Hey Everyone!!
As you know, I auditioned for many musical theatre & vocal performance college programs and had to wait a very long time to hear from them all. And the verdict is...I got rejected from all of the musical theatre programs. BUT, i got accepted into one vocal performance program and one BA music program with some pretty good scholarship money to go with it!! So, i didn't have many colleges to choose from, but i still had a choice to make. Yesterday, i finally made my decision and...I'M GOING TO LSU FOR VOCAL PERFORMANCE!!!! I'm super excited about taking my voice to the next level and getting the training i need to become the musician i want to be!! I'm still waiting on scholarship money from the music program, but even if i don't get any money my family can still afford the tuition and everything so i won't have to go into any debt, which is great!
Alright so onto the next subject. My time in high school is almost finished. Right now i'm working on the Musical Theatre senior showcase that the NOCCA MT seniors put on at the end of every year. I couldn't be more excited! And just today i auditioned for a production of Annie at the community theatre i always do the summer musicals at. I'm pretty sure i'm being considered for Grace since the director asked me to sing one of her songs, which is great! We'll just have to see whether i get the part or not.
XOXO
Rachel
P.S. The Secret Garden at NOCCA came out wonderfully and i'm so sad it's over!! I absolutely loved playing Lily!!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Update: Chicago & College Auditions
Hey everyone!! Soooooo happy to start getting back into the swing of things after pretty much all of my college auditions!! First update: My CCM (Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music) audition went very well, but i unfortunately got rejected.
Now onto the bulk of my auditions, which took place at the Chicago Unifieds! Basically unified auditions are these big events where a whole bunch of colleges come to one city for about 3 days to hold auditions for their musical theatre, theatre, and theatre design programs (as well as some other theatre related programs). NOCCA takes their musical theatre, drama, and theatre design seniors to the Chicago unifieds every year, and this year was no different. We left New Orleans on Feb. 6 and came back on the 10th, so i unfortunately had to miss almost a week of school, but it was totally worth it since i got to audition for a lot of colleges at once.
So on my first day of auditionsm which was Monday, i auditioned for Penn State and the Hartt School's musical theatre programs. My Penn State audition was not a good experience for me. The faculty was very rude to me as well as other auditionees, so i definitely thought they were going to reject me right then and there. But they gave me a dance callback, which was cool, so i guess they liked me after all. They did compliment me on my voice, which was also nice. Only about 20 people out of everyone who auditioned that day got a callback, so i felt very lucky! My Hartt audition was awesome! the dance audition went well and the judges asked to come to campus and take a voice lesson after my singing and monologue audition, which i definitely take as a good sign! That night, the whole group from NOCCA saw a show at The Second City, which is a very famous comedic acting company that originated in Chicago. The show was absolutely hilarious and i would definitely want to do something like that once i graduate from college!
On Tuesday, i only had one school to audition for, which was Boston Conservatory. The dance audition was a lot of fun and went well. My singing and monologue audition went very well and i think the faculty liked me. There's not much to say about that audition. One of the faculty members complimented me on my soprano range, which was nice. That night, we went as a group to see Steppenwolf's production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff?" which was absolutely amazing!!
On Wednesday (the last day of audition, yay!) i auditioned for Oklahoma University and Ball State's programs. My OU audition was ok, but it's my Ball State audition that i really want to talk about. The faculty was super nice and funny in my singing and monologue audition, and my interview went really well with them! My dance audition with them was super fun and went very well. I really like their program and my audition made me like them even more!! The dance teacher complimented the NOCCA kids on our dance technique and i could tell the faculty liked my voice.
Overall, Chicago was an amazing experience for me! I got to bond with the NOCCA students and audition for some great schools!
On Friday, i left for Tallahassee to audition for FSU's musical theatre program. Saturday morning was the dance audition, which wasn't as hard as some people made it out to be, but was still rigorous. It went very well. Then came the singing/monologue audition. I thought they liked my voice and it was overall a positive experience. That night my mom and i saw their production of "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". It was soooo funny and well done! i was very impressed!
So, this is a very long post and i'm tired of typing. Will update you guys as soon as i start hearing from colleges on whether i get in or not.
