. Whatever you want to call the choreography, I give them a lot of credit for pulling it off 8 times a week. I'm not sure how correct it is to say that any non-dancer could pick it up, I noticed pointe shoes during One Short Day and other elements that looked pretty impressive to me.

And of course it goes without saying that you need to sing your butt off for this show.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 5:22pm

Popular makes a very good point.

Elphie_Maureen - how I detest that picture of Idina.

[Popular]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 6:19pm

Thanks Kalimba, I'm actually surprised my point wasn't made sooner by someone else. I'm not a trained dancer but even I could see how restrictive some of those costumes are.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 6:22pm

the real question begs, why not just go out for boq and see what happens. Much like when i eventually audition i'm going to audition for fiyero and if i get offered an ensemble track instead so be it. As for the dancing I think if you can move reasonably well you'll be fine, its not chicago, the producers, or hairspray I think you can survive

[WickedPhantom]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 6:41pm

OMG I SOOOO WANTTA BE IN WICKED!! ITS MY DREAM ROLE TO PLAY ELPHABA!

[jimnysf]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 7:00pm

LOL!

[misto625]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:22pm

I always considered Wicked to be a dance heavy show, with the possible excpetion of the Witch's Father/Ozian Official/Midwife tracks. The monkeys do some complicated choreography and it seemed that a few parts required astounding flexibility, so I would consider it a show needing above average dancing ability for the most part and the singing to be as important as any other Broadway show. I never gave much thought to Boq height, but Robb Sapp doesn't appear short to me.

[hoofer34]

Posted: 4/19/06 at 11:40pm

Fact: There are advanced dancing tracks and there are "small movement" tracks in Wicked.The entire ensemble does not have to be dancers... Period. Good Luck!