Theatre in the Real World

Our audition was last week! Here is how our few days went:

On Thursday Victoria, my dad, and I drove to Philadelphia. We were very excited because the car my dad rented had the number 11 in the license plate. For those of you who don't know, 11 is my lucky number, as well as a number that comes up a lot in my family.

We also made two CD's of all of our favorite Disney songs to sing during the drive. Luckily my dad enjoys Disney songs just as much (if not more) than we do!

We went to sleep that night very excited for our audition but also feeling so so happy that the outcome almost didn't matter in a way because we are going to be working for Disney in the fall regardless of whether we are characters or not.

As you know from reading this blog, what I ultimately want to do is be in parades and shows (or do voiceovers, but that's a different part of the company), and we can't audition for those until we are down there.

We got to the audition and there were SO MANY people in the room! I could NOT believe it. On the Disney Auditions website they said there was an audition for the cruise line that day but I was under the impression that it was separate from the college program auditions. We learned that I was wrong. They were going to be auditioning us together. This was a bit confusing because we didn't know how they were going to be able to tell if you were for the cruise line or for the college program but we figured they must have a way to tell. While in line we had to fill our the audition sheet. Luckily Victoria and I brought our headshots and resumes which they accepted if you had them.

After waiting in line for almost an hour, we approached the table where there was a cast member waiting for us to sign in. We signed in and were given a number. Mine: 164, and Victoria's: 165. After signing in we immediately went to another cast member who measured us. My height measurement was 5'3.5". Having known enough people that have worked for Disney, we knew just how important height is to be a performer. To keep the integrity of each character, the actor portraying them has to look just all the other people. This is why everyone wears the same wigs, makeup, and costume. And to be honest, this is one of the things that makes Disney so different from all the other theme parks.

After getting our numbers, and height measurements, another cast member took our picture and we had to wait in the middle of the room. As you can see we were very excited...

While we were sitting and waiting for the rest of the people to be signed in we realized our numbers were more special than we thought. Again, mine was 164 (1 + 6 + 5 = 11!!!!) and Victoria's was 165 (16 - 5 = 11!!) You could probably figure out any set of numbers to be 11 if you really wanted but we thought this was special :D

In case you're wondering, we didn't realize we were wearing the same color shirt until we were at the audition...

So after waiting another 15 minutes or so after we checked in, the cast member who signed us in stood up and told us that because they had so many people auditioning they had to do a type cast first before they could start the audition. Uh oh. This is not good, what a type cast is is they look at all the people who are auditioning and take them out of the running based on type. This type can waver based on what they are looking for at the audition. However, since Disney is so largely based on height, we knew it would be a height typecast and knowing that, we also knew that at least one of us would not be able to audition.  This being because if they chose 5'3", I would be able to audition, but not Victoria, if they picked 5'6", she would and I wouldn't, and worst, if they chose any other height, neither one of us would be able to audition.

What they did was have everyone leave the room and then they called us in in groups of 60. Once we were back in the auditioning room they had us stand in rows of 10 in the back of the room and taught us a moving "routine" (which was essentially marching) and we moved toward the judges. After everyone in the room had gone the cast member stood up and announced who should stay for the audition and who should go. She started by saying that if this is what you really want to do you have to come back, because you never know what they're looking for and at each audition they are looking for different things. Then she called out numbers, she called Victoria's but not mine.

I was so so happy that one of us made it! Although I wish I would have been able to do the audition, what I really want to do I can't until I get down there, so it didn't really matter what the outcome was. Victoria said when she got into the room to audition they asked to make lines, in the front if you were 5'0" and in the back if you were 5'6". They were looking for people to be friends with Mickey and Minnie or 5'6" dancers for the cruise line. It's comforting to know that there was nothing I could have done to change the outcome (unless I could magically grow 2 inches of course!)

My sister and I talked a lot about how exciting it was that we already knew we would be working for Disney in the fall. Imagine how it must have been for all the people that came to the audition and weren't able to even go in the room knowing this was their chance to work for Disney? We were so so happy that we could go to the audition knowing that we are going to be working for them regardless of the outcome.

Overall, the experience was really fun! And I learned not to audition for the cruise lines since all the dancers aboard are 5'6"!

I'm still reading my Disney book and will post soon more interesting Disney facts. Until then, remember that "all our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

Tomorrow!

The day has come! Tomorrow Victoria, my dad and I will be heading to Philadelphia for our audition. The audition isn't actually until Friday morning but check in starts at 9 am so the best thing for us is to stay overnight. Our plan is to leave our house tomorrow morning and get there with enough time to go to some of Philadelphia's historic sites. I have been lucky enough to have been there before but Victoria has not so I hope we get to see the Liberty Bell and perhaps even Betsy Ross' house. We shall see!

I am so so excited for my audition. I think it will be really fun. I know we learn a dance and will do some improv but besides that I don't know what else will happen. I am bringing my tap shoes, jazz shoes, and character heels so I'm prepared for any type of dance, and I'm also going to bring my sheet music in case I have to sing. I have never heard of them asking people to sing, or do other types of dance, but you never know! At least if they do I will be prepared. I am thinking because there is a regular Disney audition going on, (as opposed to the Walt Disney World College Program audition we are going to) it is possible, though not likely, that they could put us in there if they wanted to see more. I'm thinking this won't happen, but like I said earlier, if it does, I'll be prepared.

My mom bought me a book called "The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World" which details some really fun and interesting aspects of all the parks. The imagineers, as well as Walt himself, are so very creative and detail-oriented, they think of everything! Having been so blessed to have gone to Disney enough times to be picking up on these things myself, it is so fun to read even more things that I haven't noticed or simply didn't know about the history of the parks.