XOXO
Rachel
Now onto the bulk of my auditions, which took place at the Chicago Unifieds! Basically unified auditions are these big events where a whole bunch of colleges come to one city for about 3 days to hold auditions for their musical theatre, theatre, and theatre design programs (as well as some other theatre related programs). NOCCA takes their musical theatre, drama, and theatre design seniors to the Chicago unifieds every year, and this year was no different. We left New Orleans on Feb. 6 and came back on the 10th, so i unfortunately had to miss almost a week of school, but it was totally worth it since i got to audition for a lot of colleges at once.
So on my first day of auditionsm which was Monday, i auditioned for Penn State and the Hartt School's musical theatre programs. My Penn State audition was not a good experience for me. The faculty was very rude to me as well as other auditionees, so i definitely thought they were going to reject me right then and there. But they gave me a dance callback, which was cool, so i guess they liked me after all. They did compliment me on my voice, which was also nice. Only about 20 people out of everyone who auditioned that day got a callback, so i felt very lucky! My Hartt audition was awesome! the dance audition went well and the judges asked to come to campus and take a voice lesson after my singing and monologue audition, which i definitely take as a good sign! That night, the whole group from NOCCA saw a show at The Second City, which is a very famous comedic acting company that originated in Chicago. The show was absolutely hilarious and i would definitely want to do something like that once i graduate from college!
On Tuesday, i only had one school to audition for, which was Boston Conservatory. The dance audition was a lot of fun and went well. My singing and monologue audition went very well and i think the faculty liked me. There's not much to say about that audition. One of the faculty members complimented me on my soprano range, which was nice. That night, we went as a group to see Steppenwolf's production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff?" which was absolutely amazing!!
On Wednesday (the last day of audition, yay!) i auditioned for Oklahoma University and Ball State's programs. My OU audition was ok, but it's my Ball State audition that i really want to talk about. The faculty was super nice and funny in my singing and monologue audition, and my interview went really well with them! My dance audition with them was super fun and went very well. I really like their program and my audition made me like them even more!! The dance teacher complimented the NOCCA kids on our dance technique and i could tell the faculty liked my voice.
Overall, Chicago was an amazing experience for me! I got to bond with the NOCCA students and audition for some great schools!
On Friday, i left for Tallahassee to audition for FSU's musical theatre program. Saturday morning was the dance audition, which wasn't as hard as some people made it out to be, but was still rigorous. It went very well. Then came the singing/monologue audition. I thought they liked my voice and it was overall a positive experience. That night my mom and i saw their production of "25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee". It was soooo funny and well done! i was very impressed!
So, this is a very long post and i'm tired of typing. Will update you guys as soon as i start hearing from colleges on whether i get in or not.
XOXO
Rachel
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The Secret Garden Audition & Outcome
Hey Everyone!!
I keep forgetting about posting on this blog regularly, and for that i'm sorry. BUT, a couple weeks ago were the auditions for NOCCA's spring musical "The Secret Garden", which is a musical based off the children's book. For this audition, they had us prepare a side (which is basically a sample of music or script) of music from the show for the particular character we were going for. I decided that i wanted the role of Lily ( you can go on wikipedia to read a synopsis to get an idea of the characters since it is different from the book and movie), so i prepared her side. The director seemed to like my audition. He asked me to sing Lily's side twice because he wanted me to sing it differently the second time. Overall, it was a great audition. I definitely think i'm getting better and better at auditioning, though i don't think it's possible to master the art of auditioning.
Then came the callback list. It's understood at NOCCA that if you don't get a callback there's no chance of you getting a lead, so this was a big deal. I needed a callback because i wanted to prove to the director that i could play this role. plus, it's my senior year and this will be my last show at NOCCA. I GOT A CALLBACK FOR LILY!!! i was so relieved i thought that i was gonna pass out right then and there LOL. The callback consisted of every girl considered for Lily singing her side twice. After the first time, the director gave me feedback and just wanted me to sing it again. He told me and all the other girls who got a callback for Lily to stick around. I thought that we would do a reading, although Lily doesn't have many lines in the show. The director then stepped out of the audition room after a few minutes and told that we were done. DONE?!? we didn't even get to read!! i felt kinda nervous then. that of course meant that they had made their decision and i thought in my mind that i had not gotten the role. I was pretty confident of myself but i still doubt my abilities a lot.
