A quick update on my theatre life:
Here I am, sitting in bed trying to think through some audition music to decide what the best choice is for the shows that I have coming up in my audition schedule, when out of nowhere my phone starts exploding with text messages from my theatre friends! A new audition announcement has been posted and I am being begged to go out for it.

I started at only two auditions in April and now we are at three...

Veruca Salt- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory- TJ Stage- November '13

Above is a picture of how I feel about adding more auditions to my season, but as Billie Flynn says "that's showbiz, kid." It's a Chicago reference... You don't have to understand it. Just smile and nod. 

All of my auditions are in April, all of them are with different companies, all of them are shows I have never done before in styles that I am not too familiar with. I mean, familiar in a sense that I can just grab my book and whip out three prepared cuts as usual. Background: A book is an actor's best friend. We keep sheet music of songs that we have prepared for auditions, the proper cuts of said songs, and monologues that we have worked on for hours (that we will probably never have to use in the professional world). A cut is a 16 to 32 bar part of the music that we feel best shows off our vocal abilities. The length of the cut is determined by the director and producer--whatever they feel necessary. Generally we are asked for a 16 bar cut. 

Pray to the theatre Gods for me... I'm going to need it. Oh, did I mention the new audition is in a week? We have fun.

Although no specific person inspired me to become theatrically involved, certain events in my life really pushed me to get up on the stage. The ability to lose myself in a character and transform into another person has really kept me alive theatrically, but also alive as a person. It is my escape from the reality that was my childhood; the reality that still haunts me today. My biological father, when he was around, was abusive and not only a drug user but also a drug dealer. He drove around on a suspended license with me in the car and I watched him get arrested multiple times. This, of course, is not the most horrific childhood story most have heard but regardless of how bad it seemed it still affects me every day. I suffer from severe depression and anxiety that went untreated for an inexcusable amount of time. Although I am now medicated and settled, there are still days that I fear even the slightest touch from another person due to my history of abuse. On these days, the only thing that can get me out of that is theatre; performing, rehearsing, range building, vocal coaching, piano playing, dancing for hours on end. These are the things that make my life livable. Theatre is how I met my best friend, how I met my boyfriend, and how I have gotten through the darkest points of my life. Pain, heartbreak, trauma, all of it is immediately forgotten the second I step on that stage and feel the warmth of the lights on my skin. I am free.  

The purpose of this blog is to track my journey through the auditions I have coming up and to discuss the results of said auditions. I'll explain the audition process itself, how to choose an audition song, how to choose the cut, warming up for an audition, and so on. 'Tis the audition season, folks.

Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde- Arts and Communications Academy- March '14 

Julia & Robbie in The Wedding Singer- Damascus Theater Company- June '15