Hi everyone!
I know, I know. I promised this post a while and didn't keep my word. For that, I am sorry. But I figured that even though I'm am well past my self promised deadline, I would still like to recount what happened at my last audition. So, here we go. Be sure to read the whole post, because there's a special announcement at the end!
So, the audition I did was in New York City. I consider this audition to be a milestone for me, because it was the first time I ever took the train to the city, found the audition location, and signed up for a slot ALL BY MYSELF. Normally when I go to do an audition in New York, one or both of my parents will come along to make sure that I get to the location on time and that I have everything in order. While their support is awesome and I'm grateful for all that they've done in the past for me, I knew it was time for me to do my own thing. I was nervous and a little scared, to say the least, but I'm also insanely proud of myself for doing what I did. My confidence level has definitely blossomed, to say the least. :)
As for the audition itself, it wasn't bad. I did two monologues for the director of the company, both of which went fine. I also tried to keep in mind all the things I had said in my last post. Before I went in, I kept repeating to myself "just have fun!" And you know what? I did have fun, and that's what counts. It's been about two weeks since the audition, though, so I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be offered anything. But that's okay. I did what I did, and that's all.
Now, about that announcement I mentioned...
Earlier in May, I finished reading a book called Audition by Michael Shurtleff. (For those of you that are unfamiliar with this excellent book, I highly recommend it.) The book's primary purpose is to help actors understand what makes a successful audition, and how to deliver a strong and authentic performance. While the majority of the book is about developing and creating characters and scenes, there's also a section towards the end of the book where Shurtleff talks about outside factors in auditions that actors have no control over. That is, what the directors are looking for, if the actor fits the part, etc. One line in particular from this part of the book stood out to me:
"It's not about what you know, it's about who know."
He then goes on to explain that while doing a good audition and having talent is important, it's not necessarily as important as knowing the right people who could hire you. For the longest time, I didn't want to believe this, because it sounded so negative to me. I know that this statement wasn't trying to say that hard work and dedication wasn't important, but that's how it sounded in my mind. Why do I bring this up? Well, I'll tell you.
Back when I was a freshman at Ithaca College, I was in a workshop production of a new musical that a friend was writing. Although my character didn't have much to do at the time, I still made an effort to show up to every rehearsal just in case I was needed. Cut to a few years later, and the workshop version of the show has become a full-length musical. I unfortunately was not in this production, due to the fact that being a junior in college was pretty much eating up all of my spare time...which brings me to a few months ago. Towards the end of May, I was looking for auditions on Backstage. Imagine my surprise to see that the same friend who had written the music for the show had posted that there would be auditions for a new production of it for the Thespis Theatre Festival in New York City! I messaged him and asked if I could re-audition for any of the available parts. He told me that if there was any available space in the female ensemble, he'd let me know. A few weeks later, I got a message from the director offering me a contract.
Talk about a whirlwind, right? All can say is that I'm grateful that this happened, and that if I didn't know the people in charge of this production, I'm not sure I would have been cast. My mindset now is that making connections is just as important as working hard and learning as much as I can. That's what I'm going to keep in mind for the rest of my theatrical journey. I think it's a good thing to keep in mind too.
So that's what I'm up to right now. I'm currently back in Ithaca and have been in rehearsals for this show from the start of July. Everyone in the cast and on the crew is really great, and I'm so happy to be doing a musical again (and getting paid for it doesn't hurt either. :P ) I could go on to explain more about the show, but honestly, it deserves its own post. Once the performance dates are near, I promise that I'll tell you all more about it. In the meantime, though, it's the rehearsal life for me!
I have another audition coming up on July 20th. As usual. there will be a post about that when the time comes. Until next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment