Yearlong Audition: Theater major begins auditioning

Michael Todd
Staff Writer

Samantha Foster
Spectrum Editor

Freshman performance theater major Tricia Wiles jumped her first hurdle in the VCUtheatre department: her first audition, marking the beginning of a long year of similar situations with the department’s annual “Cattle Call.”

All freshman theater performance majors were required to perform a one-minute monologue of their selection. Seated in the front of the Singleton Performing Arts Center, the freshmen exited the room one row at a time before individually re-entering the theater to perform their piece.

Wiles admitted that she has only ever performed in one regular stage performance and prefers musical theater due to its multiple facets of expression. She confessed that entire event made her nervous.

“I’m still finding myself and who I am through my work,” Wiles said. “It was pretty nerve- wracking.”

Wiles performed her one-minute monologue from Andrew Grosso’s comedy “Perfect Harmony,” portraying a women’s a capella group leader Melanie. During this piece, as they continually place second next to an all-male group, Wile’s character attempts to give her fellow acapella members a pep talk that succeeds only in glorifying her own abilities while downplaying others.

The minute went faster than Wiles had anticipated. She didn’t finish her monologue in her allotted time. Her upperclassmen friends consoled her, telling her not to “compare and despair.”

“If you compare yourself to others (and) don’t work at your own pace, you’re going to destroy yourself,” Wiles said. “If you work through what you can do rather than what other people have learned… that’s how you’re actually going to go far.”

“Cattle Call” is a theater industry term meaning a mass audition and serves a primarily introductory purpose. With no prior training from the VCUtheatre department, freshmen performance majors showcase their skill level to faculty and classmates at the beginning of the program and, more importantly, practice the process of auditioning.

“One of the fundamental things that actors have to do is audition in front of people,” said Aaron Anderson, Associate Chair of the theater department. “We try to give our students as many opportunities as possible because it’s a scary thing.”

Wiles tried her hand at another audition this week, for the on-campus a cappella group, the R.A.M.ifications for a spot as a soprano. R.A.M.ifications consists of 17 singers in the ranges soprano, alto, tenor and bass and two vocal percussionists. There were three spots open in the soprano section.

Wiles said that she has “been singing since she was born,” and has wanted to be a singer since she was 4 years old.  She was the section leader for the soprano section in her junior and senior year choirs and attended the Governor’s School for voice, but she’s never sang with an a cappella group.

“I’ve always wanted to, and we almost started one at my school, but it kind of went down the drain,” Wiles said.

For the audition, singers got to choose their own songs.  Wiles chose the Glee version of Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.”

“I put my own little spin on it because it shows my range… and my voice,” Wiles said.

Before her audition, Wiles admitted to being nervous, but did not seem shaken by the nerves.  “I always get this nervous before shows. … My stomach butterflies, so I’m a little jittery, but it’s good. It needs to be there for me.”

Wiles never received a call later that night to let her know that she made it into the group. She said she would try again though since it’s only her freshman year.

“I would love to make it. I really would. If I don’t, it’s probably because there are a lot of talented people here and I’m a freshman as well. I have four years to do this,” Wiles said. “I can understand if I don’t make it.”