I had an awesome weekend. I was a little bit annoyed on Friday because my scene partner blew me off again, even though we're way past crunch time, but I went home glad to have put in a good day of class and work and looking forward to having no obligations for that evening so I oculd focus on getting ready for the weekend. This was the weekend I would audition for the Aurora Theatre, the first of the last three prospects I had before graduating with nothing to do for the summer, and the last prospect I had that would give me a reason to move straight home after commencement.
So I went home from a productive day of going to class and pretending to accomplish things at work, just in time for Dr. Phil and realized that my bag for the weekend still needed to be stuffed with random crap that I would definitely not need for this summer. That got me to cleaning shelves in my closet and, once again, sorting through oodles of papers that I can't remember why I kept before but am afraid to throw away now. I kept cleaning well into the night and was cleaning again the next morning when I woke up way earlier than I needed to. I did not sing with my practice buddy like I was supposed to, and I did not excercise to prepare my limbs for the long bus ride. I also was so slow to get my room "clean" that I didn't have time to print study materials to read on the bus trip. So it was that, though full, and armed with a fully stocked duffel bag full of random office supplies I doubt I've ever used at school, I trekked to th bus station and boarded the Greyhound once again for a straight shot to the A. Twas a lovey ride. Absent the things I was supposed to be reading, I entertained myself with the scenery, Pandora, and my musings about life and such. When I finally arrived at the Atlanta station almost an hour behind schedule, I was ready to be free of the bus, grab some dinner and relax at the house.
Since my audition was not until Sunday night, I figured I would have a day+ to study, work on my website, and maybe start my last abominable philosophy paper before the weekend was over. This was not to be as my mother had the boys for the weekend. By "the boys", I mean two of my three baby cousins whose names all start with J and who were all born within a month of each other about three years ago. They are adorable, fun-filled little balls of energy, and all my aspirations of productivity went out the window. I got caught up watching them play, gabbing with my mom and grandmother, and speculating with my sister about how awesome our cruise is going to be (so awesome), and before I knew it, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. Then next thing I knew, I was waking up to my mother's cell phone alarm obnoxiously announcing to me that it was 7 a.m. I should have gotten water. My dry throat told me that I needed water, but my limbs felt like lead, and it occurred to me that this was the first bus ride I'd actually been largely conscious through. I didn't manage to get myself up until after 11, and even then, it was just enough to make sure the boys didn't kill each other while they played with my own Mickey toys. Mother and I were both going in and out of consciousness all day, so that when I was finally up, I was desparate for hydration and a reprieve from the chatter of little voices. I caught up on Smash, because it drives me, and downed glass after glass of water, but I still didn't feel "ready" when we piled into the car (because my mommy still drives me places) to drop off the boys before auditions. We stopped very briefly at my aunt's to unload the chilluns and managed to get to the venue almost half an hour before my audition slot.
This is all said to say that the preparation for this audition was not en point. Not only didn't I have the sense to get hydrated on Saturday, I somehow failed to realize that my dress, which I hadn't worn to an audition before, was see-through in some places. Trick of the light, perhaps? I ended up wearing my mother's jacket over it, which didn't really go well or fit at all, guzzling water from the water fountain, and trying to trill my voice awake after being to dry to do a proper warm-up. Needless to say, I was not altogether confident in myself when I walked into the alarmingly small room.
There was no mark for me to stand, so I tried to find a good place based on the eyeline I chose...forgetting that I take steps forward in both my song and monologue. By the time I was done, I was afraid I might run into the table. My monologue actually went better than I though it would, considering I'd been blanking on the lines a few times in the waiting area. My voice was definitely not warm enough to do my song justice, but I faked it as best I could, and smiled and said "thank you" at the end, like someone who hadn't just given a sub-par performance. The two adjudicators seemed to like it alright, but they didn't have any questions, and that made me nervous. The Dollywood people had me thinking that they liked my performance and they couldn't get me my rejection letter fast enough. I had already put on my form that I would not be available for callbacks the next day, so this was their last chance to see me before they made their decision. Didn't they want to see me?
I got back into the car not sure what to say when my mother asked me how it went. I settled on "okay" and let her know that they didn't want anything else from me that night as an explanation for why I got out so fast. I resolved not to dwell on it for the time being and recount the things that went wrong so that I can do better next time. Instead, I fretted about being up on time to catch my bus and not losing my Monday to the bus ride back.
We had been home for about ten minutes when my phone dinged to notify that I had an email. It was from Aurora! I had a callback!...that I couldn't make. I honestly thought about just staying and taking a later bus. After all, all I needed to do on Monday was review my senior project song and audition for Hairspray. How important was that? Everyone had already gone to bed, though, and I wasn't about the wake them up to tell them I was changing their lives.
I sent my regretful refusal to come to callbacks and went to sleep. I ended up missing my bus even though I got their in plenety of time, but I was able to get on the next express since it wasn't my fault. The bus trip was a nice one aside from my joy at having been worth a second look being shadowed by the fact that I hadn't been able to take advantage of it. I continued emailing back and forth with a rep from the theatre until we finally settled on a phone interview for the next day. I was back in Tally by this time, with just enough time to run home and shower before I had to head for campus.
I put off my phone interview for about 15 minutes, feeling, once again, that I was grossly unprepared. I wanted to justice to the fact that they were making such an effort to get to know me as well as they could before they made their decision. I wanted to do a good job. I wanted to be someone they would want to have around for the rest of the year.Talking to her on the phone made me want it even more. It all sounded so great with the classes and the shows and the different training options and I remembered the space being so beautiful, and I had solidly progressed from needed something to do to really wanting to be a part of this company by the time I hung up. I found myself wishing the conversation would last longer, much like I'd felt when the day of my long Dollywood audition ended. I wanted it real bad.
I got it. I got something right. I have a theatre position to go on to when I get out of school and it doesn't conflict with commencement or my cruise. It's flexible enough that I can get another job that isn't working midnights at a warehouse and I'm going to get to keep learning, keep growing, keep making my good better. She called me back the same day (yesterday) to tell me the good news and I had to fight to keep myself from squealing in the library. It took me three months, but I finally had a satisfying audition experience that ended well.
Things that I've learned:
Always have a jacket. My arms don't really need to be exposed in the first place, but especially not in 60 degree weather with a semi-see-through dress.
Wear heels. I actually knew that already. I just got caught up in other concerns and used to wearing my booties. I need to buy some heels.
It's good to be there early, but don't tell them you're there until you're ready. I would have had more preparation time if they hadn't been going ahead of schedule, but they decided to see me early since I was there. It may or may not have made a difference in this case, but it helps to have a moment to breathe before going into an audition.
Don't start too early. I was thrown by the fact that I had no little x to stand on and gave myself a spot without fully assesing the space.
The circumstances don't have to be perfect. I really didn't think I had a prayer when I got back into the car. Between their not asking any question and my being a little shaky, I walked away trying to reassure myself that at least I had learned some things. Now I know there's more than that.
So that's that. I'm moving back home this summer to be an apprentice at Aurora Theatre and work at Family Dollar. Yay me!
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