Introduction

Hello everyone!

I've never been the best at writing introductions, so please bear with me in regards to this first blog post.  I promise that other entries in this blog will have a better way of beginning.  That being said, I think the best way to start out this particular entry would be to clarify a few things about this blog, who I am, what I intend to with this project, etc.  Here we go!

Who are you?
My name is Megan Benjamin.  I'm twenty-one years old, and I'm currently pursuing a B.M. in Vocal Performance and a Minor in Theatre from Ithaca College.  My interests include singing, dancing, acting, (big surprises there, huh?) watching movies and YouTube videos, reading, and writing.

What's this blog all about?
Auditioning, of course!  Didn't you read the blog's title?  :p  In all seriousness, though, this blog is about my current experiences with auditioning.  This May, I'll be graduating from Ithaca College (yay!) and I'm currently on the hunt for my first "real" theatrical job (a.k.a a job that will help my start being able to support myself financially.)  My goal is to blog about all the auditions I get (and those I don't get) over the next few months and share my experiences with all of you.  Ideally, I'd like to blog until I get a job, but that's subject to change.  For now, this blog exists for the purpose of sharing what I learn and discover as I go through the audition process.

Hey, this blog sounds familiar to the web series called "The Audition Chronicles."  Aren't you copying what Mary Kate Wiles did?
To be blunt, I kind of am.  For those of you that don't know, "The Audition Chronicles" are a series of YouTube videos by actress Mary Kate Wiles that documented her audition experiences at the beginning of January 2014 to November 2015.  If you haven't seen the videos, I highly recommend you check them out.  I love the entire series and because of it, I wanted to do something similar.  Since I love to write and share my theatrical experiences with others, I figured that this would be the best way to do it.  So, while this blog will follow a format similar to 'The Audition Chronicles" and some ideas in some posts will be inspired by the series, I'm going to do my best not to copy what Mary Kate Wiles did with her videos.  I want to share my own journey with all of you, which in itself is a very individual experience.

Since you're writing about your auditions, will you share every last detail about what you go through in this blog?
No, I will not.  This is not out of spite, an attempt to create drama or suspense, or anything else of the sort.  The fact of the matter is that when you share details about your life online, you risk having all kinds of people find out about it.  When it comes to job hunting in particular, the last thing I want to do is write something like "I auditioned at We Are The Best Theatre Company for Tabitha Kumquat and it went awful because she was really mean!"  While I have no idea how many people with read this blog, I would rather not risk sharing this kind of personal information with the world out of respect for the people and companies I audition for, as well as myself.  Therefore, a lot of the information I share will be vague.  I won't mention specific names of the people, places, or even shows I audition for.  But, I promise that the information I do share will still be an accurate account of what I go through during these next few months.

What are you hoping readers get out of your blog?
A lot, actually.  I'm hoping to learn more about myself, auditioning, and what I can do to become better at my craft.  The main thing I want my readers (and myself, too) to get out of this blog is what auditioning for things like musicals, plays, operas, etc. can really be like, especially when you're trying to make your livelihood out of it.  I also hope that those who read this blog enjoy my journey as I live through it and write about it.

That's it for now!  Be on the lookout for new posts in this coming week.  :)