Solo Auditions

I know that I'm not alone when I say that auditions are one of the scariest things we do in chorus. We are putting ourselves out there for everyone to judge and competing against each other. I, personally, don't deal with auditions very well. I get really nervous and my heart starts beating really loud and fast and I shake like crazy even long after I've finished singing. As I got older, I became more and more nervous about putting myself out there, but I've also been trying to get over my stage fright. I've been trying to audition for all the solos possible, even if it isn't a solo I would love to sing. Even if I don't get the solo, I can still get the practice of singing in front of people in and face my fears. After the "Anything Goes" audition, I was really upset at myself for not taking the opportunity to audition. Today when we had the auditions for "Send In the Clowns" and "Everytime We Say Good-bye", I really wanted to audition for both of them. I auditioned for "Send In the Clowns" after a couple of people near me encouraged me to go; if they hadn't said anything I probably wouldn't have auditioned and missed another opportunity. When the "Everytime..." solo came up, I kept telling myself, ""Oh I'll just go after this person...well maybe one more...just one more then I'll go" and before I knew it, the auditions were over. I couldn't believe that I let another chance to face my fears slip by. After I thought about it, I realized that I do this in more than just chorus. When I'm sitting in class and I have a point to make in a discussion or an answer to a question, I almost never raise my hand because I don't want to bring attention to myself or take the risk of looking stupid in front of all those people. I know that I still get nervous when I speak up, but at least if I do I'm giving myself an opportunity to grow instead of just waiting for someone else to give me the push I need because someone might not always be there to do that, and I want to be able to do it for myself. I don't want my fears to get in the way of things later in life because I know that if I can't do something like auditioning for a solo in class that I won't be able to stand up for myself later in life when something comes by way. So for me, solo auditions aren't just about singing, they're about branching outside my comfort zone and allowing myself to live a little.

If I could give you more than 100 points, I would. This is so great, Nicole - I love the way you think!

--Mr. Young