My Auditions
THANK GOD THEY'RE OVER!!!!!!
Yes, as Daniel mentioned, I auditioned at Yale two weeks ago (Tisch - the Theatre and Performing Arts School of NYU - the weekend before), and Juilliard last weekend. So, here is how it all went down...
NYU
My first audition, my worst audition. I had been rehearsing BRILLIANTLY, and I even blew Daniel away (who I had never REALLY been able to impress with my acting, but I REALLY impressed him in my last few rehearsals). He said he thought I was COMPLETELY ready, that I'd knock their socks off. I felt good.
until the day of the audition. For the first time in my LIFE, I got nervous. I mean, REAL NERVES!!!!! I've never even had stage-fright or even butterflies in my tummy, but THIS day I was suffering ALL SORTS of nerves. I couldn't control my breathing, I was shaking, I felt sick to my stomach (like, REALLY sick - in PAIN) and I could NOT get my breath under control. And, did I mention that my breathing was all over the place?? So, needless to say, I TOTALLY screwed up that audition. I went in there, RUSHED through my first piece, oh my GOD, so fast. And then, for the LIFE of me, could not get back into my body for the second - which had to be calm, composed and in control!!!!! It was a disaster!!!!!!
So, the plan for the coming week was to work on relaxation techniques and also to get a second opinion that these two monologues really were the best ones to start with.
So, then there was...
YALE
My father's Alma Marter and the best Acting School in the COUNTRY!!!! I didn't even KNOW how much I wanted it. Daniel and I planned a road-trip for the audition weekend so I wouldn't have to race up to New Haven on the morning of the audition. We took the scenic route to New Haven (We went North so we could see Sleepy Hollow - as Daniel mentioned, which is actually North of New York City and in New York State, and then cut over East into Connecticut and then headed south into New Haven). Daniel LOVED the town. He really loved it. We stayed at the Omni Hotel, which was beautiful, and we had a view of the Campus Green (which is the main Quad of the campus - a beautiful park - and what the picture is of in Daniel's blog, that was the view from our hotel room) and we walked all downtown, getting a feel for the city and the school... Daniel and I really loved it there. Daniel didn't even want to come back to New York on Sunday (although that could have just been him loving a holiday!!!). He did say, however, that he could TOTALLY live there for a couple of years.
So, after that reaction (which I realized I was subconsciously waiting for) I felt safe to get really excited about the prospect of going to Yale.... And I got SSSOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!! The beauty of the school and the town really put a spell on us. But, Daniel helped me stay calm - guided me through some relaxation exercises and gave me a really great full back massage the night before, and a neck rub just before I went down to the audition rooms.
The auditions were IN THE HOTEL.... so I just had to get in the elevator at 11am... It was so relaxed, it was great...
Because Daniel and I showed all my pieces to Brandon, and with his help we actually decided that I should do my other two pieces first, I felt really comfortable and confident. The pieces we chose were more emotional, more intimate and in their opinion I LOOKED more comfortable and natural doing them...
So, I went in there, just me and the head of the school and I did my two pieces. He said "good, check the bulletin board in about 45 minutes to see if we need to call you back". And that was it, my name wasn't on the bulletin board and that's all she wrote!!! I feel like I did really well though, so I'm trying not to loose all hope. Unlike Juilliard, Yale doesn't say ANYWHERE that if you don't get called back that day you are out of the running, so I guess I'm just hoping that even though he didn't want to show me to the other professor I could still be called back in March.
I felt SSOOOOOOOOOO comfortable there. The students (who were helping with the audition sign-in and stuff- all 2nd years I think) were SSOOOOOOO my kind of people. There was no pretension, like I had imagined there could be and had seen a week earlier.
So, after no call back, we went for a drive. I showed Daniel my elementary school I went to in New Haven, while Dad was a student there, and we found the street we lived on but I couldn't find the house. We drove ALL around the neighborhood that I lived in, and I showed him the grocery store where had my first snow-ball fight out the front of and everything. It was great.
