Auditions

Written at 11:30 a.m. earlier today.

We’re sitting here at the Fresno State performing arts wing, having just released our first-born into The Audition Room. It’s her first audition and Maia will be following her later today. They’re auditioning for The Nutcracker in December, and it’s been an interesting process getting here.

I spotted the flyer at their dance studio a couple weeks ago, and based on how much they’ve loved previous performance opportunities, I thought I should ask them about it. It was important that I didn’t pressure them but I do want to expose them to opportunities, and even gently push them to try new things. I think Sarah and I see eye-to-eye on this, which is good for the kids and good for our marriage [insert grin].

They were immediately excited. We tried to make it clear this was different than what they had done in the past, in that auditioning meant that not everyone got a part. This was one of those life lessons you tread lightly as a parent, trying to prepare your kids the best you can without scaring the shit out of them. Even after explaining the ins and outs, they were amped about it.

I visited livelyarts.org to check the requirements and was a little surprised there weren’t any. Just show up. I liked that. No need to stress them out about level of ability and properly preparing. Throughout this process I’ve had to check my own experience, feelings, and competitive nature. I want them to succeed and get the part, but really I want them to have fun and enjoy the experience. Once it stops being fun, we’re done. I hope. It will be up to them.

So here we are, our first audition day. I’m nervous and excited, but mostly I’m proud of our adorable, talented, courageous little ballerinas.

UPDATE
Keana emerged from the audition room pretty worked. The category she was in was 8-12, so there were quite a few dancers with much more experience, and I guess they asked them to do a lot of difficult things she hadn’t learned yet. Even though I was annoyed they hadn’t specified any requirements, then laid all this stuff on them, I held my tongue. I think she was disappointed she wasn’t able to do everything they asked, but I think it was good for her to have the exposure and be pushed a bit. We’ll see what happens next time an audition comes along.

As for Maia, she ended up not auditioning because we discovered that the age limit was 6. We knew that, but didn’t think they’d really care once they saw her, so that one’s on us. Luckily we thought to call ahead and double-check before we actually brought her down there to audition. She was pretty upset, but it wasn’t anything a little story time with Mama and some sushi couldn’t cure.

As with so many things in our lives with these kids, their learning experiences end up also being opportunities for us to learn too. There are a few things we’ll do differently next time—like be sure to check with others for audition requirements and what to expect—but I think we all handled our first bout with auditions rather well. Sarah and I were proud that Keana and Maia were willing to go for it in the first place, and especially for Keana, because even though she was a little scared and nervous, she did it anyway.