Experiencing and Learning New Things

Sorry for not blogging: I was busy with traveling for auditions and had no access to a computer!

Yesterday I auditioned for SUNY Cortland. Great program? Definitely. Very cold? Very much so. The experience was different from any other college audition I had because the group of auditioners had a group vocal warm up with the accompanist and we showed him our music prior to the singing portion of the audition. The vocal and acting audition was held in there main stage theater which is pretty nice. Nice sized wings, big stage, and just like the weather outside, the theater was pretty cold. But the goose-bumps on my arms didn't stop me from doing my best. I am proud of the performances I gave singing, acting, and dancing. The thing that was most different from any other college audition I did was that I sung and acted in front of the other kids. At first I thought this was going to be really intimidating but it actually wasn't! As I stood in the wing waiting to walk on the stage I told myself that I can't listen to the girl who's singing right now. I have to focus on my songs and monologue and that is all that matters right now.

The head of the musical theater department at SUNY Cortland is very passionate about the major. He sold the program really well. There was one thing that he said that really caught my attention: we are a family. That family-quality is so important to me when I am in a cast because that chemistry is what will make the show so much better than it already is.

This is what made 42nd Street at Hofstra so amazing. No one had big egos and everyone was friends with everyone. What also brought us together was a ritual the director held during a rehearsal. The entire cast sat in a circle on the stage of the Playhouse and we went in a circle saying what you admire about the person sitting to your right and what connection do you have to 42nd Street. When it was your turn to speak you were given a clothespin. I still have my clothespin. my decorated and broken clothespin. For me, 42nd Street is very special. I have been in 3 productions of the show: one at day camp, one at sleepaway camp, and one at Hofstra. Each production was better than the previous one and I learned something while in each production. The things I learned are more complex than the previous one: the one at day camp I learned the music and what the detailed story. The one at sleepaway camp I learned that you have to open yourself up to meeting other people. If someone you don't know comes up to you and asks you a question to says "hi" don't ignore them - talk to them! answer their question. The Hofstra production: I learned the original choreography, the "business" of musical theater, respect, professionalism (is that even a word??), the importance of getting along with EVERYONE in the cast, being open and best prepared for new experiences, and organization. If I thought more about it I'm sure I could come up with more things.

I was talking to my mom the other day about heading off to college and she said something really cool to me: "You are almost one step closer to your dream." This is so true! And I hope all my theater dreams are reached in my lifetime and I am so determined to make them happen! Like the line in Chicago: "If life is a game I will play it the game."