All together now

Hey all, having joined the class late this year I've been behind in contributing so I'll discuss it all in one big shot here.

The physical comedy performances were an interesting bit on learning a character and learning to tell a story with that characters interaction with a given circumstance. I believe it helped me to understand more that it is what a character does that defines who they are rather than what they say. Words are too easy, action is deliberate and leads the audience to understand a character's motivation and insight as to who they are. The Mr. Bean bit that I performed also helped me to understand the sequential action, in other words how a character goes from one action to the next as a result of their personalities. It was a fun process to work through, and the research of different pieces helped me to see how vital the characterization was to each piece.

On the next note, the audition process is a beast of its own. Having gone through a handful of different experiences is funny to say i still don't know exactly what to do. The whole process is interesting because it is an interview and a performance combined. You get to do a show in front of some harsh critics, and that's alright. Watching people at the IRT audition was interesting because I saw a wide array of different techniques and what not. The most important lesson I learned from that is to make sure that you pick the right piece. Don't cast yourself as the guy you want to be, but rather the guy everyone else wants you to be. It was great to be able to hear what is going through the minds of the auditors because it let me knwo what they look for. Everything from voice, direction, and movement is critiqued and knowing that can help me prepare.

Being an athlete, the audition is interesting because it has a game day feel to it as much as a performance of a show does. It has this element because you spend time preparing and learnign what to do. It is the moment where you know what to do, it is time to execute. So it was familiar feel of things emotionally and mentally speaking. There was a heightened rush to it, and the feel is fun to me.

The last experience was good because I realized more about becoming the character. I memorized a piece, and made my performance about getting those pieces out there. This was a crucial learning experience because it let me know what I need to present my best attributes. One of the biggest things to accomplishing that is to make decisions about my character. I need to put my creative side to work in cohesion with my performance side. That is one of the steps I have to take in order to make strides in my auditioning and performing. Make choices about my character and invest in that character.

The audition Process

I thought that our final was a good experience for me. I did not realize that it would make me as nervous as it did. From waiting out in the lobby to standing out in front of the auditors, I realized how much more time I needed to put into everything. A large portion is of course the pieces themselves, but there is also the introduction that I know I could have done better on. When I walked out of Salter, I thought of multiple things that I could have and should have done differently such as slow down with introduction to the pieces that I had.

I was overall pleased with the pieces that I had, but I am not sure if I would use them within an actual audition because of some of the comments. I realized that a piece from a movie may not be the best decision, so I would consider getting rid of the Into the Wild piece. Then I did not realize how different it was to have a piece from a musical to present, but by the comments, it seemed a little strange.

Once again, I am glad for the type of final that we had, and I would do it over again in an instant. I could have perfected my pieces, and done a lot better job. I guess the only way for me to do that now would be to go to a real audition.

The Final Audition

So this audition process was a lot more intense than I expected. I really did enjoy and appreciate the real life feel the mock audition had though. I have never experienced anything like that before. I have auditioned outside of Wabash before but it still didn't resemble the big city cattle call auditions that this mock actually represented. I liked how each of the auditors have been in the exact situation that we were experiencing multiple times. It provided an insight to how actual casting directors would respond and act towards the auditions. Although nerve racking, I liked the rules and specifics that Cody gave us before our audition. They added the element of professionalism and competition and the constraint of rules helped to add to the sense of a high stakes audition. One thing that was really nice to have (obviously) was the feedback at the end of the process. I was kind of able to use the feedback as a sort of mirror. Every detail of our audition was payed attention to and responded to. I was able to absorb tiny details of my own audition like smiling and when to move my chair. This will hopefully prepare me for the nerves that will come with an actual audition in the future.