TASK ONE: Audition Process / Evaluation

  For 'The Wizard of Oz', I have decided to go for 'The Wicked Witch of The West', as I believe this character would be a great way to push my boundaries as an actor, by going for a character which uses a lot of stage presence to utilise fully- which is a skill I have not had a full opportunity to explore yet, as no project has yet been set on a still stage. In order to prepare for this audition- we were given a segment from our script for our selected character to learn, so that we can perform it in front of Kelly and Kane. The segment given for the role which I am going for is quite lengthy, however I feel the selection of a segment from the script could not have been more perfect; the piece chosen shows a gradual shift of emotions, and really gives me a chance to demonstrate my emotional and vocal range. Despite my confidence in the chosen piece, I still couldn't help but feel extremely anxious about the audition itself, as it is still a very unfamiliar process which I have very little experience with in comparison to some of my competition. 

  My actual audition turned out out much better than I expected- I was given a round of applause by both Kelly and Kane; I entered the audition within my character- which I showed by quoting an infamous line from the film version of the character; "Hello my pretties". I believe within this audition, I was highly successful in portraying the vocal attributes to my character, especially her signature cackle and her scream when she is murdered- which was the biggest aspect I was focused on with the character. As a result of this, however, I feel my physicality was lacking and broke the immersion of the performance ever so slightly. In spite of this, I believe I did utilise the space provided to give some movement to the scene. Overall, I feel this auditioning process went far more smoothly than my first audition for the 'Ghost Light Tour'; despite my anxiety prior to the audition, I didn't feel as though my fears affected my performance, unlike my very first audition, in which I took a while to begin my audition. however, if  I were given the opportunity to audition again, I would definitely bring an equal focus to both my vocal and physical performance, as it felt highly unbalanced.

  The following day, we were called in for chemistry tests, where we were provided with a different extract with a collection characters and seeing how we bounce off of each other. For my group's section, we were given a segment with the main four (Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion), the Historian, and my own character. In this scene, The Wicked Witch of The West sets out to kill Dorothy and set back her and her friends' journey to Oz, with the Historian narrating many failed attempts; the main focus of this scene is when my character lays out a field poppies with a scent so strong that it can cause anyone who breathes it in to never stop sleeping (essentially dying). I found the chemistry process to be quite simplistic: my character doesn't directly interact with any characters other than the Historian. I personally believe me and Morgan (the actor portraying the Historian within that scene) have a strong natural chemistry, which made my only struggle is to focus on physicality once again. Unfortunately, with the extract we were given, there wasn't much room for me to use the entire space, as my character kept coming on and offstage constantly, which required me in very specific positioning so I could do the movements clearly and quickly. This, in turn, knocked my confidence, especially with watching my competition perform within their groups.

  Despite this, when we given the roles the following day, I felt a wave of relief when it was announced that there was three casts- I only had two other competitors for the role in which I was going for, so this significantly increased my chances of me getting the role. I received 'The Wicked Witch of The West' in Cast One . Overall, I believe my auditioning process has progressed positively from my first audition in October, and I believe this landmarks an important segment in my acting journey; this was my first formal audition of many and I believe that I will be able to reflect on this auditioning process at the end of this year and see bounds of further progress.