PJ's audition

Back about 2 months ago I spotted a flyer for auditions for the Christmas play here in town. It was being put on by the local playhouse and I thought that this would be good for PJ to try out for. I asked him about it, and he thought that this would be ok to try to do.

Well, this was originally supposed to take place on Sept. 24, the day of the Fall Mall. He and I were planning to do the Fall Mall and then head over there and get that done too. I pack up everything, go home, unload the car, have him eat something, and then leave. Well, we got there, and the auditions had been moved to Oct 20. Great, he had his hopes up and his nerves under control and now this. He seemed ok with all of it, understanding too.

The original production was only going to be children and teens, 16 and under. Turns out the playhouse changed their minds and decided to open it up for all of the family to try out. But the school system that sends out the announcements like this dropped the ball, and they failed to tell us about the change of dates.

For weeks PJ was just wishy washy about it. He would go back and forth, wanting to do this, not wanting to do this. Now, I am not one of those parents that demand that my kids do something, even if they don't want to. I have seen too much of that in my life, and stuff like that nearly ruined my life. So, I don't push them to do things that they have no desire to do. The only thing that I ask is that if I pay for it, you need to finish it. If you start something, you are committed to it, and you need to finish it. I ask that they think about this stuff before getting involved in anything. That isn't asking for too much, I just want to instill values like this in them and their lives.

This past Saturday was the day for the auditions. PJ wanted to go; he talked about it for several days. He told me that he wasn't nervous, that he was looking forward to this. And also, "If I don't make it, well, I will keep trying until I do." That is a wonderful way to look at things. Sometimes, I have to stop what I am doing and take a lesson from my kids. They don't give up when things get too hard.

I was up early on Saturday; I seem to get more done when I do. And as I am getting ready, here comes PJ around the corner. Ready and raring to go, he wanted to get his day going too. We head out to go shopping and then to get his haircut, he looks so cute. And then home to get something to eat only to go out again for the auditions.

We got there first, and he was the first one to have his paperwork filled out. He was excited and ready to go. Of course, the little 4 year old girl jumping all over him, pestering him didn't help much, but when I got him to concentrate on it, he was calm, no nerves, no problems, just ready to get this going.

I didn't know what to expect when we got in there. I have never been in there, I was thinking it was a rather large playhouse, but it is not. It only holds about 75 people; it is your typical small town production theatre. Nothing really special, but just enough for the amount of people that they get to come out and see something at a reasonable price. It does get costly to pay the price of theatre and this little playhouse just brings a little bit of art to lives that are so very busy with technology. This is a place that you can't get lost in the crowd, but enjoy the play and the moment to escape.

Inside was so cute, I was so impressed with the little space that they utilized so well. A small space, chairs against both wall, a small space behind a curtain, and a small stage, but they use the floor area too. It works very well for what they want to do.

The director worked only with 4 people at a time. Very nice, not a large crowd to decide from, but from just a select few. He knew what he was doing, and I was really impressed on how the younger kids listened to him, and how they followed his orders on how to play the roles the right way. The girls did a great job. I loved watching them, listening to them, and hearing the way that they played the role, albeit short. But it was neat, I never was in any plays, I wasn't talented like that, and for my, well, why bother, no one would have been there for me.

PJ had his turn, finally. And I was just so excited for him and for me too. But he got his character that he was going to do, and I went over to him while he was looking over the part. It was just a few lines, but the director only wanted to see how well he would act a line. It was so cute; he had to be a little boy that had his lunch stolen from him by the meanest little boy. I had to laugh, because the little boy opposite of PJ just was not the acting type, but he did try. And for that, he needs to be commended.

The director had the boys try that again, this time with a little more direction, the first time he wanted to see what they had, this time he wanted to see if they could take direction. And they both followed him nicely. And then he switched roles, he had PJ play the little mean boy. That is not PJ, but he did what he had to do. And when he sat back down, he immediately asked how he did. Ok, I am partial, I really am, and I should be. But he really did a very good job at it, first time, he was just fine.



He was asked to read another line. This time with more people involved. It was a part that consisted of 4 other people, so this was a bit more difficult to do. He only had one line, and he didn't know how to say Gladys, ha, it was too cute! And then the other group did the same part, once again, they were all very good, and I was really impressed with the girls mostly. Some of them played the role of the drama queen rather easily.



The director then told us that he was letting us go home, he had said that this does not mean that they are cut, but that he was just clearing out the room for more people to come in. That is understandable. And he also made the decision that he would call later on that day to let us know if they made it or not, and that he would like us back on Sunday afternoon.

The boys and I headed out to Chattanooga for a while, did some shopping and bought things that we didn't need, but oh well. We waited by the phone, all day Saturday into the night we waited. Ok, so we didn't hear anything. We figured that maybe, just maybe they would call Sunday, because they wanted to do more auditions.

We waited patiently on Sunday, and nothing. PJ kept busy with odds and ends. We didn't go to church, the boys played video games, helped me in the kitchen, played outside and just had fun being brothers. It was a nice afternoon, we all had fun, and we forgot all about not getting the all important phone call.

PJ went to bed and read for a little while and finally fell asleep. He told me that he was disappointed at all, and that he wouldn't mind trying again. I told him that was the right way to think and that I was proud of him for trying. And I am it takes a lot to get up there and to try something new.

I was getting ready to watch the game, and I got online one last time before I shut it all down for the night. I popped up on the email to see if there was anything interesting, and there was an email announcing all the people that made it in the play. And there was PJ's name closer to the bottom. He doesn't have a major role; I didn't expect him to get anything like that. But this is a start, and even if it is one or two lines, it is a start. He will also be singing in the ensemble.

I was so excited that I woke up Eric to let him know, but I had to wait until this morning to let PJ know. I told him and he was very happy that he made it. He wanted to know his role, and he wanted to see the email. I explained to him with getting this role, it means dedication, listening, and that we will have to rearrange his schedule until it is over with. I told him that all everything needs to be done before rehearsal, the extra school work that he has will be taken care of on the weekends. That way it is out of the way.

This should be very interesting. Rehearsals start on the 29th. He is ready for this. For him, this is a big step in his young life. I am so happy for him. It is a start; he has his foot in the door. And if he likes this, then I will pursue him to try for more.