A little while ago, I was thinking back on the progression of my artistic and professional development and I realized that despite everything I have done, I have only had one audition that could be considered successful.
- In grade 8, I auditioned for the Claude Watson High School arts program in Drama. I was not accepted
- In grade 9, I auditioned for Claude Watson again, this time for music. I was not accepted
- I auditioned for Wilfred Laurier University’s music program. I was offered General Arts.
- I auditioned for UofT’s music program. I was offered the wait-list.
My audition for Western was the only audition that got me what I wanted. It was the only school to offer me Honours Music… and thank god for that.
Even more remarkable is my entrance into theater in London. Again, I have several show credits to my name, but not a single one had a successful audition before them. In the spring of 2008, I decided after several years away from theater, I wanted to get back into it. I received a mass e-mail audition call from the English department for the fall production of Q1 Hamlet. I auditioned for Gertrude, but was only asked to organize the music cues. However, because I did that audition, the director had my e-mail. When she was asked to direct the Summer Shakespeare production of A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream, I got an e-mail. There were no auditions for roles, they were simply assigned based on what was drawn from a hat. I landed the role of Puck without trying. It was a foot in the door. A HUGE foot. From there, I was able to prove that I was indeed a good actor and a dependable and innovative person. I was quick to get ”off-book”, I helped with costumes and choreographed the dance scenes.
In August, the director sent me an e-mail saying she had found a composer for Q1 Hamlet who was going to write an entire score for the show. My role suddenly went from managing a few little music cues, to being Music Director and Conductor. Upon learning that the original actress assigned to play Gertred had to be away for one performance, the director then asked me if I would like to play the role for one night. I suddenly got the role I originally auditioned for. From Hamlet, I got another gig offer when my percussionist asked if I would be interested in conducting a show that she was in. She gave me her director’s e-mail and within a week, I was on board for Facebook: The Musical, a small show that I enjoyed tremendously.
A failed Hamlet audition resulted in 3 performance opportunities in less than a year. All it took was one chance to show what I was capable of, to prove that I was reliable, talented and good natured, and each opportunity in turn opened up another. It only took one success.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:53 am
[...] alo just realized, this is only my second successful audition, EVER! So, I think that’s something special, though again, really strange considering [...]