Casting Call

The school is holding their winter musical, and A is now of the age where she actually has to audition for a part. With the younger kids, they just take everyone and JB assigns them a role, but this time around, it’s serious business. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about the whole scene, because like any situation where you’re taking a chance, there is the possibility of things not working out like you want them. Kudos to A for having the courage wherewithal to overcome this uncertainty and not let it prevent her from trying. It’s like Woody Allen says, 87% of life is just showing up.

So they had the auditions, and they were, at least for me, a little precarious because she didn’t get a callback at first. I’m no expert on drama auditions, but a callback seems like a good thing, and the last time she auditioned for something, she didn’t get a callback and didn’t get a part. I felt a little bad, and A told me to chill out, because she knew it didn’t necessarily mean anything. The drama teacher uses callbacks to get a better look at kids she doesn’t know as well, and JB knows A well. Plus, A is part of the young wave of kids auditioning, so we really have to set our expectations accordingly. These are 5^th-8^th grade, so A is on the young side.

Anyway, they posted the cast list online, and I snuck a peak before A saw it. She had rehearsal the next day and figured she’d find out then. At first glance, I didn’t see A’s name and my heart sunk, thinking she didn’t even get a part. I was heartbroken, but then I realized that the cast is huge, and the cast list spans several pages. Scrolling down, I realized she got a nice part, one that will require her to be engaged and have many lines. Whew!

Plus, with the exception of a one or two stand out thespians, nobody her age got a lead role, which. There are some stellar 8^th grade actors that do a great job, so all it makes perfect sense. Best of all, A is stoked and excited about it, and she is an understudy for one of the leads. All is good in our world.

It’s not easy being an overbearing and neurotic parent, especially when your spouse shares your views on the world, and it can be a rough world out there. Then again, with greater challenge comes greater reward, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Juan Croatto for the pic.