Audition Week

 There's a certain energy about audition week. The buzz of nerves and the anticipation of walking into room of empty chairs and putting on a 32 bar performance that you will (hopefully) be proud of. 

Friends in sweatpants pile into each other's apartments or empty classrooms to squeeze in moments of rehearsal on late nights or in between classes. 

Every conversation somehow seems to turn to...auditions. "Who will be who?" "Are you auditioning?" "Oooo you should audition!" " Wanna rehearse? "

Theatre makers scratch down verbs on the lyrics of their sheet music while humming the tune softly.

Some, like myself, forget there are those not in the world of music and find themselves doing lip trill exercises walking down the quad, or singing their song in the Ross hallway only to come upon someone cleaning the building. 

Homework is forgotten. Anticipation builds. And nervous theatre students drill their professors on what auditions look like and how to walk into them confidently. 

Theatre makers pour into the Monday night meeting to watch a mock audition. There is a buzz of excitement and wonder.

Juniors and seniors perform 32 bars of a story, inviting us into the world for a brief minute. 

We practice confidence, and setting tempo. How to slate and what to wear. 

So much thought and time and energy and excitement for a mere 60 seconds of performance. 

And then, audition day rolls around. The usual audition excitement is heightened. 

Friends gather together and warm up. 

We put on our best dress, ready to feel confident and act like our most put together selves. 

They are running ahead of schedule...which is highly unusual but we roll with it. 

It's 8:55 (ish) and it's my turn. The door opens, I hand her my form, and I walk in, smiling and greeting the directors. As I stroll across the usually awkwardly large space I am struck by this unusual feeling of peace during an audition. Jesus is so present. 

I remember my Professors words, that this is an opportunity to perform. That the director gets to watch my work for free for 1 whole minute. 

I give my binder to the pianist and show him where I am starting at. We set the tempo. When he has assured me he has what he needs, I smile, thank him, and walk confidently and full of joy to the center of the stage. I greet the directors with my slate. And then...

I immerse myself in the world of Once Upon A Mattress as I begin my first words of my song, "Shy."

I have the most fun I have probably ever had at an audition. I have fallen in love with my character and her story. 

I finish. He has seen what he needs to. And I smile, thank everyone, get my music, and leave. 

And it is done.

All the rehearsal. All the work and the time doing my makeup. All the excitement. And now it's over. 

And now we wait. 

And eventually the call back list comes out. Certain people are called back the following evening to read for parts and learn some music. It was a time full of play and fun and meeting new people, and diving into the work.

And then we go home. We sit on our couches checking our phones every 3 seconds until we have to stop ourselves. So we set ten minute timers and we check every ten minutes. on the clock. We fill the other 9 minutes with attempted distractions: people, Gilmore Girls, maybe even homework....actually who am I kidding, no theatre kid can do homework when waiting on the cast list. 

And finally, at 11:59 p.m. it comes out. People are filled with a myriad of emotions. There is a new kind of atmosphere. Texts come rushing into each other of "congratulations" or "I can't wait to do a show together!!" Some of us cry and some of us laugh. Some of us scream for joy and some of us need time to process. Some are confused, some feel it is so right in their gut. We all are in different places. But regardless, a day later we all pile into the theatre together and begin to make music. 

We did it. We did a really hard thing. We auditioned. We put our selves in a vulnerable place of judgement. We told a story we worked so hard on then we let it go. 

I hope you enjoyed this slightly sleep deprived description of the experience of audition week. Regardless, the moral of the story is I LOVE theatre. And I love how excited and hardworking everyone is for theatre for one brief moment of time (during auditions). However, I also REALLYYYYY need a nap after this week. STOKED to create more art!!!

Gonna go sleep now though. 

Sincerely, 

Sophi