Last week I took a pretty big leap in my college career and did something way out of my comfort zone. I went to an open audition for a few staff and faculty produced college plays. Of course, being the nervous nellie that I am, I forced one of my friends to come with me. It actually turned out to be a great decision on my part. She seemed to be more nervous than I, and that caused me to want to force the both of us to stay and see the audition through, nerves be damned.
Before going, I already had my expectations of what the whole process would be like. Most of which came from watching too much drama TV and Glee (even though it's more musically inclined).
So naturally, I was expecting to walk into a madhouse with everyone running around frantic and nervous, saying their lines out loud in the middle of the hallway. Either that, or walk into a tense, silent room with everyone staring each other down as if it was the countdown to the start of the Hunger Games.
As for the audition itself, part of me expected to have to audition in front a menacing group of theatre professors staring silently at me with their hands folded in front of them, and/or pencils scratching away their critiques as I quiver in fear on the stage. The other part of me was expecting them to ask me questions of which I would have no answer, and openly critique me when I was through with my audition.
It was a pleasant surprise to realize that I was completely wrong in my initial expectations of what these auditions would be like. As my friend and I walked in, we were greeted by the students in charge who kindly walked us through what we needed to do and where we needed to go. All the students waiting to audition were milling around the hallway, waiting room, and outside. As we waited in line for our turn on the stage, we struck up a conversation with a few veterans to the audition scene and a few newbies like us.
The veterans were extremely nice and helpful, telling us what we could expect once we walked on stage and even how to introduce ourselves. This, by far, was the most handy of information, as I was prepared to just walk in and start reading the monologue I was handed earlier (apparently a big no-no in theatre etiquette). Everyone wished each other luck as each person vanished through the stage door, and asked how it went as they reappeared moments later.
Auditioning for these plays was a great, fun, experience. I think it's something that every nervous nellie should contemplate doing at least once in their life. It's out of your comfort zone, yet still an environment where you can find some pretty amazing people. Let's not forget that most theatre majors are just naturally outgoing people, so (at least in my case) it's not too hard to find someone more than happy to converse with you and do most of the talking if you're still too nervous.
My own audition went quite well, for someone who had never auditioned before. The faculty panel that watched me, didn't seem menacing at all. Although, it helped that they were seated in various seats, and not all in a row right in front of the stage. I was nervous, having to look at the script for forgotten lines, but there was no critique afterwards, and that actually made me feel better. When my friend and I were through, we were relieved. We were also very proud of ourselves for having followed through with what ended up being an amazing experience.
