<p>So Wednesday is D’s first audition - it is just acting, not singing, and not very competitive, so it’s a great first audition. But the next day is NTDA which is a big exciting cattle call.</p>
<p>So it occurred to me this morning – oh Yikes, she totally needs to put that together today as there’s NO time on weeknights for that.</p>
<p>So, we are compiling a list of what needs to be in it.</p>
<p>(We have SO many notebooks around here that rather than have a binder for each audition, I think we will have one binder and if necessary, put tabbed separators for the schools in the one, but I don’t even think we’ll need to do that.)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>List of her auditions: location, date, and elements required.</p></li>
<li><p>All the nicely prepared cuts of her sheet music.</p></li>
<li><p>Copies of her accompaniment cds in a sleeve. (she does have a couple schools who actually do say “bring a cd as we may not always have an accompanist.”)</p></li>
<li><p>Copies of resume and headshots.</p></li>
<li><p>An unofficial copy of her transcript with her test scores on it.</p></li>
<li><p>In her case, (and this will be in a separate binder I’m sure) she is going to bring a little portfolio of her costume work. She is definitely focusing on performance, but she wants to go back some day for her MFA in costumes, and wants to do as much extra costume classes as she can as well as get a job in the school’s costume department and I think she at least ought to have her UIL entries that won first place in Texas with her just in case the subject comes up. She’s not doing tech auditions also but it couldn’t hurt to have them with her just so they can see the breadth of her ability.</p></li>
<li><p>“flash cards” with her “remember to’s.” What I mean by this is I think today she should sit down and list (just bullets in shorthand on a flashcard, one card per piece or song) all the things on her particular songs and monologues that her teachers find it necessary to remind her about. Move this arm at that particular spot, don’t move your feet right at this place, remember to start out a certain way on this monologue, etc. Just those little fine points and finishing touches that are important, that the excitement of the moment might make her forget.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>~what else? Everyone share tips! I know this has been discussed here and I did find a couple of the discussions about it and this list is a compilation of those things based on what I think will work for D, but I am sure I must be forgetting something.</p>
<p>thought this might be a good thread to just put this out there for all you “up-coming” auditionees…please, please do not read too much into what goes on in the audition room. For instance, if a school tells you to have 2 or 3 songs prepared and they only ask for one…it doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing! Maybe they really liked what they heard and didn’t need to hear any more. Then you start hearing all the other kids talking about having to sing all 3 songs, and your mind just starts to blow up. You are thinking “ok, they must’ve really hated me if they only wanted me to sing one song”…then you go home and that’s all you can think about and you second guess the entire day and you’ll drive yourself CRAZY! Just know that you have gone in there prepared, done your best, prepared (noticed I said that one twice) and that’s all you can do. Good luck to ALL of you out there and having gone through this last year this time…hang in there and there IS light at the end of the tunnel!!</p>
<p>For NTDA, have her take a look at the schools that will be participating and make a rank order list of the schools she is interested in. The callbacks are crazy and if she does get lots of callbacks she may not be able to make it to all of them. Having that list (maybe on one of her flash cards) will help her manage her time and have an actaul call back strategy. My D could not get to everyone last year and having a plan in advance really helped.</p>
<p>And to strongly echo theatrelvr, please do not read ANYTHING into any of your auditions. You just never know. So please, please take theatrelvr’s wise advice and just go in, do your best and have fun. Break legs!!!</p>
<p>I don’t know about NTDA auditions, but for Unifieds, my D had all of her cuts on her IPOD and took and inexpensive player w/ speakers (very small) to her auditions. Not only is it useful in case there is no accompanist, but she was able to find a quiet corner and go thru songs quietly to warm up. It was much easier than using CD’s. </p>
<p>Also- VERY IMPORTANT- take a bag with water and snacks because there is usually little time to go get any food. We took apples, bananas, breakfast bars, etc. and they are very useful. Nothing like auditioning on an empty stomach.</p>
<p>Make sure your kid writes her name on her binder (and in her shoes, and anything else likely to get misplaced). Daughter almost “donated” a ballet slipper to a university this past weekend at an audition – luckily, with her name in it, someone was able to bring it back to her!</p>
<p>Don’t forget your “parent bag of distractions” – depending on the audition, you may be busy doing campus tours, etc…or sitting for hours. I have an easy-on-the-brain book that I can return to after some days away, my ipod, my own binder, with a copy of the day’s schedule, campus map in case I have to meet her somewhere other than where I dropped her, etc. I also have the emergency kit of Bandaids, Tylenol, throat drops and a small sewing kit. </p>
<p>Good luck, enjoy – we’re 4 auditions into the process at this end, and so far (as she’s still in the lovely honeymoon period of having auditioned, but has not received any artisic results…so all things are still [hopefully] possible) we have had an absolute BLAST on the audition trips – making sure we watch brainless TV when crashing in a hotel room, telling bad jokes on the long drives…</p>
<p>Along with the water bottle and snacks include a pain killer, pepto and maybe a little Imodium. Travel and nerves can wreck havoc sometimes. And for girls an extra pair of tights. Basically think of different disasters that could happen and prepare for it, you won’t get a second chance to shine.</p>