The monologues are prepped, thighs are on fire from hours of dance rehearsal, and the music is so interwoven into brains that forgetting seems almost impossible. It’s audition day at Arizona Theatre Company’s Summer on Stage!
As a newbie to the dynamic of the five-week theatre camp, the audition process was more than daunting. The prospect of performing a monologue, a song, and a choreographed dance in front of a long line of judges (though the wonderful people in charge here at SOS refuse to refer to themselves as such) was terrifying, especially coming in as an amateur, with no vocal or dance training to speak of. These anxieties were coming from myself, however, as everyone, staff and student alike, were completely dedicated to making the whole group feel at home and comfortable in their own skin, and they quickly soothed any fears with a few kind words or a high-five that spoke just as much. It’s only been four days, but the camaraderie in this band of theatre enthusiasts is quickly becoming stronger and stronger (maybe it was the tossing game with four balls going at once!).
The day started promptly at 8:30 with some body warm ups (not kidding about the fire in the thighs - there were songs written and sung about it over the course of the day) and jumped right into vocal auditions. I was the most stressed about this audition, for reasons including but not limited to: being unable to hit any of the notes, getting the timing wrong, sounding like a pterodactyl, or forgetting to say my own name. Called out in numerical and alphabetical order, we waited our turn in groups of five in the standby seats, jittery and humming tunes under our breath, hearing different voices through the closed doors, and I just kept thinking about how there was no way I could raise that bar, not with the amount of talent in our class of 31. But hey, that was no way to think. I turned my thoughts for the positive and waited to be called in. What was the worst that could happen?
Well, I forgot how to introduce myself. Don’t follow in my footsteps, kiddos. It was a bad time for everyone involved. Despite my momentary brain-crash, I made my way through the song. I was asked to do it once more, and this time really embody the character - Taylor, a cliche “dumb blonde” with some secrets to hide - as I sung, and I forgot about looking stupid, or sounding awful; I went with the character, and finished feeling excited and energized, pumped full of happy adrenaline. It didn’t really matter whether or not I hit every note - what mattered was that I enjoyed myself, and that it was such a positive learning curve for me.
In the downtime between vocal and dance auditions, the classroom across the hall became a dance studio. We tripped and fumbled our way through our audition piece (“Anger Management”) a good five or six times, moaning about our sore thighs and cheering each other on when we all got the right move on beat. A quick note in advance: I have about as much dance coordination as a rhinoceros. Things get ugly. Luckily enough, we got to audition in groups of four according to our assigned numbers, so if I was doing really badly, there would always be someone else to steal the spotlight while I adjusted myself. We practiced and practiced until, finally, my group was called out on deck, and we gave last-minute critiques and help before we were sent in (the change of alignment from facing the mirror to facing away from the mirror was a bigger problem than anyone anticipated). For all the trips and missed moves, it was fun. Sweaty, embarrassing - on my end, at least - but the only harsh judges there were ourselves. Everyone in charge has provided such a safe environment for us to express ourselves that there was never any fear or being looked down on or perceived as stupid; everything we bring in they already love, and whatever else we try they will love even more, as assured by Amber during morning yoga on Wednesday.
Finally, to wrap up a long day of nerves, triumph, bonding over lunch, costume fitting, and lots and lots of humming the songs from the musical, we were randomly assigned to groups to read the sides from In Your Eyes. Probably one of my favorite parts of the whole day - in just maybe an hour, our little group of five rehearsed different characterizations, interpretations, and just plain ridiculous ways to perform the scene, with lots of bonus touching and exaggerations. It was amazing to get to go so over the top with a group of people I’ve only known for a few days, and feel comfortable and happy doing so.
At this point, we’d been in and out of the audition room so many times it felt routine, and waiting in the wings we finished up our blocking and let off some steam with some quality twerking in the hallway. We breezed our way through the short scene with only a few holdups, all of which were adorable and no-sweat. Returning as successful auditionees, we tried our hands at mask-making, which included the sharing of too-few scissors and glue and bemoaning our lack of art skills. I mean, hey! We’re actors, right? Who expected a crash course in proper eye-hole cutting technique?
It was such a positive and exciting day, and I can only imagine how much closer this group of kids will get over the next four weeks of the camp, if this mere four days is any indication. I’m already regretting not being involved the past three years I could have been! Today pushed me out of my comfort zone in so many ways, which is exactly why I chose to enroll. I sung and danced in front of people for the first time, made some new friends, even made a mask and got a surprise ride home from two lovely SOS pros. Tomorrow will be our first day in our casted roles, our new ensembles, and I, for one, can’t wait to see what our brilliant directors have up their sleeves. It’s going to be one hell of a time.
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