Unifieds and Goodbyes

Dear LORD it's been a long time. It's been SO crazy these past weeks with college auditions and the like. I recently got back this weekend from the Unified Auditions in Chicago! For those of you who don't know, Unifieds is when a bunch of schools (in this case, 25) come together in one setting for musical theater auditions. And It's CRAZY! After many stressful flights, hotel stays, and driving around in 3ft. of snow, I am happy to say that the process of college auditions are finally coming to a close. As of now, I only have two more auditions and I will be done!

In the mean time, I have also auditioned for The King and I through Starbright Players and I got a principle role!! For those of you who know the show--Lady Thiang! I get my own song and everything and am so so sooo excited. After taking a break from doing shows this semester, I'm so excited to dive right in and perform! It's about time I had some fun!

Not only are auditions slowing down, but everything else is seeming to wind down too. Swimming season is now officially over, and I find that I have nothing to do during the week now! I'm starting to realize that Senior year is coming to a close, and it's one of the hardest things I have ever had to deal with.

I know, I know, It's only February. But you know what the sad thing is? I've already had to start saying goodbye! I had my last day of swim practice, and I realized I will probably never see some of those kids ever again. Of course I'll visit but as I've experienced with some other graduates, you can't see people every time they come home. It's so sad!! :(

Alright, enough with the sad. I'm really not ready for all that quite yet, but I know I'll have to face it sooner or later.

Will post more about Unifieds and the few pics that I took later!

till the party ends,

lindsey

Belmont Auditions: CHECK

And so it begins! The crazy process of college auditions has commenced! I only hope that I will be this enthusiastic in a couple of weeks!

First audition: Belmont University in Nashville, TN.

I was so happy and relieved to find out that my first audition was the one closest to home. I am already very familiar with Belmont, which proved to work in my advantage!! I felt so comfortable and relaxed (something that almost never happens at auditions for me.) In fact, it was probably one of the best auditions I have ever given. Normally I have this weird swallowing thing where I get so nervous to the point that I can't control when I swallow. I'll do it in the middle of songs, while I'm talking... Yeah, It's awful, and it makes me looks like an IDIOT.

But for the first time ever, I WAS SWALLOWING NORMALLY!!! Praise GOD, otherwise I'd be in some serious trouble. I can only hope that my other auditions go as well!

So, many of you may be wondering what I actually had to do, so here's the breakdown.

1. Arrive at 8:00 am. (blech.)

2. Receive Itinerary. (Up until this point I had no idea when my actual audition was. I could have been first at 9:00 am, I could have been last at 1:00 pm. Unfortunately for me, it was the former.)

3. CHILL FOR THREE HOURS. (this one was hard because you literally just sit there thinking about everything that could go wrong in your auditions. It's. Bad.)

4. Basic Musicianship Test (I got to clap rhythms. What? Am I in preschool? I thought this was college!! BRING ON THE AUGMENTED CHORDS!!!)

5. WAIT ANOTHER HOUR.

6. Audition time! (It really sucks to think that I put all this time and effort into something that literally lasts five minutes, sometimes shorter. But oh well, that's show biz!)

So....that's pretty much it! Auditioning is actually a very boring process, (Aside from all the drama that revolves around it.) and also one I don't like to practice. I really hate auditions with a burning passion and just wish auditors could just look at you and know you were the right choice for their school. But of course in my perfect world, everyone would poop rainbows...

All I can say now is, one down, one million to go.

Literally.

till the rainbows aren't runny,

lindsey

NOTICE: Auditions Posted

As an aspiring actress/singer, you think that I would be very comfortable with auditions by now and be so amazingly awesome at every single one.

FALSE.

Auditions can be VERY stressful. In fact, I don't think actors are appreciated enough for their struggles. Seriously, we got it bad. I mean, doesn't it scare you at all to think that a single note or a once-over is the only thing that separates you from a great part? We are judged based on appearance, the way we read, talk, dance, even the way we dress! And most of these judgments are made as soon as you walk in the door. Very rarely do you get to show the director what you can really do in an audition. Due to 'time constraints' (and the gorgeous skinny blonde next to you,) your chances of getting the part you want are pretty slim.

For those of you who don't know, most auditions consist of something called a "Cold Reading". This refers to the amount of time you have to look over a scene before you read it. Which of course, is no time at all. Now, THIS part of the audition is a piece of cake for me. I've always been a very good reader and I know how to deliver something without looking over it ahead of time. This just comes naturally to me.

But the singing and dancing?? HA.

As many times as I have stood in front of strangers and performed, auditions have a totally different kind of pressure to them. Somehow I manage to make an absolute fool of myself and all hopes of a good part are flushed down the drain. It's almost funny, actually. And sometimes, not so much.

Thing is, when you are at an audition, you aren't a character. I don't care what people say, but you come as YOURSELF. For me, that's really hard. I find it much easier to perform as a character when people are judging me. Why? Because they aren't judging ME, they are judging the character. It can be so much fun to be someone else, and that's what I absolutely love about acting. It's all about removing yourself from your own shoes, and it's what makes it so enjoyable. But standing there, just being "Lindsey" is much harder.

Most of you are probably really clueless as to what I'm talking about. But if you ever think about it, ask me! Even though I find auditions to be very stressful and hectic, I would do it over and over (which I do!) to be apart of this wonderful gift called Theater.

till callbacks are made,
lindsey.