I'm an Alto II, hence the username.
I'll call my college Bromwell, after the college that waitlisted Daria, but accepted her boyfriend Tom. If you've ever seen Daria, then you know the high school me, from the glasses to the sarcasm to the boots. I'd be pretty sure that they based the show on me if it weren't for the fact that I got into Bromwell, and Daria had to go to her safety school, Raft. I'll name the a cappella groups after other residents of Lawndale...Trent, Jane Lane, etc.
I was totally thrilled and excited to be at my dream school, but I was also totally intimidated. I was a big fish in a tiny pond in high school, and now I was a guppy at a school where (I thought) you basically had to be a beluga whale to get in the door.
I took it completely for granted that I had no chance of getting in to any of the competitive music and theater ensembles at Bromwell. I was mentally prepared to get bit parts in low-profile shows, and to be happy with that. I wasn't planning to waste my time auditioning for a cappella, though; typically only about 10% of the audition pool got into ANY group, and it was much more competitive for women than for men. I didn't even go to the freshman a cappella jam, when all the groups performed to attract auditionees, because I thought it would only break my heart to see something I wanted so badly and couldn't have. I was going to focus on attainable goals and be a happy guppy!
Theatrical auditions took place every night during the first week of the semester, and cast lists went up Monday at 5. I read my name on one list -- another -- another! I'd gotten leads in two lower-profile shows, and I was one of only eight Bromwell women cast in The Mikado, the biggest main-stage musical production going up that semester! OMG, I'm actually going to have to turn one of these parts down. Suck it, Daria, I'm going to be a star!
I ran back to my dorm to call my family and shriek and tell them to buy some plane tickets to come see my Bromwell stage debut. But I practically bumped into the sign on my dorm door: LAST CHANCE TO AUDITION FOR THE TRENTS! RIGHT NOW IN THE COMMON ROOM!
Well, I figured, I never thought I'd get into The Mikado...they're right here in my dorm...the Trents are supposed to be the most amazing coed group on campus...what the hell! I'll go in the common room and give it a shot.
The trouble was, everybody and her roommate wanted to audition for the Trents, too. The Trent who was helping the auditionees fill out forms before they went inside (gorgeous hair, perfect outfit, super friendly, etc.) told me it would probably be at least a 90 minute wait, but it was the last night of auditions for every group, and the Quinns, another coed group, were auditioning in the dorm next door -- maybe I'd like to go audition for the Quinns and then come back? I couldn't exactly tell her, "Actually, I only showed up at your audition because I live here, and by the time I walk over there I will surely lose my nerve," so I said, "Sure, I'll go try the Quinns!"
I go next door and find the Quinns. I haven't heard any of the groups sing, but so far, the Trents seem like a class operation and the Quinns are...kind of a joke. There's only one girl waiting to audition besides me, and the two female Quinns at the registration table just talk to each other the whole time we're waiting our turn to go sing for the rest of the group. I start to feel pretty unwelcome there.
So I do a preliminary audition for the Quinns (these are mostly the same with every group) and go back to my dorm to the Trents. The friendly Trent with the beautiful hair tells me, "It's still going to be at least an hour. What about trying the Jane Lanes? They're coed, and they're having their auditions in the campus center." Oy vey...I barely had the nerve to do one audition and now she wants me to do three? And the Jane Lanes are at least a half mile away on the other side of campus! Well, if the alternative is sitting on a dorm floor with a bunch of strangers for an hour...I set out to find the Jane Lanes.
Like the Trents, the Jane Lanes have a friendly, pretty girl with great hair registering auditionees. She and I start talking and we hit it off right away. She tells me that in addition to singing for the group when I go in for my audition, I will also have to tell the group my favorite flavor of ice cream and my favorite joke. What?? I tell her I can do that, but I don't want to offend anyone -- I have a pretty raunchy favorite joke. She breaks into a big grin and says, "OH GOOD! Tell it to me!" I tell her the joke and she laughs like crazy and says, "That's awesome! They'll love it!" And indeed they do. They also love the sarcastic Tom Lehrer song I choose for my solo. I really like the Jane Lanes; clearly, I won't have to hide my personality around them. The Jane Lanes are also the only group that tests me on sight-reading (which I think I got right), which makes me think that they must be pretty serious musicians.
I go back to my dorm and FINALLY audition for the Trents, who all dress and act just as polished and poised as the gorgeous-hair girl I met before; it's a little intimidating. They run a tight ship, though, moving all the auditionees through the process in a friendly but efficient way...the opposite of the Quinns.
I go upstairs to my room practically shaking with relief because I gave it a shot, and it's over at last. Since this was the last of four nights of preliminary auditions, the first-round callback lists will go up tomorrow morning. I decide that I will be satisfied with my performance if one of the three groups calls me back; that would mean, to me, that I wasn't making a fool of myself by trying. I figure that if one does, it will probably be the Jane Lanes, since they asked me to sight read, and I could.
Oh wait...I forgot all about The Mikado! And the other shows! I call my family and shriek into the phone that I'm so excited about starting rehearsals. I don't even tell them about the other auditions. After all, I've already surpassed my guppy goals in the big Bromwell pond and become a carp...it's no big deal that I won't get a chance to be a dolphin. Yeah, I'll just be a happy carp. That's the ticket.
So how come I have trouble falling asleep, thinking of those callback lists tomorrow?
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Hybrid Mode