The day that the cast list was supposed to come out was here. These are always weird days at not only NOCCA but any school because everyone is nervous about the outcome and is around their competition the whole day. luckily, my only real competition was a really sweet girl that i got to know through doing "Music Man" this past summer. what was cool about this day was that a couple cast members from the touring cast of "Spamalot" had come to teach us a masterclass. it definitely got my mind off the cast for a little while. Once the day was over, everyone headed to the place where the cast list was to be posted, and there it was. but before i could read it someone told me "now, don't get upset, Rachel". All i was thinking in my mind was that i didn't get it. but, i read the list and...I GOT LILY!!! i got double casted with my only competition for the role and i couldn't be happier!! i'm just excited that i got the role at all, and honestly there are a lot of pros to being double cast. there are also cons, but i choose to ignore them.
alright, this blog post is long enough. i hope everyone had a great christmas and will have a happy new year!!
XOXO
Rachel
I keep forgetting about posting on this blog regularly, and for that i'm sorry. BUT, a couple weeks ago were the auditions for NOCCA's spring musical "The Secret Garden", which is a musical based off the children's book. For this audition, they had us prepare a side (which is basically a sample of music or script) of music from the show for the particular character we were going for. I decided that i wanted the role of Lily ( you can go on wikipedia to read a synopsis to get an idea of the characters since it is different from the book and movie), so i prepared her side. The director seemed to like my audition. He asked me to sing Lily's side twice because he wanted me to sing it differently the second time. Overall, it was a great audition. I definitely think i'm getting better and better at auditioning, though i don't think it's possible to master the art of auditioning.
Then came the callback list. It's understood at NOCCA that if you don't get a callback there's no chance of you getting a lead, so this was a big deal. I needed a callback because i wanted to prove to the director that i could play this role. plus, it's my senior year and this will be my last show at NOCCA. I GOT A CALLBACK FOR LILY!!! i was so relieved i thought that i was gonna pass out right then and there LOL. The callback consisted of every girl considered for Lily singing her side twice. After the first time, the director gave me feedback and just wanted me to sing it again. He told me and all the other girls who got a callback for Lily to stick around. I thought that we would do a reading, although Lily doesn't have many lines in the show. The director then stepped out of the audition room after a few minutes and told that we were done. DONE?!? we didn't even get to read!! i felt kinda nervous then. that of course meant that they had made their decision and i thought in my mind that i had not gotten the role. I was pretty confident of myself but i still doubt my abilities a lot.
The day that the cast list was supposed to come out was here. These are always weird days at not only NOCCA but any school because everyone is nervous about the outcome and is around their competition the whole day. luckily, my only real competition was a really sweet girl that i got to know through doing "Music Man" this past summer. what was cool about this day was that a couple cast members from the touring cast of "Spamalot" had come to teach us a masterclass. it definitely got my mind off the cast for a little while. Once the day was over, everyone headed to the place where the cast list was to be posted, and there it was. but before i could read it someone told me "now, don't get upset, Rachel". All i was thinking in my mind was that i didn't get it. but, i read the list and...I GOT LILY!!! i got double casted with my only competition for the role and i couldn't be happier!! i'm just excited that i got the role at all, and honestly there are a lot of pros to being double cast. there are also cons, but i choose to ignore them.
alright, this blog post is long enough. i hope everyone had a great christmas and will have a happy new year!!
XOXO
Rachel
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Urinetown!!!
Hey Everyone!!! long time no see! as promised, i'm doing a blog post all about my experience with doing "Urinetown: The Musical" at NOCCA. I played the role of Penelope Pennywise, and i couldn't have asked for a better role to play. I honestly had the most fun i've ever had on stage with these very talented actors! i'm so blessed to have been given this opportunity. our run ony lasted one weekend, and i really wish it would've lasted another month! Everyone who saw it loved it and thought it was very funny and professionally done. what made this production so great was that all the creative team members were so talented and made the actors look so good! it also helped to hve insanely talented actors playig not only the lead, but also the ensemble!
now onto my role: Ms. Pennywise. she is the only character role for women in the show. she is a big role with one crazy song, called "Privilege to Pee". the song went up and down and everywhere in between and it was not an easy song to sing but many people told me i sang it well. what i loved about playing Pennywise was the humor that i had to portray. her character is fll of melodrama, which is very fun to pla onstage. i got a lot of laughs because of the faces and gestures i made, but i also got laughs by how i would say lines. i really hope i get to play this role again because i had so much fun playing it, and i would love to pick up the script for "Urinetown" and interpret the role differently even though i was hppy with how i played it.
so that's really it for now. what's next for is preparing for college auditions as well as auditions for NOCCA'a poduction of "The Secret Garden". wish me luck!! i will try to keep ypu updated on everything!
