The character performer audition was a lot different than the look-alike audition that I attended in February. Instead of standing in a line and only being judged based on facial features and height, those auditioning actually had to prove that they could dance and act. In these auditions the judges are looking for a variety of people who could be parade performers, face character roles, and fur character roles.
There were a little over 200 people who came to the auditions that morning. They divided us up into groups of 70 people and took us into a room to learn a parade routine. I was #59 and in the first audition group. The routine was very simple, involving step-claps, pivot turns, and skips. For this round the judges were looking mainly for coordination, facial features, and ability to perform. In groups of four we performed the first routine and then the first cut came. Out of 70 people in my group, only 10 numbers were called, I was one of them.
The top ten of each group were taken into a separate room to fill out audition cards and get our pictures taken. There were about 30 of us total. For the second round we learned a much more complicated dance routine. My twelve years of dance experience definitely paid off for me and I felt very confident in performing the routine for the judges. I made it into the next round where we had to do acting improvisation. The judges told us to act out a scene of walking through Adventure Land and Frontier Land as our favorite Disney character. I chose to be Rapunzel because of the large movements she makes that would make me stand out. I went all out and with my movements and told a story with my facial expressions. I pretended to find buried treasure in Adventure Land and flirt with and lasso a cowboy in Frontier Land! It was a lot of fun and I felt great about how the audition went!
After we learned our routines and acted, we were divided into groups of 6 to be videotaped doing the routines. The judges then called out eight numbers to stay. I was one of those top eight.
We were then taken into a room where there were makeup artists and costumers waiting for us. I could not believe what was happening. The judges wanted to see me in a face character role to see how I would fit being friends with a certain Frozen royal. Within a half and hour I was transformed and given a script to memorize. I gave it my all when I performed my monologue for the judges and had several pictures taken.
The entire experience was a dream come true! Going into the audition that morning I had no idea what to expect. No one knew what the judges were looking for. After the first audition I went to in February I was not expecting anything. The fact that I got into the top eight was such an honor.
After the audition was over we were told to that we had to wait a month to find out if we got a role or not. During that month they were going on tour to audition hundreds of other people in 14 US cities.
I received an email on April 2nd saying that I did not get the extension to be a character performer. I must admit that I was very sad at first. After letting it sink in for a while I am now overcome with gratitude for having gotten as far as I did in the audition. I believe with all of my heart that everything happens for a reason. God has a different plan for me.