I thought it would be fun to every once and a while put in my blog some of the information I thought was especially fun from the book. The first chapter I read was on Magic Kingdom. There is so much information to choose from that I will have to blog again about it. Though I've never been to school in another state, I imagine colonial American history is a bit more exciting to those of us from Boston, or any of the historically rich colonial cities. Since we are heading to Philadelphia tomorrow, I have been thinking a lot about the history there as well as in Boston. Because of this, the fun facts about Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom really popped out at me today. For everyone who has been, you know the square is set as colonial America and has some attractions that reflect that, as well as some shops (spelled "Shoppe" of course :) ) that sell things such as fifes, drums, and other colonial goods. For those of you that haven't been, here are a few pictures:

The last picture is from a trip we took to Disney my senior year of high school with dance. It was very fun - we were able to dance on stage in Tomorrowland, and it is what first sparked my interest in the Disney College Program.

Now to the fun information I've been promising for the past few paragraphs...

"There are four eras represented in Liberty Square, with a New England feel surrounding the Columbia Harbour House restaurant, colonial Williamsburg near Ye Old Christmas Shoppe, and the more modern Dutch New Amsterdam as you near the footbridge to the Hub. The Haunted Mansion attraction is technically part of LIberty Square, representing New York's Hudson River Valley.

...

Columbia Harbour House offers more than just good food. Maps, artifacts, and nautical knickknacks adorn walls, both on the first and second floors. Look closely and you'll notice each section is dedicated to either a ghost ship or a ship lost at sea. And, if you look out the front windows from the top floor, you'll notice it faces the Haunted Mansion. Coincidence? I think not!

...

Notice the slightly skewed angle of the window shutters. During the Revolutionary War, colonists had to use every scrap of available metal for making bullets; their ingenuity led them to recycle the metal hinges on imported shutters, replacing them with leather hinges, as was the tradition during pioneer days. With time and weather, the leather hinges became less taut, and the shutters slumped sideways. 

...

In keeping with Walt's desire for authenticity, there are no restrooms in Liberty Square, except for those required inside the full-service restaurants, just as there would have been no indoor toilets during colonial times.

...

Notice what looks like a river of brown gravel running through the pavement in Liberty Square? It represents an open sewer, where waste would have collected in the middle of the road, having been thrown from the upper windows of homes.

...

Now look at the upper window of the home next to the door with the number 26 on the front. See the lanterns up there? They represent the two lanterns hung in Boston's Christ Church steeple in APril 1776, to warn Paul Revere the British soldiers were arriving by sea. Walk around the corner of the same building and look at the upper window on that side. The country folk may not be up, but they certainly are armed! During the Revolutionary War, the townsmen would place their rifle in the window to indicate they were home and ready to answer the call to arms."

This is all SO interesting! There are some fun historical facts in there that I didn't know! And some rather gross ones.... Still, the creativity of the Disney imagineers is astounding. There is a lot of information I didn't include about Liberty Square, so if you thought it was interesting, the book again is "The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World" by Susan Veness.

I hope you enjoyed the fun facts! I'll surely be blogging again after the audition! Think magical thoughts :)

SO close.

I have received two new emails from Disney! Here is the first:

The title of the message is "Welcome to the Team". Essentially what the email contains is information that we will need to have before we arrive. There is a countdown (158 days as of today!), information about the courses they are offering, and it also mentions Disney's game, Mission: Timekeeper that was created to help us learn important information about Disney's history. It was nice to receive an email from them because to be honest, as the excitement of first finding out was fading, I got back into my every day routine, forgetting where I will be in the fall. The email was a happy reminder of why I am taking so many classes this semester: so I can go to Disney!

The next email was entitled: Audition Reminder. Here it is:

It's a bit hard to decipher but the scrolling gold letters say "Picture your dreams coming true." It seems corny that my sister and I keep saying "dreams really do come true" but that is sincerely how we feel. Every time we went to Disney as children, there was this overwhelming feeling that this was where we were supposed to be. I wish I was less sentimental and emotional, although knowing my parents, it's not surprising that I am, but when my Dad and I left Disney my sophomore year of college to return home, I cried. Haha. It felt so weird to be heading back to school when I felt so at home in Disney. Naturally, most people do not want to leave a vacationing spot and return to every day life, but it was so much more than that for me, it felt wrong leaving, like I was supposed to be there. That feeling is what is making this experience even more incredible. I feel so so grateful to be able to be fulfilling this dream. It will be so incredibly difficult to be away from my family and Nate and though that has been weighing on my mind, I know that this is where I am supposed to be and what I am supposed to be doing, and that, along with the wonderful support and encouragement I have been receiving, is what is getting me through the heaviness of leaving.

On a lighter note, our audition is Friday!! I can't believe it's already been a month since we found out we made it into the program and almost two since we had our phone interviews. Time is really flying by! The plan is to drive to PA on Thursday night, stay at a hotel in Philadelphia and then go to our audition at 9 am! I don't know what the process is or how long it will take but I suppose we will be done in a few hours. You can expect a post within a few days after the audition detailing the experience! This has been a crazy audition process! It makes sense, since Disney has very high standards for their employees, but I never thought there would be so many steps involved! I suppose on one hand it is good because it gives you many opportunities to show off your best self!

I haven't decided what I would like the outcome of the audition to be. Ideally, I would love to be in parades and shows, and they don't audition for that at the Disney College Program auditions, you have to wait until you are down in Orlando. So right now I just feel like I will go, have fun, and do my best, and hope that what is meant to be will be!

I really am hoping that my sister and I will be in the same group (they say you audition in groups of 5) so that we can give each other feedback on our auditions and what we think the judges thought. We will definitely be checking in together which will mean our numbers will be one after the other but I hope one of us isn't the last of one group and the other the first of the next.

So many thoughts, and hopes! Expect a post soon! Until then, think magical thoughts for us :)