An Actor's Perspective - The Waiting Game

Jennifer Kuzmeskas

• OnStage Massachusetts Coumnist

The day of auditions has now come and gone. Perhaps I should have written separate posts as my feelings before the audition, compared to during the audition, compared to after the audition are very different.  Looking back on yesterday (the day of auditions) it somehow seems to be a blur.  For starters, it was a Monday and, like most people, my “real world” Mondays are no fun.  

In my “theatre world” though this was a different Monday, it was audition Monday. I had done all the right things. I printed my theatre resume, printed my music, did my research, rehearsed hours for a thirty second audition and printed my headshot. It would seem that I should have felt like I was ready. Yet, the inevitable nerves of an audition were ever present.  All day I couldn’t escape my own brain and the nerves that accompany just about every audition I have ever been on.  

Surprisingly, my nerves were calmed significantly after arriving. The thing about community theatre is, it’s a very small world.  I was very fortunate to see friendly and familiar faces upon entering. In fact, a lovely friend of mine from a past show had just finished her audition and was walking out as I was walking in. Then, as I checked in, two more people came in that I knew.  This continued for most of the night.  I find this to be something very special about the community theatre world.  I have worked with multiple different theatre groups in my area and in the process have met so many incredible people along the way. Some of my closest friends I met in this world we have created.  

These people become your cheerleaders, as they did for me last night; they are the ones who understand how you are feeling, want to see you do well and will hopefully become your cast mates for the next few months.  I know what you are thinking though, and yes, you are right, there will be some who aren’t this supportive. Some will be cut throat, some want the same part as you, etc. However, I believe in general most people genuinely want you to do well. I, for one, would rather have everyone give the best audition they can, even if we are going for the same part and leave everything up to the decision makers.  

I digress…back to the auditions…everyone sang last night. A few people were asked to stay because they were awesome and had a conflict with the callbacks. For me personally, I was happy with my audition. That is not something I often say, but I felt good after, still feel like I left it in that room last night and have to say I did better than I normally do.  The parts I auditioned for will probably not be parts the director does a callback for, so the waiting begins.  As far as community theatre goes, this one is going to have a long audition process. The second night of auditions won’t happen till Friday and the callbacks are not until Sunday. 

As a side note to this specific audition experience and if I could offer some advice…if you are considering auditioning for a show, but aren’t sure if you should. Always GO FOR IT!  I stand by the mantra of, “Every audition is a good experience.” You learn something about yourself, the audition process, how a group works and/or you build your confidence for the next time around.  Plus you never know what will happen, you might just land your dream role, you can’t be cast if you don’t audition.