This week, members of Convent & Stuart Hall’s theater program audition for roles in upcoming productions such as “Middletown,” showcasing their individual artistry and cultivating the challenging yet important skill that is auditioning.Whether it be musical theater, opera, ballet or any other performing arts discipline, auditioning is always the first step to landing a role in a production. In spite of this, standing in front of a panel of critical strangers and displaying one’s art in full form is a lot harder than it may seem. To help build students’ audition skills, Convent & Stuart Hall’s performing arts department holds auditions for its productions, mimicking those students might encounter at a professional artistic level.

“To prepare for auditions, I generally like to do background research on the play to figure out the plot, characters, etc,” junior Anika Agarwal said. “When I audition, I tend to be pretty nervous beforehand, but over time that sense of anxiety has gone away,”

The theater program’s auditions are composed of an initial audition and callbacks. During the initial audition, students will first slate, stating their name, grade, the role they would like and what they will be performing. Students will then sing a musical theater piece or act out a monologue from a play. In the coming days, callbacks will be announced, indicating which students the casting team wants to re-audition for specific roles.

For many artists, auditioning can be an anticipatory and nerve-racking experience. A great audition is often defined by how an artist can distance themselves from this nervousness, internalizing both long-term audition repertoire and new material. This is especially important in playing a spoken role, where it is the actor’s portrayal of the character that engages the audience. For this reason, auditions for Convent & Stuart Hall’s fall play, “Middletown,” are especially helpful in growing one’s audition skills.

Will Eno’s play, “Middletown,” tells the story of Mary Swanson, who has recently moved to Middletown. Expecting a child and burdened by her husband’s absence due to work, Swanson feels isolated and intensely anxious about her future. Swanson eventually comes to befriend the local handyman, John Dodge, who also struggles with loneliness and finding meaning in his life. Accompanying Swanson and Dodge are an eccentric cast of locals who each have their own perspective on life and how the world works.

“It’s kind of weird, but I think it’s supposed to be,” sophomore Josie Patel said. “It’s very much like a slice of life.”

As a reimagining of Thornton Wilder’s classic American play “Our Town,” “Middletown” challenges students to internalize unfamiliar yet complex roles and portray them in an audition setting.

“It’s about the hidden threads of connection that run through a community and the role memory plays in identity and community feeling,” English department chair Daniel Bush said. “It would be helpful for an actor to acquaint themselves with the world of this play.” 

Through plays, musicals and other artistic programs, Convent & Stuart Hall’s performing arts department puts great emphasis on auditioning as an art form in itself, knowing that no matter what students pursue in life, having the confidence to present oneself in front of others will always be an invaluable skill to have. 

“I feel like auditions have definitely helped with my sense of adaptability,” Agarwal said. “Performing a scene that you have never seen before — in the sense of callbacks — under pressure has definitely made me keep my cool in other stressful situations, whether that be at school or outside.”