Anyway, all in all, it was a good weekend. We had a GREAT time and have made a belated New Years Resolution to do a road trip, even if just an overnight one, every month or two (hopefully planning for a big one down to Alabama towards the end of the year!!!!)
The Juilliard School
Well, this audition was this past weekend and it went fine. I did very well. But, I didn't like the school and they didn't like me...
Juilliard was completely not me. From head to toe, the place was everything I don't want. It was EXACTLY like NIDA in how it felt and how they talked and even in what they were looking for, obviously. Mostly though, and call me a snob if need be but, I didn't like that I was auditioning and would have been attending class with all those kids. Children, some of whom hadn't even graduated from High School yet. Now, some of them could have been AMAZING actors who I could have learned a LOT from and I am NOT discounting that but... I just.... I need a graduate program, one in which all the other students have ALSO taken undergrad theatre or film and get the history and theory of it all, have the exposure to different works and the KNOWLEDGE of what's out there. I just didn't feel like I belonged in that group of people at the Juilliard audition. So, it's totally fine that they didn't want me... I didn't want them either.
So, now, I just wait. Wait to hear from Yale or Tisch (yeah, right!!) about whether or not they want to see more of me. They both hold big call-back weekends in March or April. I pray Yale wants me, I just PRAY!!!!!!!! And I wait to hear from Brooklyn as to when I have my interview/audition with the head of the graduate acting department there....
So, I'll keep you all up to date but please, PLEASE keep a finger crossed or say a little prayer for me???
I love you all and it is with the strength of ALL your love that Daniel and I achieve the things we do!!!! Thank you!
Always and forever, Taliesen.
Yes, as Daniel mentioned, I auditioned at Yale two weeks ago (Tisch - the Theatre and Performing Arts School of NYU - the weekend before), and Juilliard last weekend. So, here is how it all went down...
NYU
My first audition, my worst audition. I had been rehearsing BRILLIANTLY, and I even blew Daniel away (who I had never REALLY been able to impress with my acting, but I REALLY impressed him in my last few rehearsals). He said he thought I was COMPLETELY ready, that I'd knock their socks off. I felt good.
until the day of the audition. For the first time in my LIFE, I got nervous. I mean, REAL NERVES!!!!! I've never even had stage-fright or even butterflies in my tummy, but THIS day I was suffering ALL SORTS of nerves. I couldn't control my breathing, I was shaking, I felt sick to my stomach (like, REALLY sick - in PAIN) and I could NOT get my breath under control. And, did I mention that my breathing was all over the place?? So, needless to say, I TOTALLY screwed up that audition. I went in there, RUSHED through my first piece, oh my GOD, so fast. And then, for the LIFE of me, could not get back into my body for the second - which had to be calm, composed and in control!!!!! It was a disaster!!!!!!
So, the plan for the coming week was to work on relaxation techniques and also to get a second opinion that these two monologues really were the best ones to start with.
So, then there was...
YALE
My father's Alma Marter and the best Acting School in the COUNTRY!!!! I didn't even KNOW how much I wanted it. Daniel and I planned a road-trip for the audition weekend so I wouldn't have to race up to New Haven on the morning of the audition. We took the scenic route to New Haven (We went North so we could see Sleepy Hollow - as Daniel mentioned, which is actually North of New York City and in New York State, and then cut over East into Connecticut and then headed south into New Haven). Daniel LOVED the town. He really loved it. We stayed at the Omni Hotel, which was beautiful, and we had a view of the Campus Green (which is the main Quad of the campus - a beautiful park - and what the picture is of in Daniel's blog, that was the view from our hotel room) and we walked all downtown, getting a feel for the city and the school... Daniel and I really loved it there. Daniel didn't even want to come back to New York on Sunday (although that could have just been him loving a holiday!!!). He did say, however, that he could TOTALLY live there for a couple of years.
So, after that reaction (which I realized I was subconsciously waiting for) I felt safe to get really excited about the prospect of going to Yale.... And I got SSSOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!! The beauty of the school and the town really put a spell on us. But, Daniel helped me stay calm - guided me through some relaxation exercises and gave me a really great full back massage the night before, and a neck rub just before I went down to the audition rooms.
