Nobody likes an actor to "phone in" his performance. The phrase signifies that he is not fully committed to what he is doing.

But the actors vying for the role of Troy in Raleigh's "High School Musical" had no choice.

Director Tim Bennett couldn't find a Troy in the cattle-call auditions this month, so a Troy-only audition was arranged. Except that Bennett was stuck in New York. In his absence, the producer and choreographer whittled the nine candidates to three, and then they dialed him and had each actor sing into the phone.

The verdict? Still no Troy, says William Jones of N.C. Theatre, one of the musical's co-producers. But one out of the nine is a possibility. He planned to see a couple more hopefuls this weekend.