Auditions for the Wichita State School of Performing Arts’ fall semester shows were held last Monday through Wednesday, followed by callbacks on Thursday evening.

The fall semester of theater shows consist of the acclaimed “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” and the winner of the 2012 Wichita State University Playwriting contest, “Feeling Blue.” The final show of the semester will be the musical “She Loves Me.” 

Due to the construction at Wilner Auditorium, the auditions were spread out across different performing arts facilities on campus. The musical, the vocal auditions, and dance call were held in the Heskett Studio, while the theater show and movement call took place at Welsbacher Theatre.

Since I’m not the greatest singer in the world, except for when I’m in the shower, I wanted to focus on being part of one of the theater productions.

For 2011’s fall semester auditions, I managed to get myself into the final running for two of the shows and hoped to do the same this year. Armed with the two required contrasting monologues, I was ready to roll and excited at the prospects.

The movement call proved to be quite a workout, as we had to learn the choreography for the musical number “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life” from the Monty Python musical “Spamalot.”

After working up a sweat, the time came to present our monologues to the directors of the shows. Since I was the second one on the auditions list, my adrenaline didn’t get the best of me and I was out of there before I knew it.

As I read the Wilner call board the next day, I was happy to see I was on the list to attend callbacks for “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” 

We performed a scene where I was part of a troupe of actors, dubbed the Tragedians, who come across the title characters. This allowed us to engage ourselves in a more physical manner, something that was to be a big part of the final show. After a half hour, we were dismissed so the next group could come in. 

As Friday came, I assumed the final casting discussions would be made over the weekend, based on what was announced in the auditions for the musical. To my surprise, I got a text message from the stage manager saying I was in the cast and needed to report to the costume shop for measurements and to attend a read-through with the entire cast. I know now what they mean when they say getting casted is lightning fast.

Now we’re in the rehearsal process, which takes place each evening until our opening date on September 27. 

It is a real privilege to be a part of one of these fantastic shows I have reviewed and having the chance to work alongside actors I’ve seen in other shows over the last semesters will be a real treat.