Fall Show Auditions and Callbacks!

This weekend was one of the busiest I've had since the start of college. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned my major in any of my blogs, but I’m a musical theater major. During the year, we present an average of six shows total, or around two to three a semester. This year, we did two shows in the fall and four in the spring. However, with a new director coming in the fall, my program decided to do three shows in the fall and three shows in the spring.

Last Saturday, we had auditions for two of the shows in the fall: The Mad Ones, a musical, and As You Like It, a Shakespeare play. My audition was at 10:30 a.m., which meant I had to get up at 6:30 a.m.!

Now, 6:30 is early, but it’s just the right time to get everything done before my audition. As soon as I woke up, I washed my face and got ready to straighten my hair, which on its own takes 30 minutes to look good. After finishing my hair, I used a humidifier to give my voice more moisture. It’s essential to understand that drinking water doesn’t necessarily give your vocal cords the moisture they need to perform difficult tasks. I don’t use my humidifier for everyday life, mainly because the saline needed for the device is expensive, and misting isn’t necessary on regular days. Anyway, for auditions and important days when I have to sing, I’ve noticed that using my humidifier always helps.

After doing this, I did my makeup. For auditions, it’s imperative to look put-together, and putting on makeup, even if it’s more natural, gives the casting directors the impression that you want to look polished for their audition. After doing my makeup, I ate a quick breakfast, changed into a nice outfit, and packed everything I thought I’d need. I then walked over to the music building to warm up and run through my song and monologue, which took an hour. When I finished, I went to the building where the auditions were being held. I got there a little early, which turned out to be a good thing because I had time to relax and get into a good mindset before entering the room. Honestly, I wasn’t nervous to do the audition until I actually walked into the room.

As I mentioned earlier, we have a new director coming in the fall, and he was the one actually running the auditions, which made me nervous because I wanted to make a good impression on him. When I finished my audition, I felt like I let my nerves get the best of me, so neither my song nor my monologue was as strong as they could have been for that reason. Afterward, I went on with my day because I had an enormous amount of homework and laundry to do, and I couldn’t waste time dwelling on the fact that my audition didn’t go the way I wanted.

Despite feeling like I didn’t give the best performance possible, I ended up getting a callback for both shows! This made my weekend even crazier because I had to learn a brand-new song and analyze a new scene. In addition, I had to finish a paper due Sunday at noon and multiple other assignments due Monday. But I’m not complaining; I chose this life and love performing. I’m grateful because I’m taking 20 credits this semester and am also in the middle of Hello, Dolly! If I can handle a callback while dealing with all of this, I can handle a callback at any point in my life, no matter what is happening.

Both the song and scene were difficult to learn and understand with limited time, but I’m glad I got the challenge of handling a callback as a freshman because it will prepare me if I get any callbacks in the future. Unfortunately, I didn’t get into either of the shows I auditioned for, but I know I can use that time wisely and train as much as possible. I’m also not upset because I’ve been part of four shows (assistant stage-managed one, performed in two, and swung one), which is more than any other freshman in my major. Many people who got cast either haven’t been cast yet or were only in one or two shows this year.

Overall, the callbacks were a tough yet enjoyable process, and I plan to continue to push myself in auditions moving forward.

Some of my friends and I practicing together!

Some annotations of my monologue