Who Knew Auditions Could Do So Much

“Attention Stevenson! Auditions for this year’s one act plays will be on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week!” That’s what I heard on the student announcements Monday morning. Usually, I’d think nothing of it. I’d wish I had the courage to do something like that, put it out of my mind, and move on with the day. This time was different. This time, I decided to audition for something I’ve always wished to do – one act plays.

I didn’t come to this decision easily. All day, while trying to encourage myself, I was weighing the pros and cons. I thought to myself, “If I audition, I’ll get the experience and learn from it. I’ve got nothing to lose…but what if I’m really bad…everyone will laugh and I’ll just humiliate myself in front of people who know what they’re doing.” Humiliation was something I wasn’t ready to face, but I was ready to overcome my fear of speaking in front of others.

I walked into the cafeteria; there were experienced actors and actresses surrounding me. I picked up a script and looked over it. I tried to put myself into the role of the character as well as I could. Hands sweating, I read the wrinkled paper, slowly letting myself become the character in the script. Just as I was getting truly into the role, it was my turn to read. I slowly went to the front of the room, took a deep breath, and read. Emotions flooding, heart racing, I became the character. Reading like I actually knew what I was doing, I realized that I wasn’t even worried at all. Speaking in front of a crowd was supposed to be nerve-racking, difficult, and my biggest fear, but this was the easiest thing ever. I left auditions confident of a call back.

I came into school the next day almost positive my name would be typed in solid, black, bold, print on the call back list. I slowly walked up to the showcase and scanned for my name. I kept looking back and forth – my name was nowhere on the list. This was such a dissapointment to me; I thought that I did such a good job. Sure, my acting skills are terrible compared to the other people who auditioned, but I thought I had something. This was an experience that taught me many things. It taught me not to be afraid to try new things. They might seem like obstacles you can’t get over, but if you try, chances are you’ll conquer it. It also helped me over come one of my greatest fears – speaking in public. I may have not made it into the play, but I’m glad I auditioned. It really taught me a lot.