Auditions are the worst...am I right?

Even after singing for 94.7% of my life (yes, I did the math), and auditioning for at least 71%, you would think it wouldn't phase me. You might think that I'd have a method of mental preparedness, some way of psyching myself into not getting nervous, into shooing all the butterflies out of my stomach. However, the truth is... I don't. Okay, I mean, sure, there are things one can do to slightly ease the nerves. There are breathing techniques to calm you, and obviously being prepared with your material helps tremendously. In fact, I wouldn't recommend auditioning without being prepared. Otherwise, you will end up like me at my very first professional audition in Baltimore. Perhaps one day I will tell you all about my "Hairspray Debacle" if I haven't already. Needless to say, I did NOT end up being cast as Tracy in the first Broadway run.

This past Thursday night, I officially auditioned for the supremely talented South Florida Jubilee Chorus. They are an all female local barbershop chorus. The group performs for all sorts of events around town, including singing "Valegrams" at Valentine's Day, and also travel to compete against similar groups from the region each spring. Before I was busy with summer camp, I joined them as a guest for quite a few weeks to see if it was something I truly wanted to dedicate myself to. Being a music nerd and a sucker for harmony, this was my jam! Ha! No, really though. I was smitten with the sound and all the ladies in the group were so welcoming. I knew I was going to have to take the summer off because I simply cannot commit to ANYTHING aside from camp for at least 2 months. Anyway, I returned for the first time this past Thursday, and was tempted to audition. I had received the two audition song options when I had been there before, and had mostly learned them by heart. A day or so before my return, I reviewed one of the songs which I felt I knew better. So that night at rehearsal, when I found out there was no real penalty for auditioning poorly aside from having to wait a week and try again, I decided to give it a shot. If I succeeded, the nerve-racking part would be over.

We had our regular rehearsal, then the group members who were attending a performance today all ran through the songs for the gig. I watched and listened, and quickly went over my song in my head. Once they were done, my section leader, and one lady from each of the other 3 harmony parts came into the other room to go over it before the real deal. In the run through, I made a couple minor mistakes, so we ran through it again. This time, I looked at the sheet music so I could visualize what I needed to fix. All the while, I was getting anxous. I had some minor stomach butterflies, I started sweating profusely, and was just generally jittery. When the choir director was available, he came in and we sang the song again. I corrected all my mistakes, my voice blended well with the other 3 voices, and I basically nailed the song! Yay!! Regardless, I was ridiculously rattled by the audition process. Granted, there was nothing particularly crazy about this audition. I wasn't intimidated by the director or nervous about singing the song per se. Factually, it was one of the most chill auditions I've ever been in. Nonetheless, as soon as it was over, I was wonderfully relieved to be finished.

The point of my story is: Although I'm not bad once I'm performing the material, I feel like auditioning is my least favorite part of being a performer. I would rather sing by myself in front of a crowd of 10,000 than audition. But it's necessary to power through them if I want to continue. I always have, and I do get better at them with time, age, and experience. So if you're having issues or nerves when it comes to auditions, you CAN get better at them. You CAN get through them without seeming nervous. And you CAN be successful at them. You may never love them, but you don't have to let them hold you back!

Good luck in all your pursuits, and all your auditions!!

Heather

#auditions #nerves #jubilee #chorus #barbershop