Auditions Coordinator
It is hard to believe how quickly the school year is passing by. I was sitting with my eighth graders at lunch and they even commented on that fact. I have been pleasantly surprised how much I have come to like teaching eighth graders after teaching high school for so many years. They have certainly taught me to look at things in a completely different way, while reaffirming many of the things I already knew. One of them asked me the other day what one of the funniest things that had ever happened to me was. I immediately thought of something that still brings tears to my eyes from laughing so hard though it wasn’t so funny at the time.
We own two adorable and amazing basset hounds. They are funny and fun loving and provide us with so much joy. Our dear friends, Jason and Kelly, had a basset hound at the time, too, and we were babysitting her one afternoon in September two years ago. We were standing outside observing the quirky weather with some of our neighbors when one of our other neighbors came out and informed us that a tornado was headed towards our neighborhood. Everyone very quickly departed and we went in to hide out in one of our interior closets. The problem being that there was not a single interior closet that could fit a single one of us, let alone two adults and three basset hounds. They were filled with boxes and various items we had intended to do something with but had not gotten around to yet. So while all the contents of a closet were being quickly thrown out of the closet, I began to gather up the three dogs. Perceiving this as a new and interesting game, all three dogs began barking and running in three different directions. The craziness continued for a period of time when we heard the weatherman on the TV say that the tornado was now 5 miles north of us. It had passed us by. Though from the looks of the front room it appeared to have been a direct hit. We laughed as we cleaned up the mess. It was a big fail. Lesson learned. We were not prepared.
Preparation is an important element to most everything you do of importance. Whether it is going on a vacation, studying for a test, teaching a class, giving an audition, or hiding from a possible tornado. Your success can depend on your being prepared. Though January seems like an eternity away right now. I encourage all students auditioning and all teachers with students auditioning, start preparations now. A clean, polished, prepared audition can make all the difference in the world.
As the December 1st deadline quickly approaches, here are some quick reminders:
IM colleges and universities not meeting the December 1st deadline will be subject to a $50 late fee.
Students need the correct form and have it completed when mailed in. This includes your performance selections and all signatures. If you have a question about which form you need, please ask.
Give plenty of time for your counselor to complete their portion of the form. Don’t wait until the last possible day and then discover that the counselor is off campus that day.
Prepare, prepare, prepare. Practice your slate and audition. I always tell my kids there is always room for improvement. Nothing is perfect. If you practice for someone and they have no criticism, you need to find someone else and practice for them. Crave criticism so that you can be better and better each time.
I believe that the student auditions are one of the most important things, if not the most important thing, we do in TETA. A successful TheatreFest, a successful audition process, and a successful audition will all depend on their preparations. The convention director and board are working diligently preparing for TheatreFest. The other volunteers and I are working hard to make it a pleasant and productive audition process for all those involved. The rest will be up to you. How prepared will you (or your students) be?
For questions regarding auditioning, please feel free to contact me at any time at: davidsondusty@hotmail.com