Who Knew

11

I changed and hurried to my audition. The auditorium was mostly empty except for the few people who sat in and watched us perform. Dr. Reigns opened the auditions for anyone. Most people waited until the actual play.

I located the sign in table, which was beside the door when I first entered. I gave the woman who sat there my name and the part I was auditioning for.

"Alright just wait on the left side of the stage," she informed me.

I got up on stage. Looking over the auditorium, there were a few people seated in different positions. The students could sit wherever they wanted except for the front row. Dr. Reigns reserved it for the judges. They required a close view of the performers.

In the very back, I was surprised to see Antonio. I guess Malesha convinced him to come. A girl sat next to him. Her mouth and hands moved a lot while Antonio nodded. He looked like he wasn't paying her any attention cause he looked straight ahead. He looked out of his zone. I froze when his eyes landed on me. He had that same expression from when we were in class. This time he broke eye contact. The girl put a hand on his arm, and he finally gave her his attention.

"Alright auditions are about to start,"   Dr.Reigns said.

She told everyone the rules. Everyone had to be quiet and respectful. There were no applause until each person finished their audition. Our auditions were organized in alphabetical order.

I watched everyone's audition. I paid close attention to the people who auditioned for the same role as me. I scoped the competition to see how good it was. From my perspective, I felt like it was tough. These people came prepared. I did as well. Nothing decreased my confidence. All doubt did was make me nervous, which can cause me to mess up. I wanted to avoid that. My thoughts remained positive as I watched the amazing performers.

Malesha's audition came. She performed an emotional, dramatic character. Her acting was superb. I saw something different from when we were in class. The passion was there. She could definitely get into acting as a career.

Everyone hooted and hollered for her especially the girl next to Antonio. Dr. Reigns called the next name on the list, which was mine. I took a deep breathe and stepped out onto the stage. I answered all the questions that the judges had for me.

I got into my position and began. I played an evil character who pretended to be nice. I said all my lines as I was supposed to. I really got into my character. The judges tuned in to my performance. Once I was done, the auditorium burst into a cheer and clap combination, which let me know I must have nailed it. I even saw Antonio clapping for me. The girl next to him wasn't though. The energy from earlier disappeared. It didn't matter though. It made me proud to see that the audience liked my performance.

The auditions finished, but we weren't released yet. She came back into the room with a sheet of paper.

"Miesha West, would you come back on the stage?"

This time my heart dropped. I wondered what it was about. Nothing like this ever happened before. I thought I was done. Apparently, I wasn't.

I went back on stage. I skimmed over the judges faces. Neither of them signified what they were thinking. Judges always held a nonchalant expression to keep their contestants guessing.

"Hello Miesha. We called you back on stage because we would like to see another performance."

"Okay," I said.

"I want you to try and improvise."

From all the theater lessons I had, I learned about improvising. It was an important topic to learn. Teachers taught me that improvisation was a necessary skill in acting. I tried it in class a few times. I never had to do it in an audition. Curiosity filled my brain. The only reason I could think of for why  I had to do this was that my performance wasn't good enough. The judges needed more from me.