It is that time of year again for me and about 200 (well this number may be an exaggeration) other Theatre undergraduate majors at the University of Georgia to get their monologues together, read the plays for the upcoming season, and sign their name on the ever eluding and daunting call board for auditions. I guess this year kind of caught me off guard, even though in the back of my mind I know this happens the first weekend in the school year, and has been this way since forever...lol. But I said to myself over the summer that I would get my monologues together early and have no worries once the auditions come around the corner. That plan...EPIC fail. So I come back to campus about two weeks before school starts and realize that I need to get my life together.
But getting my life together for auditions involves a lot more than just finding monologues and reading the plays. For those who know me, I am very much involved on campus (darn me the overachiever). As of now I serve on two executive boards, I work for housing, and of course I am a senior so the class load is pretty involved, and there is just always something I find that is on my to-do list or calendar to do. And so here I was having to make a decision.. to audition or not to audition.
This decision is really crucial for three main reasons:
1. I have never been in an University Theatre show. It is not required at my school to be in a department show in order to graduate but at times I feel like such a slacker because here I am a Theatre Major and I have never even been in a show with the department.
2.Hey this is my last year..ever since attending the University I have put theatre on the the backburner for other organizations that were not really my passion. For once I just want to be able to be fully committed to my department and have all the faculty know my passion and my fellow classmates say "Hey there she goes again, she must really love what she does" or even "Dang she is doing too much, can she just sit down somewhere"
3. Going along with reason one, I have just wanted to be in a regular University Theatre show, not the one with the "multicultural themes" where fellow classmates whisper around each other and say "Well they only got in because they were _____" I want my first show with University Theatre to be something I got in purely because of my talent. (yes I believe that is possible)
You see I love being in, around, under, behind, on (you get the point) the stage. I get itchy and my heart beats faster when I am just sitting in the audience and I cannot experience the stage. I will tell anyone Theatre is all I really know and even with that there is still so much for me to know, so many more plays to see, write, direct, and act in.
But yet again I found myself asking the question "Do I need to audition?"
I made my decision this week just four days before auditions and I can say I am content with the answer. The answer: Not to audition.
Like I said earlier, I am very much involved on campus. And although I feel as though I put theatre on the back burner sometimes, I still have to stay true to the commitments that I have signed my name to. I think as a performer, or person of the arts, you have to stay committed to the contract of the rehearsal schedule, you have to stay committed to the notes that were given to the director. You have to stay committed to blocking. Because of the commitment is lost, the most beautifully written show with the best intentions can become a horrid show with people wanting their money back, critics writing their dislike during the show, and your reputation going down the drain.
At the end of the day I would rather be known in the department as one who stays committed to tasks I have been charged with and do well at those instead of trying to do everything and being known as one who cannot be trusted with putting on a show or given a task.
I have all my life to explore the theatre world, but it is in these precious months that I can hold on to the promises I made.
And hey I signed up to stage crew a show for this semester that is required for the major so my "itch" can be relieved a little. :)
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