XOXO
Rachel
now onto my role: Ms. Pennywise. she is the only character role for women in the show. she is a big role with one crazy song, called "Privilege to Pee". the song went up and down and everywhere in between and it was not an easy song to sing but many people told me i sang it well. what i loved about playing Pennywise was the humor that i had to portray. her character is fll of melodrama, which is very fun to pla onstage. i got a lot of laughs because of the faces and gestures i made, but i also got laughs by how i would say lines. i really hope i get to play this role again because i had so much fun playing it, and i would love to pick up the script for "Urinetown" and interpret the role differently even though i was hppy with how i played it.
so that's really it for now. what's next for is preparing for college auditions as well as auditions for NOCCA'a poduction of "The Secret Garden". wish me luck!! i will try to keep ypu updated on everything!
XOXO
Rachel
Monday, September 27, 2010
YAY!!!
Hey Everyone!!
So as promised, i'm going to update you guys about the outcome of my "Urinetown" audition! the first audition went really well, and i ended up getting a callback for one of the leads, Penelope Pennywise to be exact. you have no idea how excited i was about being considered for any role, especially a lead!!
For the callback, the director had us read some scenes from "Urinetown" for each specific character we were called back for. i was only called back for Pennywise, so i put my all into it! i even dressed up like Pennywise would. The reading went really well, so now came the waiting. luckily, we only had to wait one day for the cast list to come out!
So the day the cast list came out, everyone was nervous. you could just tell everyone just wanted to see that piece of paper! the director waited to post the list til right after school ended, and we were all waiting for him. i didn't want to be one of thoise annoying kids who would badger the director when he went to post the list, so i went to the restroom. when i came back, i saw the director walking out of the building where he posted the cast list. so many people were crowding around the list, so they already knew my fate (i know i'm being dramatic). i walked into the building and pushed past everyone's way. I was the second name on the list. I GOT PENNYWISE!!!!!!!!!! i felt really more relieved than excited at first, and my mom felt the same way when i called to tell her that i got Pennywise. but then the excitement set in, and i'm sure i looked like a fool because i was so excited.
Last week, we finally got our scripts, i highlighted my lines and have already read through the script once. the director told us to read it atleast 3 times, which is what i plan on doing to get a good understanding of the role and the show. we officially start rehearsals next monday, but we're supposed to start music rehearsals this week.
i will try to do another post in a couple of days!!
XOXO
Rachel
So as promised, i'm going to update you guys about the outcome of my "Urinetown" audition! the first audition went really well, and i ended up getting a callback for one of the leads, Penelope Pennywise to be exact. you have no idea how excited i was about being considered for any role, especially a lead!!
For the callback, the director had us read some scenes from "Urinetown" for each specific character we were called back for. i was only called back for Pennywise, so i put my all into it! i even dressed up like Pennywise would. The reading went really well, so now came the waiting. luckily, we only had to wait one day for the cast list to come out!
So the day the cast list came out, everyone was nervous. you could just tell everyone just wanted to see that piece of paper! the director waited to post the list til right after school ended, and we were all waiting for him. i didn't want to be one of thoise annoying kids who would badger the director when he went to post the list, so i went to the restroom. when i came back, i saw the director walking out of the building where he posted the cast list. so many people were crowding around the list, so they already knew my fate (i know i'm being dramatic). i walked into the building and pushed past everyone's way. I was the second name on the list. I GOT PENNYWISE!!!!!!!!!! i felt really more relieved than excited at first, and my mom felt the same way when i called to tell her that i got Pennywise. but then the excitement set in, and i'm sure i looked like a fool because i was so excited.
Last week, we finally got our scripts, i highlighted my lines and have already read through the script once. the director told us to read it atleast 3 times, which is what i plan on doing to get a good understanding of the role and the show. we officially start rehearsals next monday, but we're supposed to start music rehearsals this week.
i will try to do another post in a couple of days!!
XOXO
Rachel
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Well Hello There!!
Hey Everyone! Sorry it's been almost a month since my last blog post!! I've been getting really busy with all kinds of stuff lately (which i will talk about in a second!) so i kind of forgot about this blog for a couple of weeks!
School is going pretty well right now, there's nothing exciting there since all i do is take Physics and English whenever i'm there.
