The last first time.

So, T-Minus 14 days until UPTA.

Resumes completed; photos old but still serviceable.  Reservations made.  Audition pieces prepared and under time.

Breathing normal.  Pressure....minimal.

And I'm reminded of the first cattlecall I ever attended.......

It was back in the early 80's....and in those tumultuous times, there were several regional cattlecall auditions; primarily, the SETC, the MWTA and the NETC.  That first year, that first time, the SETC was in Virginia; the MWTA in St. Louis; and the NETC in Boston.

And I was in Marquette, MI.  Hundreds and hundreds of miles away from any of these places.

The program up at Northern Michigan University was a good one, and it has only improved since then; and one of the great programs was the Auditions class.

Okay, the material was "old hat" by contemporary standards...Shertleff's book was only a few years old at that time and everything was new.  The faculty took a keen interest in our progress, and we were put through the paces.  The critique was brutal.  They would put you through a "real world" simulation, going as far as renting a hotel room and doing a mock call back audition. 

But the benefit of all that work was that they would pay all the audition fees; and, in some cases, provide transportation.

The SETC was the largest of the cattlecalls in those days, primarily for college students and those just out and about.  But they were (and I assume, still are) very careful about inviting people to audition that weren't technically within the boundaries of the Southeast.  In order to audition at the "big show", you first had to audition at an "out of region" venue first.

So, my first experience with a timed audition of prepared material in front of a group of strangers who were judging my worthiness was at Centre College in Danville, KY.

I don't recall how I came upon that first material; pretty sure I had help.  But I do recall that the material wasn't really my thing.  But, in my defense, I didn't know much of anything back then.  I do remember not being totally....comfortable with the material.

That comfort was multiplied by the fact that fifteen of us were packed into a van and we made our way in the dark of the night from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Center of Kentucky, straight through.  800 hundred miles and 13 hours in a van.  With 14 other people.  Knowing full well that not ALL of us were going to be advancing past this particular audition.

So, I would like to say that it was a stellar performance.

Nope.

I wasn't comfortable in my clothes; I wasn't comfortable with the material.  I was sleep deprived, and the little devils that lived in my head even then were whispering dire things.  I was watching actors from other schools and they seemed so much better prepared than I.  I saw really good; and I saw not-so-good.  And as the clock ticked.....I could feel my shoulders making their way up past my ears.

And then the magic moment came for me.

And I pushed through the monologue; and I lost the lyrics for the song and pushed through that, as well...knowing that as the lyrics disappeared, so did my chances for advancement.  And I shook my head and sat back down with a rueful smile.

Three long, angst-filled hours later, with a sad sandwich in my stomach and dire predictions in my head.....they posted the list.

Out of the fifteen of us.....seven advanced.  Seven people trying to simultaneously celebrate and sympathize with those that did not move forward.  Seven people who were going to sit in a van for another 13 hours with eight others......not talking about it.

Me and seven six other people feeling blessed; myself wondering how I could have possibly moved on after such an AWFUL performance.

Still wondering.  With every movement forward; still wondering.

Went to Virginia; got a job out of it.  My first professional job.  Never looked back after that.

I began to choose my own material; I began to put it together the way I wanted to....and lo, these many years later, I have a file in my head that contains several "go-to" pieces for every occasion.

Two weeks to go.

Hope I have fun.