The big time I get, but singing for Jesus? The parish choir you mean.No, I mean singing for Jesus Christ, Superstar. Oh that!

So I walk into this black-and-white tiled, imposing, convent school hall... boom right on to the stage! Oh! Right into this girl singing with all the gusto, voice and power that she could possibly muster. She was singing Power of Love, right? You got it! Power of Love!

What is with auditions and Whitney Houston? Don't know. But this one was serious business. After all, this one was for the serious big-time.Cut to the chase. This motleygroup of wannabes -- including executives, ad janta, journalists and housewives -- got together to give their passion another lease of life, auditioning for the choir of the upcoming Rage production of Jesus Christ Superstar scheduled to hit the Mumbai arc lights in December.

So why is it that dedicated, committed, very-employed people such as these crave to express themselves in ways other than their jobs? To pursue their passion? For the glory and fame? Or is it just the thrill of performing?Take Saumini. She has already appeared in a music video in the modern rock version of Raghupati Raghav and now works fulltime with Channel [V], having given up the idea of struggling to hit the major league. On being quizzed she says: "...for the love of it. I don't want to spend five to ten years of my life struggling. And then I may or may not make it big. By then I would have spent half my life, and I don't know whether I would even be alive tomorrow." A realist, she figures she can work and yet be associated withmusic somehow. And guess it's musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar that give the chance to many a talented out there who don't have the "contacts" or a "godfather."

Director Rahul DaCunha, who has been auditioning since September, 1998, says the of response he has got is amazing. "There's so much talent out there. They have nowhere to go and don't know whom to approach." He says: "For me, these auditions have truly been an eye-opener. All kinds of people come to audition. It's so courageous of them to come up here and sing. Some sing with shivering song sheets. Others with sweaty palms. And yet, of all the people who turned up, I've only got to choose sixteen. But the Diaspora of those who turn up itself is amazing.''

Optimists like Marissa and Mclanic Mendonca actually think that being part of a choir may help them to be discovered by that elusive and unapproachable talent scout. Having chanced upon the ad looking out for "Sixteen Powerful Female Voices", thy landed up at the audition hoping to maketheir dream come true. "It's actually happened abroad so why not here?" they question. They are madly passionate about music and if someone hears them and something materialises, nothing like it! It doesn't matter how much they get paid for performing. Money was never a criterion. It's just the joy of singing!

If not chosen for the choir, Pervin Verma -- best recognised for her commentary in the CRY advert, flowing hair and Gandhi specs and all -- is willing to do anything for the musical. Prompt or be part of the backstage crew. Anything. She just wants to be associated with Jesus Christ Superstar. For her "it's got to be the most powerful musical there ever was. Both with respect to the theme and music."

That's pretty much DaCunha's feeling as well. A Director of the DaCunha Ad Agency (of the Amul Billboards fame), he moonlights as a theatre director like his father Slyvester and says this is the only musical he'll ever do in his life. After this he's going right back to plays. The spouting dialogueskind.

Another candidate arrives at the scene, long after the female auditions are over. But this time it's a Rajesh Panchanathan. A male, Carnatic-trained, self-professed bathroom singer, who wanted to find out whether he actually has the potential of being selected. His day at Andersen Consulting doesn't seem to give him the thrill that life's supposed to hold. So he's all game to dive into the world of musical theatre and just give it a shot. Warnings of erratic timings and out-of-town shows elicit a "We'll see about it. After all if you want to do something badly enough, you've got to find the time, right?"

Right. At the other end of the town, Manish Sharma, a director in one of India's largest Internet solutions company, seems to do just that. Despite his over-booked schedule, and frequent out-of-town trips, he finds time to dedicate most evenings to an annual play commitment mostly with Spotlight, a theatre group currently run by Madhulika Varma and Kamala Ramchandani. Seen in S.O.S. and morerecently Witness, he finds no dichotomy in dividing his time between the glare of the computer screen and that of the arclights. He just "wants it badly enough". So he's got it.

Vijay Crishna, managing director of Godrej-GE; Gerson DaCunha, a UNESCO patron; Hosi Vasunia, Corporate Relations Executive, The Indian Express... and the list can go on and on.That's it. If you want it badly enough, if you've got to have it badly enough, you can. Just go with the flow and your fifteen minutes of fame can be just a song away.

Now, who said they wanted 25 hours in the day?