Many students try out for theater shows during the school year. One of the show classes, Advanced Rep, are always doing shows. Junior Tina Diaz said why she would audition for a show.

“It’s not really a decision, it’s more like I’m going to do it no matter what,” Diaz said. ”I just do it because whether I like the play or not, whether I like the script or whether I feel like I’m going to do well in the audition or not, it’s a good experience. People know you better when you go to auditions, so I don’t really think about it.”

Senior Cat Simmons said everyone in Rep auditions for all of their shows. Diaz said how she would decide what to audition with both in and outside of Rep class.

“Here you don’t really pick unless [Jeff Yarnell, the drama teacher] gives you the choice,” Diaz said, “When it comes to main stages he’ll usually give you a monologue, and you have to memorize it. For example, in Advanced Rep. he’ll give you the script and then you pick a scene in the script. I chose something that really shows me off the most — something that is my strength.”

Simmons said she can memorize an audition piece pretty passively.

“I like to write it down over and over again until I don’t have to look at the sheet anymore,” Simmons said, “Then just running through it over and over again, having people prompt you so you can make sure you get the lines right.”

Diaz said why she thinks it is important for two audition characters to be unique.

“Your character has to be completely different from

the other one,” Diaz said, “If you think about it, us humans, we’re completely different. We have a completely different background. Also changing your movements, because obviously, we don’t move the same way.”

Diaz said confidence is a meaningful factor in an audition.

“Be very nice to the director, so they can have something to remember you by,” Diaz said, “Don’t show nervousness. Definitely show a lot of confidence; smile a lot, be loud. They don’t like quiet people

and they don’t like when people are yelling, but they definitely like somebody who is confident in what they’re saying.”

Junior Morgan Skinner said that self-motivation is a way to help get over being nervous before an audition.

“I tell myself that I can do it. It’s just an audition; this is high school, it’s OK,” Skinner said, “Also realizing that it’s the director’s choice if you don’t get in. Maybe there was someone who was slightly better than you, and you just don’t know that. It’s not necessarily that you’re a bad actor, just that there was someone more fit for the character.”

Diaz said that if a student wants to audition for a show, they should.

“Just do it, even if you think that you’re not gonna make a play or make a class like Advanced Rep.” Diaz said, “Even if you don’t make it, that’s still a good opportunity, and you’re still getting your name out there. How you react shows a lot of your character, and people are looking for that.”