It’s that time of the year again, Musical Audition season! Over the past couple of years the stress of auditioning has risen in students exponentially. Let’s try to change that this year, let’s try to refocus and have fun. You are not defined by the role you get, you are defined by what you do when you get that role. You don’t have a say in what role you get, so don’t let it haunt you. What you must understand is that your only job in an audition is to do your best work. Everything else is not up to you. The role you are reading for is one piece of an entire jigsaw puzzle. It must fit with the rest of the puzzle or the puzzle won’t work. The directors are fitting pieces of the puzzle together all day long. Your only job is to be the best “piece” you can be. Whether your edges fit in the slot for that piece is not up to you.
“Theatre is a team sport, and the whole is more important than the individual.”
A Note of Well-Wishing from a former student:
I’ve learned that everyone has something unique to bring to the table, something that a director could desperately want in their show. In my Musical Theatre Program, every person has something special about them, ranging from their ability to belt a G# all the way to just being the most charming person in the room. Before an audition, the more you focus on what makes you special, the more confident you will be. After all, rumors spread because people feel threatened or jealous, so if you can find it inside of you to rise above the antics, you will feel so much more confident in yourself.
I was once told that “theatre is a dog show, not a horse race.” This means that instead of purely seeing an audition as a competition to get the lead, you should see it as an opportunity to show the director what you can personally bring to the show to make it better. Theatre is a team sport, and the whole is more important than the individual.
But if there is one thing I want to tell you all having graduated from Homestead, it is that life goes on. There are so many theatrical opportunities all around you, and not getting cast in the role you want is by no means the end of the world. I know it feels like everything to you right now, but in all honesty if you don’t get the part just yet, you have an infinite amount of chances to keep auditioning, whether it be at a community theatre, on campus, or for next year’s musical!
The size of your part does not define you. No matter what, I promise the musical will be the highlight of your high school experience if you let it be. Of course the goal is to put on an amazing show, but along with that comes lifelong friendships, box social, post-rehearsal Culver’s runs, cast parties, and (arguably most importantly) continuing to learn and grow in the arts. Looking back, Homestead musicals helped me prepare to study music and theatre in college, but I wish I would have taken a step back and let myself enjoy the process and the people a little more than I did.
So my advice to all of you auditioning for Fiddler on the Roof next week? First, do what you gotta do; learn the music, learn the dance, research the show, but then take a moment to remember that the cast list doesn’t define you or your level of talent. You are enough! Don’t let gossip or self doubt tell you otherwise. Break legs everybody!!
With so much Love,
Mari Duckler (class of 2016)
Act Out 