And Like That, Audition Season is Over

OMG we. are. done. It’s been three months of my brain exploding with details, trying to be sure we’ve got all our ducks in a row for every audition… how many headshots/resumes do we need, do they want a 16- or 32- cut of the ballad and the up-tempo piece, is there a time limit on their monologue requirement, do they have an accompanist or do we need the speaker, jazz shoes and/or ballet shoes for the dance call, check in wearing audition clothes or dance call clothes… the list of details seems endless.

But now, after countless homework sessions in the lobbies of countless hotels while on the audition runs… we are DONE. The insanity now gives way to the waiting.

I can only describe the waiting as the roller coaster of psychological torture. One day a rejection, the next an acceptance. I can say, counting walk-ins, the total number of schools she auditioned for was eighteen. Seem like a lot? I can tell you that’s an average number, especially for the girls who are serious contenders. They build their lists with a few super crazy-hard to get into schools, some with a little better odds, some with better still odds, and a dose of “safe” schools. But don’t be fooled. Even the “safe” schools, if they’re audition programs are not entirely safe. You can never be sure. So having one non-audition program on the list is also a thing for some. You’re auditioning for a spot in a class of fourteen to twenty five. Playing it safe is just smart.

Notice above I said “the girls” who are serious? Musical theater auditions, not unlike camping, is a great place to be a boy. Of course the cause for advantage in theater has nothing to do with plumbing, the result is the same. It’s just better to be a boy. It comes down to numbers. There are significantly more girls auditioning than boys. And programs are casting their classes to ensure they have the right balance of talent to produce their shows. It’s that simple. They don’t need five blonde sopranos. It’s nothing personal. It’s just show biz. This is going to be their reality. You may as well embrace the feeling your kid is being discriminated against now. It’s called casting.

We started the audition process nearly three months ago. At this point we’ve got two rejections and three acceptances. Thankfully one of the accepts is one of her top picks and she is elated, so the rejections haven’t been too painful. If I could wave a magic wand and bestow anything upon an auditioning kiddo, it would be that. Just one early acceptance into a program that makes them happy, so the rest is icing on the cake. I’m sending you that mojo right now….

So for now, we continue to wait. I’m sitting here at the moment with a “small letter” that came in the mail. She’s still at school. And knowing that a “small letter” in this world is bad news (only large packages and phone calls are good news), I’m preparing her favorite dinner as a post-letter-opening consolation. Today we will lament rejection number three. However knowing it’s not really one of her favorites schools, I know she’ll be ok. But as parents we go through the rejection process with our kids. We feel the pain too. But we celebrate the positive much much more. This is the life of a musical theater mom.

Postscript: The “small letter” was actually a letter of acceptance into one of the school’s Honor Colleges. So where we thought it was bad news, it was good. This is the kind of roller coaster ride we’re on.