Personal Narrative: Regional Junior High School

I woke up extremely excited, not because it was August 12th, but because it was audition day. As I got up I went to take a look at what the weather was like outside, It was a cool and drizzly Saturday morning and it turned out to be a good day. As me and my grandpa got in the car on the way of the audition, I started to get messages from my friends and family saying, “Good Luck” and “You Got This.” Although getting those messages and knowing everyone supports you felt good, but as I looked at the road up ahead and noticing that it was long way, I soon realized that this

In seventh grade, I decided to audition for the higher ranking jazz ensemble at my middle school, Jazz I, one of the few bands in the school that had both seventh, and eighth graders. As always, I did a great job of finding things to worry about. Things such as what if I wasn’t good enough to be in the band? Since the moment that I picked up my dad’s trumpet and tried to play, I’ve loved playing. I wanted more than anything to be in the jazz band. We had played some jazz in band before, but nothing like what they play in Jazz I. I brought home the audition sheet the day that it got posted on the wall, and practiced every night until the audition. On the day of the audition, I walked into the room, greeted the teacher, and played through the sheet of scales and exercises as well as I could.

When I was a sophomore in high school, I auditioned for District III. District III is an organization of music educators in the region of Maine, spanning from Freeport to Camden. District III holds various music festivals for different age groups. I auditioned for the high school honors band. I wasn't very aware of the audition piece and I didn't take the needed time to practice it. The day of the auditions, I entered a large gymnasium full of talented high school musicians from various schools in the region. I realized all of these incredible people have dedicated a lot of their time to the auditions. I knew I didn't put in all the time I actually needed to orchestrate this piece correctly. I didn't make in into the honors band, but I was affected greatly.

The cast list for the upcoming spring play was finally posted. We had been waiting anxiously for it and there it was. Audition day was the most nerve-wracking experience I had ever had as a freshman in high school. I wanted everything perfect so when I completely froze and forgot the next part of my monologue, you can imagine how terrified I was. From that moment on, it was prayer and improvisation. As I continued to scan for my name, my hands were shaking uncontrollably. I made it. I do not think any freshman girl could have been more excited than me at the moment. I felt so accomplished. The first rehearsal was incredible but little did I know what great blessing God had hidden in this entire experience.

Finally, around 10, it was my quartet's turn to audition. I hauled open the heavy classroom door and walked in with a faked confidence, my heels clicking against the linoleum floor as the rest of my quartet followed behind me. The room was a refrigerator, more due to the judge’s cold stare underneath his combover than the air conditioning being on too high. Our pitches were plunked from a piano in the corner of the room and we began singing America the Beautiful. The rest of our excerpts followed. Somewhere halfway through, I began to enjoy myself and how our group sounded as we cascaded down heart wrenching scales in perfect intervals and held clashing notes we had worked so hard on making just exactly

Like most places, an audition has to take place and knowing me, I was scared out of my mind. The Camerata Strings came first, which was easy to do because everything they asked

“I wasn’t accepted?” I wondered out aloud as I opened the letter from my dream school. I thought I had everything I needed to reach the goal that I had set years ago. As I normally do, I began overthinking the situation and immediately had many questions. “Will a different college accept me?”, “Did I not accomplish enough in high school?”, “Were my SAT scores not high enough for their standards?” Everything felt open ended and clearly there was no one to get the answers from. The feeling of frustration grew quickly as I tried to figure out where or what went wrong. I began questioning everything. I know that I worked just as hard as everyone else, but the results were short of my goal. One question was at the top of my mind, should top

I have always been a planner, ever since I was little. SO when it came to being ready for the talent show, I was a little more invested. A critical step was to change into my talent show costume at the end of class, to ensure that I was ready. I had to pretend to my friends that I would be so embarrassed for everyone to see me in my costume even though I felt excited for the attention on the inside.

