AUDITIONS. The big. Exciting. Scary. Word.

OK to be entirely honest. I LOVE doing auditions. Something about it is so exciting to me, similarly to going on a roller coaster, going skydiving or asking someone out on a date. The RUSH is REAL. The unknown of everything also brings excitement.

Recently I participated in a number of auditions but the one I want to highlight today is my experience in auditioning for a local professional theatre - Hale Centre Theatre. I found out about auditions for Guys and Dolls from a student who was preparing to send in an audition video. Because of Covid-19 2020, the initial auditions are done via video submissions. Guys and Dolls is one of my absolute favorite shows. I adore the story line, characters and music. It holds a special place in my heart. So what did I have to lose in sending my own audition video in? Not much really. So I rehearsed my favorite song, Adelaide’s Lament and prepared to film my audition video. Some things I considered in the days leading up to filming was my song. Did I know it well enough? I tried to memorize memorize memorize. What kind of character did I want to embrace? Who is Adelaide? What are her struggles? What is the thing that she connects with most? How do her struggles show up in her body?

After several days of pondering and slightly putting off the filming session - I pressed record. I had a half an hour at best to do the recording. I recorded again and again and again and again. After about 25 mins of takes I FINALLY felt like a had a solid grip and WHO Adelaide was to me. I adjusted how I was singing the part. I added character flaws. I added looks and mannerisms that matched the character for Adelaide that I had created in my mind. I was in LOVE with her. After another 25 mins I finally had two takes that I was really happy with. Now to decide which one was my money take. I struggled to decide. I sent both videos to 4 different trusted coaches. Each gave their advise and I sent in the one I felt was the strongest. I’ll post both videos below. Can you tell which one was my money take? The one I ended up sending into Hale for my audition? Let me know in the comments below.

Video #1

Video #2