The Nationals 2011 experience.
Posted by Samie Johnson on Monday, June 27, 2011
Under: President
Hello thespians.
This is Samie Johnson here with my first blog as president.
This morning, a lovely group of Thespians returned from a fabulous week in Lincoln Nebraska.
DSA was well represented between bringing Flight of the Lawn Chair Man and Too Much Light at a Constant Pace, Sarah Harmon and Alex Baggett made mainstage with their scene, Sam Van Wetter had a staged reading of his one act play (stage managed by Austin Allen), Alexander Moll Johnson and Ryan Maltz also performed in staged readings of other high school student's plays, and finally the entire class of 2012 had some awesome college auditions.
It was a great festival this year, we saw some pretty amazing shows. My personal favorite, The Drowsy Chaperone, was simply phenomenal. I laughed, I cried, and I was reminded why I love musical theatre and really theatre in general. We also a touching rendition of Rabbit Hole, which had some amazing actors who pulled off difficult, complex characters beautifully. And of course who can't help but love a classic, such as Cole Porter's Anything Goes. Along with several other shows ranging from Avenue Q to Starmites, we saw a wide range of theatre.
I always love the workshops at State and Nationals but much to my sadness, I had no time to take any classes because college callbacks consumed absolutely all of my time. I missed taking workshop classes because I have learned some things that have really stuck with me at State and Nationals over the past couple of years.
But, this was my year for college auditions, which were not nearly as scary as I had anticipated. How it worked was like this, when we got to Nebraska, the class of 2012 went in and signed up for a session to audition. Then when our day came, we all lined up and went into a conference room with about 30 other students. One by one, we got up on the stage and performed our two minutes in front of a room full of representatives from 51 colleges.
Over the next day or so, colleges posted callbacks. There were some white boards in the lobby of the theatre where each college there posted a list of names they wanted to call back. Then it was our job to go and talk to them. Some colleges just wanted to chat/pitch their program, some scheduled interviews with directors, some did workshops with our monologues, and some accepted us on the spot.
I really enjoyed this because it introduced me to some programs that I don't think I would have encountered otherwise. I actually fell in love with Oklahoma University, where I hadn't even thought of them previously, I can't wait to take a road trip to where the wind comes sweeping cross the plain, to see if I can see myself there because I think it might be my top choice. (I hope someone caught my subtle Rogers and Hammerstein reference there....)
So, yes, all in all nationals was a lovely experience. I encourage you all to go if you have the opportunity, it's really great.
This is Samie Johnson here with my first blog as president.
This morning, a lovely group of Thespians returned from a fabulous week in Lincoln Nebraska.
DSA was well represented between bringing Flight of the Lawn Chair Man and Too Much Light at a Constant Pace, Sarah Harmon and Alex Baggett made mainstage with their scene, Sam Van Wetter had a staged reading of his one act play (stage managed by Austin Allen), Alexander Moll Johnson and Ryan Maltz also performed in staged readings of other high school student's plays, and finally the entire class of 2012 had some awesome college auditions.
It was a great festival this year, we saw some pretty amazing shows. My personal favorite, The Drowsy Chaperone, was simply phenomenal. I laughed, I cried, and I was reminded why I love musical theatre and really theatre in general. We also a touching rendition of Rabbit Hole, which had some amazing actors who pulled off difficult, complex characters beautifully. And of course who can't help but love a classic, such as Cole Porter's Anything Goes. Along with several other shows ranging from Avenue Q to Starmites, we saw a wide range of theatre.
I always love the workshops at State and Nationals but much to my sadness, I had no time to take any classes because college callbacks consumed absolutely all of my time. I missed taking workshop classes because I have learned some things that have really stuck with me at State and Nationals over the past couple of years.
But, this was my year for college auditions, which were not nearly as scary as I had anticipated. How it worked was like this, when we got to Nebraska, the class of 2012 went in and signed up for a session to audition. Then when our day came, we all lined up and went into a conference room with about 30 other students. One by one, we got up on the stage and performed our two minutes in front of a room full of representatives from 51 colleges.
Over the next day or so, colleges posted callbacks. There were some white boards in the lobby of the theatre where each college there posted a list of names they wanted to call back. Then it was our job to go and talk to them. Some colleges just wanted to chat/pitch their program, some scheduled interviews with directors, some did workshops with our monologues, and some accepted us on the spot.
I really enjoyed this because it introduced me to some programs that I don't think I would have encountered otherwise. I actually fell in love with Oklahoma University, where I hadn't even thought of them previously, I can't wait to take a road trip to where the wind comes sweeping cross the plain, to see if I can see myself there because I think it might be my top choice. (I hope someone caught my subtle Rogers and Hammerstein reference there....)
So, yes, all in all nationals was a lovely experience. I encourage you all to go if you have the opportunity, it's really great.
In : President