Editing Mary Martin (section)

==Apprenticeship==
Wanting to learn more moves, Martin went to California to attend the dance school at the Franchon and Marco School of the Theatre and then opened her own dance studio in [[Mineral Wells, Texas|Mineral Wells]], Texas. She was given a ballroom studio with the premise that she would sing in the lobby every Saturday. There, she learned how to sing into a microphone and how to phrase blues songs. One day at work, she accidentally walked into the wrong room, where auditions were being held. They asked her in what key she would like to sing "How Red the Rose, How Blue the Sky". Having absolutely no idea what her key was, she sang regardless and got the job.{{Citation needed |date=January 2024}} 

Returning to California, Martin was hired to sing "How Red the Rose" at the [[Fox Theatre (San Francisco)|Fox Theater]] in [[San Francisco]] followed by a gig at the [[Paramount Theatre (Los Angeles)|Paramount Theater in Los Angeles]]. There was one catch: she had to sing in the wings. She scored her first professional gig unaware that she would soon be center stage.{{Citation needed |date=January 2024}} 

Soon after, Martin learned that her studio in Texas had been burned down by a man who thought dancing was a sin.<ref name=Davis-2008-biog/>{{rp|page=24}} She began to express her unhappiness. Her father gave her advice, saying she was too young to be married. Martin left everything behind including her young son, Larry, and stayed in Los Angeles while her father handled her divorce from Benjamin Hagman for her.  In Los Angeles, Martin plunged herself into auditions—so many that she became known as "Audition Mary". Her first professional audition and job was on a national radio network.<ref name=Davis-2008-biog/>{{rp|pages=26–29, 31}} Among Martin's first auditions, she sang "[[Indian Love Call]]". After she finished the song, "a tall, craggly man who looked like a mountain" told Martin that he thought she had something special. It was [[Oscar Hammerstein II]]<ref name=Pylant-2012-12-11-Hagman/>{{rp|pages=58–59}} This marked the start of her career.