The auditions were IN THE HOTEL.... so I just had to get in the elevator at 11am... It was so relaxed, it was great...
Because Daniel and I showed all my pieces to Brandon, and with his help we actually decided that I should do my other two pieces first, I felt really comfortable and confident. The pieces we chose were more emotional, more intimate and in their opinion I LOOKED more comfortable and natural doing them...
So, I went in there, just me and the head of the school and I did my two pieces. He said "good, check the bulletin board in about 45 minutes to see if we need to call you back". And that was it, my name wasn't on the bulletin board and that's all she wrote!!! I feel like I did really well though, so I'm trying not to loose all hope. Unlike Juilliard, Yale doesn't say ANYWHERE that if you don't get called back that day you are out of the running, so I guess I'm just hoping that even though he didn't want to show me to the other professor I could still be called back in March.
I felt SSOOOOOOOOOO comfortable there. The students (who were helping with the audition sign-in and stuff- all 2nd years I think) were SSOOOOOOO my kind of people. There was no pretension, like I had imagined there could be and had seen a week earlier.
So, after no call back, we went for a drive. I showed Daniel my elementary school I went to in New Haven, while Dad was a student there, and we found the street we lived on but I couldn't find the house. We drove ALL around the neighborhood that I lived in, and I showed him the grocery store where had my first snow-ball fight out the front of and everything. It was great.
Anyway, all in all, it was a good weekend. We had a GREAT time and have made a belated New Years Resolution to do a road trip, even if just an overnight one, every month or two (hopefully planning for a big one down to Alabama towards the end of the year!!!!)
The Juilliard School
Well, this audition was this past weekend and it went fine. I did very well. But, I didn't like the school and they didn't like me...
Juilliard was completely not me. From head to toe, the place was everything I don't want. It was EXACTLY like NIDA in how it felt and how they talked and even in what they were looking for, obviously. Mostly though, and call me a snob if need be but, I didn't like that I was auditioning and would have been attending class with all those kids. Children, some of whom hadn't even graduated from High School yet. Now, some of them could have been AMAZING actors who I could have learned a LOT from and I am NOT discounting that but... I just.... I need a graduate program, one in which all the other students have ALSO taken undergrad theatre or film and get the history and theory of it all, have the exposure to different works and the KNOWLEDGE of what's out there. I just didn't feel like I belonged in that group of people at the Juilliard audition. So, it's totally fine that they didn't want me... I didn't want them either.
So, now, I just wait. Wait to hear from Yale or Tisch (yeah, right!!) about whether or not they want to see more of me. They both hold big call-back weekends in March or April. I pray Yale wants me, I just PRAY!!!!!!!! And I wait to hear from Brooklyn as to when I have my interview/audition with the head of the graduate acting department there....
So, I'll keep you all up to date but please, PLEASE keep a finger crossed or say a little prayer for me???
I love you all and it is with the strength of ALL your love that Daniel and I achieve the things we do!!!! Thank you!
Always and forever, Taliesen.
posted by Taliesen K. Farmer | 1/30/2007 04:51:00 PM
1 Comments:
Hey there -
Accidently (sp?) ran into your blog about your recent auditions. I just wanted to say I'm sorry you had such a bad impression of the Juilliard students. I'm graduating from there this year, and I know we all take the auditions very seriously and try to make it a great experience for everyone who auditions for a spot. I hope you won't walk away with the wrong impression, although you might have had a unique experience. As for all the students being right out of high-school, Juilliard is a bit of a mixed bag there. More than half of my class (including myself) have been to other schools before we came to study at Juilliard. We range in age from 19-30, with most people in their mid-twenties. And I can assure you that the "youngsters" are some of the most talented people I've ever known, and are actually much more mature and grounded than *I* am! So . . . . Just thought I'd throw that out there, whatever it's worth. Good luck with finding the right school for you - I remember what a crazy time this is, but it sounds like you're really going about it the right way and I bet it'll all work out.
-Brian
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