My second audition for graduate school happened to be a week later than my Guildhall audition, also in New York City, which meant I got to spend money on TWO plane tickets to NYC. How lovely.
My preparation for this audition was a little less perfect than Guildhall. I had to leave my hotel room at 11 a.m., which meant I then had to waste about two and a half hours before my audition. I walked to Central Park, where it was bleak, snowy and cold, and then walked to a Starbucks close to my audition and awkwardly stood in a corner, cradling a latte and attempting to do some more last minute research on Bristol Old Vic's international student program on my phone. Once again, I emphasis how great it is to scope out the audition location ahead of time. This one was tucked away on a weird side street on the seventh floor in an unmarked building surrounded by scaffolding (the most obnoxious obstacle to finding places you've never been before).
After lugging my three bags and various layers of coats, tights and scarves into a tiny bathroom to get changed, I shivered in the waiting area, having gotten there about 20 minutes early. Quickly after, a woman (an ex-student) came out and introduced herself to me. They were running early, and she said I could come in any time I wanted, so I drank some more water, warmed up my body a bit and then walked through a slight maze of hallways to the audition room, which was a pretty bare, small space. I could already tell this was going to be a casual audition, as I dumped everything in a corner of the room and pulled up a chair. I met Kim Durham, who is the head of the International Acting Course, and the only other person who was in the audition room. We chitchatted about my resume, and then I did my pieces -- one contemporary, one classical -- and sang briefly. He then coached me on both pieces. For the Shakespeare, he encouraged me to use them more as the audience, because the character I'm playing is on stage alone in true soliloquy style. I worked with that idea, with some side coaching all the way. I really appreciated his coaching, and definitely made some new discoveries in the moment that I felt really strong about. We also worked on my contemporary piece, although the direction on that one was a little more result based and therefore felt a little odd in practice. He had me sit down, and asked that I be more contained, play it closer to the vest, until the end where the character slips a bit. He also asked me more general questions about the play and the scene.
We then talked a bit more about the program, and there was room for me to ask some questions. He then explained the rest of the process to me -- they keep auditioning people through April, so I would be told in a few weeks whether I was on the shortlist, which would mean that I was still in consideration as they finished their auditions, or if I was not being considered for the program. I left the audition feeling pretty positive, although not on the high I was after my Guildhall audition. I promptly bought myself coffee and a cupcake to celebrate.
On February 14th, I received an email saying I was on the shortlist, which means in the beginning of May I will be told if I got in, am on the waitlist, or was unsuccessful.
