Grad School Auditions: Update #1

I did my two monologues in three minutes for the screening judges today.

And I got into the next round!!!

WOO-HOO!

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, read about the grad school process HERE)

I was freaking out last night a little bit. I found out that a couple of my friends didn't make it on to the next round, and I became nervous that the same thing would happen to me. Luckily, a combination of phone calls and video messages from Ian, Brian, and Ricky helped me settle down and start believing in myself again. And they distracted me from the audition enough that I was able to sleep. (It was nice to finally hear from Brian... Hadn't spoken to him in a week).

My mother got into town this morning (she was supposed to get here last night, but the inclement weather shut down the airports for awhile). I had time to do my monologues for her exactly once before going to orientation. And after orientation, I performed them for both my mother and a woman from the housekeeping staff that had chatted with my mother while I was gone (she gave me a suggestion... which I actually took... Sometimes you get advice from the strange sources, but it doesn't make it bad advice. And in this case, it wasn't bad).

I went to the waiting room about a half hour before my scheduled audition time. When they gave me a 15 minute warning, I walked out into a huge hall space with a bunch of other actors. They were all doing physical warm-ups and mouthing their monologues to themselves. And I thought, what could I do right now that would best relieve the tension and stress from my life?

So I began to dance.

Yes, seriously. In the middle of a hall space. In front of a bunch of "serious" actors (different from "serious actors", you see). With no music. Full out dancing. And I just closed my eyes and went with it. I did the Twist. I started hearing songs in my head like "Shake It" and "Ruby Blue". I was dancing like a maniac. And it totally worked. I stopped stressing. I stopped thinking about the audition altogether. I decided not to care if all the other people there thought I looked like a lunatic. What do I care? If this dancing will help me get into grad school, then I'm doing it, gosh darn it.

When I was on deck, I told the guy ahead of me to break a leg. He said, "Thanks. You too. Oh, and I really liked your dancing."

A couple of minutes and a mild coughing fit later, it was my turn.

(Have I mentioned that I have bronchitis? Because it turns out that The Plague is at least part bronchitis. I went to the doctor after my boss nicknamed me "Typhoid Mary" due to my fits of violent hacking. I ended up with a prescription inhaler. I've been using it for about a week now, but the cough still isn't completely alleviated).

I nailed the screening round. I actually recognized one of the judges (she had been my screening judge last year, and had also been a judge for me in the Irene Ryan competition at the American College Theatre Festival a few years back), and I think that made me even more comfortable (I couldn't tell if she recognized me). During my second monologue, I had both of the screening judges laughing. When I finished my pieces, I said, "Thank you", and they said "No, thank YOU." I think they were genuinely entertained. :)

And somehow, I managed to do it all in two minutes and fifty seconds. TEN SECONDS TO SPARE! Party!

As soon as I finished, I knew I was going to make it on. My audition rocked. Seriously. I was at my best. Frankly, if they hadn't moved me on, I would've questioned the judges' mental health. (Please understand that I don't mean to sound arrogant... It's not often that I feel confident after an audition. Generally, my self-esteem tends to default to the low side. But, after all, Confident/Cocky is a Fine Line)

Sadly, several people I know were here as well (a couple more auditioned today), and none of them made it to the next round. It makes me feel a little guilty...

But I'm not going to focus on that (as insensitive as that may sound).

Because tomorrow, I'm going to perform my monologues in front of graduate school representatives. Tomorrow is the most important day of the year for me. Tomorrow is the day that I prove myself.

Please continue to pray for me and think good thoughts. I'll let you know how it all goes.


May you find all the confidence you need in order to make it through.

~A~