So onto a more interesting subject. As you all know i didn't get in the production of "Hairspray" that i auditioned for back in July. But, since it's such a big dance show they needed singers to be in the orchestra pit to supplement any singing that was absent when the actors were running out of breath from dancing so much. so i volunteered to be one of those singers! I now go to rehearsals pretty much every day they have them and i'm having such a blast!! The songs are so much fun to sing and the cast is so nice!! i was kind of afraid we (as in the pit singers) would be shunned from the rest of the cast because we weren't actually in the show performing on the stage, but it's completely the opposite! i've already made some new friends and we've only been going to rehearsals for about a week or two! This is definitely going to be a great production because everyone on that stage is so talented! The show itself is also great!!
Something else i'm getting excited about is NOCCA's fall musical. They're doing "Urinetown" which is one of my favorite shows quite honestly!! Auditions are on Monday and i;m beyond excited about it!! I'll definitely do an update on here telling you guys whether i get a callback or a role or anything like that!!
XOXO
Rachel
School is going pretty well right now, there's nothing exciting there since all i do is take Physics and English whenever i'm there.
So onto a more interesting subject. As you all know i didn't get in the production of "Hairspray" that i auditioned for back in July. But, since it's such a big dance show they needed singers to be in the orchestra pit to supplement any singing that was absent when the actors were running out of breath from dancing so much. so i volunteered to be one of those singers! I now go to rehearsals pretty much every day they have them and i'm having such a blast!! The songs are so much fun to sing and the cast is so nice!! i was kind of afraid we (as in the pit singers) would be shunned from the rest of the cast because we weren't actually in the show performing on the stage, but it's completely the opposite! i've already made some new friends and we've only been going to rehearsals for about a week or two! This is definitely going to be a great production because everyone on that stage is so talented! The show itself is also great!!
Something else i'm getting excited about is NOCCA's fall musical. They're doing "Urinetown" which is one of my favorite shows quite honestly!! Auditions are on Monday and i;m beyond excited about it!! I'll definitely do an update on here telling you guys whether i get a callback or a role or anything like that!!
XOXO
Rachel
Thursday, August 12, 2010
A Great Start to Senior Year!!
Today was the first day of school, and i couldn't have been more excited this morning!! I woke up right as my alarm went off (which never happens because i love my sleep) and got ready straight away. I had some extra time after i got ready to watch TV and browse my facebook and twitter accounts. I even set a trend on twitter for "senior year" cuz i tweeted a before going out for the bus that i was excited about senior year!!! I thought that was really cool. The only thing that stunk about today was the fact that i had to ride the bus. I think i can get a ride to school for the rest of the year, so that's good. I don't have my license or a car so i can't drive myself.
So i go to 2 separate schools: my academic high school and NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts). i go there for musical theatre (of course!). I love the classes i'm taking at my sending school right now. there are a lot of fun people in the classes and i'm taking classes in things that i like (in other words, not math). I know it's going to be a great year at my sending school!
Then there came NOCCA. I always come to NOCCA super early (about 11:15) because my mom drives me straight there from my academic school. I love being at NOCCA early because i can either do homework in a great environment or work out at the gym they have. either way i always look forward to coming to NOCCA early. The actual classes today consisted of a lot of talking. In both acting and vocal class we talked about what we did over the summer, which was nice. you all know that i had a wonderful summer so i loved sharing it with everyone. We also talked about what we'll be doing in the classes throughout the year, which really excites me!!
I just know this is going to be a great year!!! how is everyone liking their school year so far??
XOXO
Rachel
So i go to 2 separate schools: my academic high school and NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts). i go there for musical theatre (of course!). I love the classes i'm taking at my sending school right now. there are a lot of fun people in the classes and i'm taking classes in things that i like (in other words, not math). I know it's going to be a great year at my sending school!
Then there came NOCCA. I always come to NOCCA super early (about 11:15) because my mom drives me straight there from my academic school. I love being at NOCCA early because i can either do homework in a great environment or work out at the gym they have. either way i always look forward to coming to NOCCA early. The actual classes today consisted of a lot of talking. In both acting and vocal class we talked about what we did over the summer, which was nice. you all know that i had a wonderful summer so i loved sharing it with everyone. We also talked about what we'll be doing in the classes throughout the year, which really excites me!!
I just know this is going to be a great year!!! how is everyone liking their school year so far??
XOXO
Rachel
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