It was May, two years ago. I walked into a room filled with girls, each accompanied by their mom or dad. My mom, dressed in a nice sweater and black pants, pulled me up to a table with a woman sitting in front of it. This woman looked in her 30’s and was wearing a light blue dress. She said “Please fill out this form and feel free to take a seat while you wait.” My mother dragging me along, walked to another table and sat down. I proceeded to sit next to her. It was obvious I was nervous. My sister stood next to my chair telling me I was going to do fine. This was the first time I had auditioned for The Fulton Theater.

As I at in front of the judge with my music and clarinet my nerves began to rise. I then began to play my audition, which included scales and excerpts from songs, that determined whether I would be in the All Coachella Valley Honor Band conducted by H. Robert Reynolds at the McCallum theatre. After I finished my audition, the judge then said I had done great but I was still nervous inside. The next day the results were going to be posted online. That day I checked anxiously until the results were released, I then noticed that I had placed fifth chair playing second clarinet part. As soon as I received the music I began to practice because in the next couple of weeks we were going to be having practices, to prepare for when H. Robert Reynolds

After school today I auditioned for the play the Music Man. In order to audition you must prepare a song and memorize a set of lines the teachers give you beforehand. Even though I am well prepared, I am still nervous. My hands are trembling and my body is heating up. I paced outside the auditorium doors and rehearsed my lines over and over again. The auditorium doors open and it was my turn to audition. I walked in slowly and see the teachers and the student director sitting in the audience. I could feel a meltdown about to happen. I wanted to run out of the auditorium, but I knew I had to audition. I wasn’t going to let my nerves get the best of me. I walked to the piano and placed my sheet music down. They said that they needed to take a few minutes to organize

Recently, I auditioned for my first high school show, "The Great Gatsby". Days before the auditions I was practicing my music and monologue. I challenged myself by choosing two brand new pieces of material, and in doing so, it made the audition more nerve-racking. Finally, when it was my turn to audition I got up on stage, introduced myself, and began my monologue. As the words began flying out of my mouth, I began to feel like they had no meaning. I felt distanced from my character and therefore my portrayal of her was not the way I had originally intended. As I continued the monologue, my audience's eyes bore blank stares. Their unresponsiveness rattled me and my hands began to shake. I knew in that moment that I was failing as an actress because I was not making my audience feel any emotion. When my monologue was over, I stood up from the chair I had delivered it in took a moment to breath. The air was heavy and the stage lights felt bright. Then I broke the silence with my audition song. Without accompaniment, I started off in the wrong key. I knew it, and as I went on, I started thinking of the best way I could stop before I ruined my entire audition. So I cut off, right before the difficult section of the song that I would not have been able to do in the wrong key. As the last note held in the air I said "thank you" and took a seat. The applause they gave felt undeserved and I would have cried if I did not know that that could be seen as unprofessional. I went through call backs without being asked to read anything else, so although my heart was as heavy as the weight of my audition mistakes, I knew I would not be given a role. When I saw the cast list, my expression was as blank as the stares my fellow actors had given during my audition. I was numb from the experience, and for the first few weeks I avoided believing my reality, and went along with the motions of the rehearsals as part of the chorus. I

I felt my heart stop. This audition would determine what I will spend the rest of my year doing. Making it would mean that I spend the year working on jazz music. I take a deep breath and listen to my starting note, a C. I open my mouth to sing and begin remembering all the training I’ve done for this. It remind me of the state competition.

It was an awesome show, and the lead female role, Ariel Moore, seemed to be just like what I could potentially do onstage. So, I decided to audition. I chose a great belting song to show off my voice and I didn’t worry about the dancing. I just had fun. And then I got a callback. My very first callback.

I took this opportunity to give dance one last shot. This time around I found my true love of dance and what dance means to me. I began to realize that dance isn't about impressing the judges and more about creating art. This realization has changed me as a dancer. Auditions for the following years Dance Company rolled around, and I was hesitant to attempt trying out again. I wasn't sure if I could face the reality that there was a possibility that I could be denied a spot once more. On the day of the Dance Company clinic I decided to take a chance and proceed with the audition. When audition day rolled around my nerves were out of control. After completing the audition piece I wasn't sure if I had made the right decision to try out. The following day when the team was announced, I was elated to see my name on the