I Hope I Get It

This has been a very stressful week for both Nathan and Matthew. Nathan had auditions for “The Sound of Music” at the high school. Matthew had auditions for “The Wizard of Oz” at the elementary school. With all the preparations, auditions, call backs, and waiting, it was a nerve-wracking week for the two of them.

Nathan got called back, as a sophomore, to read for Captain von Trapp, a fact that put him in an unfortunate situation with some of the upperclassmen. He went to call backs, ended up reading for nearly all the male leads, and then got sent home long before most of the other kids. As such, he was pretty stressed. He was certain that it meant he was not going to be cast. I had to remind him that two years ago, when he auditioned for “The Lion King,” that he was also sent home early because the teachers already knew where they were going to cast him. That reminder didn’t help at all, of course, and he became a nail biter for the week.

Auditions for the 6th grade “Wizard of Oz” production were on Tuesday and Thursday. Matthew auditioned on Tuesday since we had Nathan’s piano recital early yesterday evening which meant that he had to wait for all the rest of the kids to audition before the cast list was posted. This is the first time he’s auditioned for a show and between the nerves before the audition and the anxiety riddled wait post-audition, he was pretty high strung all week. He told us that he made the teachers laugh while he was reading. Evoking an appropriate laugh from those casting is generally a good thing but although we told him that, it didn’t do much to settle his nerves.

Today was the big day-cast lists were posted. Nathan was cast as Max Detweiller, a part that is actually quite a bit bigger in the stage production than in the movie. He is really pleased and so are we. It’s a great coup to be cast as a sophomore and means the teachers are aware of just how capable he is. Matthew was cast as the Scarecrow, which is exactly what he wanted. He is really excited to be part of his very first show. Hopefully he will enjoy the experience.

I’ve done my share of auditions and completely understand how stressful they can be. I’m so proud of both Nathan and Matthew and how they are willing to put themselves on the line to share their talents with others. I know that my family and I have been blessed with many talents and I’m a firm believer that sharing those talents, using them in righteous ways, can bring joy to us and others. I often miss my past performance opportunities and while I’m hopeful that there will be more opportunities for me in the future, for now I’m enjoying watching my children shine.