A Cappella Rush

[AlwaysSAI]

I wish you would post more! AND, I MEAN, LIKE NOW!

Hurry, hurry! I can't wait!

[Leslie Anne]

I'm loving this thread. It's absolutely fascinating!!! Crossing my fingers for Jane Lane.

[Low C Sharp]

In the morning I go to check the Jane Lanes final callback list with my stomach in knots. The list of eight or nine women includes Courtney, Judith, and me!! Marc is coming back, too. We have to download and sing a much more challenging solo that's a little out of my range.

I check the Trents list, and they have Courtney and Judith back. I fixate on this fact; it's the only thing that makes me feel hopeful. I know that their hallmates must be making a fuss over the legend, the power, and the glory that is the Trents just like mine were...

I walk into the Jane Lanes' final callback that night and gasp; the group members are in long black dresses and black tuxedos, and they look like they were born to wear them. One 6'3" blond bass resembles Jeff Gordon, and when I see him in his tux, my knees go weak. He looks like the living personification of Bromwell University as imagined by Ralph Lauren. (This guy is in fact on full scholarship, from a tiny rural town, and the first member of his family to go to college, but I didn't know that.)

A lovely brunette alto comes up to greet me and takes me over to the gift table, where there's a goodie bag printed with my name and a "Jane Lanes Final Callbacks" logo. The bag contains candy and a Jane Lanes CD, which looks like the genuine article you'd buy at Borders. Now Lovely Brunette and Registration Girl are smiling and chatting with me, but I can't get any words out. I decide to joke about how they've picked all my favorite candies, and as I'm gesturing with a Pixie Stick, it snaps in half and sprays pink sugar all over the maroon carpet and Registration Girl's velvet skirt. They laugh about it, but I just want to hide behind the sofa.

I see Judith, but not Courtney, and I ask what happened to her. It develops that Courtney came by after the Trents callback to inform the Jane Lanes that she was dropping out of their process; she wants the Trents or nothing. I think that Courtney is insane, but I'm thrilled to hear it anyway. I sit down with Marc, but all I'm really doing, with every fiber of my being, is sending Judith telepathic messages to pref (choose) the Trents. I don't actually believe in telepathy, but I figure that it can't hurt, and I send her laser-beam messages every time I see her all night: "Judith, pref the Trents! Judith, pref the Trents!"

The final skills challenge is to learn background for a difficult, beautiful vocal jazz piece, and then sing your part in a quartet with three Jane Lanes on the other parts; the members will judge whether this is distinguishable from a quartet of all Jane Lanes. I love this part.

To my surprise, before we get to the solos, the Jane Lanes ask everyone to sit in a circle, and they break out champagne flutes and champagne (and sparkling cider). We sip champagne as they tell us we are celebrating the fact that everyone in the room could be a Jane Lane; after tonight, they will be cutting people based on the ideal size and balance of the group. All the Jane Lanes and auditionees get a chance to say their names, hometowns, favorite flavors of ice cream (again), and share something about ourselves; Jane Lane members use that time to explain why this group is so dear to them and why they love each other so much. At the end, they say that the hard part is over, so let's go "sing to each other" (aka the solos). This is really sweet and touching, and I'm almost in tears.

When I get up to sing my solo, I am silently focusing on whether I should try to belt the top notes of this song -- which could crack when I'm this nervous -- or take the safe route and sing them in falsetto. I haven't mentioned this dilemma to anyone, but as I'm passing Lovely Brunette on the way to the front of the room, she grabs my shoulder for a second and whispers "Belt it!" Wha...am I telepathic after all? I belt, and I don't crack.

It's finally over, and the Jane Lanes tell us that they will call each of us tonight as soon as they make a decision, one way or the other, but that deliberations sometimes take many hours. They line up by the door to thank us and say goodbye. One bass says to me, "Good job, Low C Sharp, all week!"

I don't remember walking back to my dorm. I know that I took my phone into bed with me and lay awake feeling stomach cramps, chills, and a pounding heart. I tell myself that I should be grateful that I got to be a Jane Lane for a week, but I'm not fooling myself; knowing how much I love them just makes it harder. Hours pass and I feel each minute ticking by, wide awake...
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[AlwaysSAI]

Not Fair! Not Fair! Tease!

[Senusret I]

You are so cruel! I NEED TO KNOW!!!!!!!

And I really like how seriously they take their rush and selection. It makes me wish I could sing!

[AChiOhSnap]

Salve GC!

I just got back from a 3wk trip to Italy and I missed all the retro rush threads. Yours has me on edge.... I can't wait to hear what happened.

BTW, dumb question from a non-musician but are you allowed to join more than one group? I'm sure there's a massive time committment so the answer is probably no, but I didn't know if people tried. Also, can you "rush" for single-sex groups? Do people ever try to "upgrade" groups, e.g. auditioning for Jane Lane while still a Quinn or is that a huge faux pas? Thanks! Can't wait to hear the rest of the story!

[Leslie Anne]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

I walk into the Jane Lanes' final callback that night and gasp; the group members are in long black dresses and black tuxedos, and they look like they were born to wear them.

Wow! This must have been both very impressive and intimidating.

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

I belt, and I don't crack.

Yay!!!

[Low C Sharp]

I was curled in my bed, feeling like I had a bad case of the flu, until the sky started to lighten. I'd probably been lying there miserable for a good six hours. Then I heard footsteps by the elevator, and the hallway exploded with frantic screaming and pounding on my door. I jumped to the door in my pajamas and there were the Jane Lanes, shoving a sweatshirt and a pair of CD's at me before bursting into deafening song that ended, "Congratulations, Low C Sharp, you're a new Jane Lane!" Before I could even process what was going on, they yelled, "Put your shoes on! You're coming with us!"

Since our initiation is not secret (and I'm not worried that there are many future Bromwell auditionees on this board), I can tell you that after running around and singing at a bunch of special spots on campus, we walked out onto the footbridge over the river -- and Lovely Brunette opened her backpack and handed each of the new members our favorite flavor of ice cream! That's why we'd been asked about it all through the process. We passed the ice cream around and shared the newbies' favorite flavors, in our Jane Lane sweatshirts, while we watched the sun come up over the water.

You know what the amazing thing is? I thought I knew at the time that sunrise together was a happy ending. But the truth is, if I'd had any idea of what a happy beginning it was going to be, and how much those people would mean to me -- forever -- I would have been too nervous at final night to make a sound!

Postscript:

Sadly, Marc wasn't there on the bridge that night. But at the next round of auditions, I got him to try again, and he got in and later became the director, as well as my best friend in college.

God bless her to this day, Judith did indeed prefer the Trents, where she was a much better fit.

Courtney, who skipped out on the last night with the Jane Lanes, did not get into the Trents; Judith was the only woman they took that fall. However, she got in at the end of the year and sang with them for three years.

Socially Freaky Girl came back and auditioned again. That should really go in the psycho/stalker PNMs thread!

The group that shared ice cream on the bridge that night recently reunited to perform at Lovely Brunette's wedding.

The Trents were at the crest of a great few years, but how the mighty fell; they had a bad retention problem, and for the last five years, the Jane Lanes have been the strongest coed group on campus.

As for the Quinns...I'll save that for a thread on dirty rush!
________

[Senusret I]

Best. Rush thread. Evar.

*kudos*

[navane]

Wow! What a great thread! Thank you, Low C Sharp, for sharing your experience with us. I really found your story on a cappella rush to be so interesting! I also thought your post script comments were a nice touch!

.....Kelly