North Texas Daily

Morgan Sullivan | Senior Staff Writer
@sadsquadch

Quiet fills the air inside a small hallway in the GAB. It’s the calm before the storm: silent, without even the constant buzz of the fluorescent lighting overhead.

Soon, nervous chatter will fill the hallway as hopeful performers await what appears to be a very unorthodox audition.

Logistics freshman Angela Ferris is the first to arrive.

“I’m nervous because all I saw were posters, and I didn’t hear anything from anybody at all, like what the show was about or anything,” Ferris said.

The posters advertising the auditions spared few details, disclosing only when and where the auditions would be held. The title of the play, Menagerie, was the only clue hopeful auditioners had.

Producers Dr. Justin Trudeau and Joanna Lugo laugh during an audition. Dylan Nadwodny | Intern Photographer

Ferris said the play was rumored to be about anthropomorphism, when human characteristics are given to objects or animals.

Ferris said this got her excited about the auditions because the play was similar to one she directed last year. Playing animal characters, she said, was more challenging to her than playing human roles.

“It’s so much more fun,” Ferris said, “but it’s really hard.”

She said her least favorite part about auditions is how nervous she gets beforehand.

“What if I walk into the theatre and explode?” Ferris said. “But once I’m in there, I’m like, ‘oh this is easy.’”

Communication studies senior Gisela Elizalde said she was also a bit nervous for the audition because of the lack of details.

“I don’t know much,” she said. “I’m going to go in there and read, that’s all I know,”

Actors assumed since there were no instructions to prepare a monologue, they would be doing “cold reads” from the script. This is when the actor is given a small sample of the play’s script to read as audition material.

Elizalde said she was nervous because this was her first audition for the black box theatre.

“I’m nervous, but I’ve taken classes before, so it shouldn’t be that bad,” she said.

Communications studies senior Gisela Elizalde smiles as she gets ready for her first black box theater audition. Dylan Nadwodny | Intern Photographer

Elizalde said she was excited for the black box show because of its particular environment, describing it as abstract.

In terms of calming her nerves, Elizalde has her own way of dealing with things.

“I just calm my breathing down a little bit,” she said.

Communication studies junior Emily McCormick was calm by comparison.

“I’m confused, and I’m unsure about things, but I think it should be fun,” she said.

McCormick said she was excited for the show because of her admiration for the directors, whom she thought would bring an interesting angle to the production.

“They’re some of the coolest people in the department,” McCormick said. “So just auditioning should be fun.”

She said regardless of the outcome, she knew she had to audition.

“I need to audition,” she said. “Even if I’m not going to be in it.”

Featured Image: A group of audition hopefuls participate in an icebreaker exercise before auditions begin. Dylan Nadwodny | Intern Photographer