Ah the Angst of the Theater

My older daughter's middle school is putting on the musical, "Once On This Island" this year. Auditions were today, including for a little girl to be the young version of the lead, so my younger daughter auditioned as well.

"Wouldn't it be great if we were both cast as big and little Ti Moune?" I heard frequently during the past week. And they do look a lot alike. They were not the only sister team to audition, either; the girl who #1 perceives as her main competition auditioned, and so did her little sister, who looks a lot like her.

Part of the audition was the opening dance. The little girls and boys learned it with the middle schoolers who have been working on it all week. Quite a task for them, but they all really stepped it up and learned it. When it came time for the little Ti Mounes to dance (as a group) separately, the choreographer stood on a table to be level with the stage so they had someone to follow. #1 stood down to the side and did the dance through. #2 watched her the entire time. It was, for me, the best moment of the day, to see their teamwork. (In general, #1 was by far the best dancer. Those ballet lessons really paid off!)

The cast list was scheduled to be posted at 4pm this afternoon, after the auditions ended. Time crept between 4:00 and 5:00 as we waited for the simultaneous email to appear, so we didn't have to drive over and see it in person.

At 5:01 it appeared, and I am so glad we didn't drive over to see the list, because the excess of emotions was, well, excessive. #1 was cast as Agwe, one of the gods, a part she auditioned for, but she was just angry that her nemesis, er, the other girl (who is just fine!) was cast instead. #2 was devastated that she wasn't cast. Eventually #1 decided that she was going to steal the show in her role, and accpeted it, but not before a lot of thrats to quit the cast. #2 was still fussing about it hours later in her bath.

Such angst and drama! It is, without a doubt, one of the worst experiences, to come close and not get cast in the role you want. But spare me the hysterics...