The students and faculty of the Wichita State School of Performing Arts are gearing up for their 2014-2015 school year. Auditions were held Aug. 18 through 20.

Karina Williams, a senior in the Performing Arts program, said this year she feels the process is “more of a taste of what’s going to happen in your professional life.”

Williams said as a theater performance major, she no longer has to sing or make movement calls. She is required to bring two monologues and headshots, and résumés are emailed to casting directors.

This year, the department has gone from paper sheets to digital, and the auditions have been separated between music theater majors and theater performance majors. Then, the seniors and juniors audition separately from the sophomores and freshmen.

Williams said going digital has helped because it feels more relaxed. In the past, she had to come in 10-15 minutes before auditioning to fill out paperwork, but now the process is more convenient.

“It gives you more time to focus on you and the work you are doing for your auditions,” Williams said.

Williams was cast in “La Llorona,” which is showing in November.  She said she is excited for the show, staying on top of her homework and graduating.

All of the shows for this semester have been cast.  They will include two plays, a musical and an opera.

Alex Castaneda, a second-year performing arts student in the program, said students get more freedom by bringing in music they are comfortable with.  

 “Nerves get to you all the time, but you just have to make yourself comfortable with the songs and monologues,” Castaneda said.

Castaneda, who helped prepare pieces for some of the freshmen, thinks they have a strong group of underclassmen.  He said although they asked a lot of questions, none of them seemed too nervous.

“Sometimes it can be scary, but I think of it as a more glorified high school experience,” Castaneda said.

Some of the performances this semester will include: “The Spitfire Grill,” “Julius Ceasar,” “Don Giovanni” and “La Llorna.”

Melanie Calvery, a junior in the music theater program, is a transfer student from Butler.  

“The transfer was intimidating, but all the staff and students were really welcoming and made it feel like home pretty quick,” she said.

 Calvery will be performing in “Julius Ceasar” in October.

WSU students can get one free ticket to the shows with their student I.D. by visiting the Fine Arts Box Office, located in Duerksen Hall.

Linda Starkey, the program director of Performing Arts, said she is excited to see all the new students, as well as the returning students.  Starkey said a lot of the returning students have done additional training, workshops and shows over the summer.

“We see they’re growing, so it’s always fun to see everybody,” she said.

For more information on show dates, contact Danette Baker via email at [email protected].