Auditioning with Confidence

Parker Nelson • March 7, 2025

We are getting ready for two busy weeks of auditions and callbacks here at Encore. First up, come audition for our awesome student directors on March 11th! It will be a great opportunity to help your peers learn the process of directing, and you would get to be a part of an awesome new production. Then, on March 18th we have very full auditions for The Wizard of Oz! If you have already signed up, or maybe you are considering it but you are hesitant, I’m here to help ease any nerves ahead of these auditions. 

So, what are auditions? They are a chance for directors to see you performing and consider you for their show, but more importantly they are a chance for you to perform! Your confidence in the audition room helps directors see your personality more clearly, helping them decide whether or not you are a good fit for the production. In our recent interview with alum Eileen Sugameli, she provided some insight into the importance of courage and confidence in the audition room. 

“Getting up on stage is scary!  And honestly, I think auditioning can be even scarier.  Theatre is such a beautiful opportunity to practice being vulnerable.  It’s really nerve-wracking to put yourself out there, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.  And you never know what impact your courage will have on others- your courage can inspire others to do the same.”

Whether you’ve been in Encore classes or your school play or if you’ve never tried acting before, auditions are an exciting opportunity to show up and try! Our auditions don’t require any preparation, which can be helpful for some people and scary for others, but you can trust that the directing team will guide you through every step of the process. Here’s a secret: directors want you to be successful because it makes their decisions so much easier! So take a deep breath and step confidently into the audition room knowing that you will do your best with the time you have. The rest is out of your hands. 

And if you don’t get cast this time, there will always be more auditions! I will draw on Eileen’s wisdom once again:

“Don’t give up!  It took me 8 tries to get into an Encore show.  Not getting a role doesn’t mean that you are a bad actor, it just means you weren’t the right fit for that show at that time.  As a professional actor, I have to constantly remind myself about this.  I often think back to my Encore days, and how if I had given up after the first, second, or seventh audition, I would have missed out on so many awesome experiences.”

We cannot wait to see you all at our upcoming auditions!

Photos by Cindy Kane, blog contribution by Parker Nelson.

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