New York City

I love to sing.  That's a fact and that's what I love to do.  I always sang in the car and did musicals when I was little, but I never knew it would become my passion.  When I was seven, I did my first musical with my dad.  The years following, I continued to do theater, but it was only a fun thing to do with my dad.  When I was nine, I had my first major audition.

I remember it perfectly.  It was my first New York audition, I was very nervous.  I was auditioning to be in the American Girl Doll musical at their store.  My mom and I went up to New York the night before so that we could get there early for the audition.  I hated waking up early, and still do.  But it was an open call, and many girls flocked to New York to audition so we had to get there early.  I was number 17 in line, that's how early we got there.  I remember waiting there for hours standing outside of the store before it even opened.  It was wintertime so I was so cold.  I remember hearing older girls complain about how their vocal chords weren't warm.  We waited even longer once we were in the store.  My girls didn't eat that day because they didn't want to ruin their vocal chords with dairy products (meanwhile, I'm literally having cheez its and goldfish).  I was really nervous for my audition, but it ended up being one of the most thrilling ones I've been to.  I got called back to audition three times after the first audition, I remember being back in Connecticut and hear my mom excited on the phone with the producers.  I made it to the last group of girls.  There were 8 roles and they called back 10 girls.  I was so excited, I couldn't believe I was this close to being an American Girl.  Unfortunately, I was one of the two girls cut, but the experience brought out my love for theater and spark of competition at such a young age.  

That audition led to many others.  Overwhelming at first, but I got used to it.  I loved auditioning for new directors and seeing people I knew at different auditions.  I soon found out that theater is a small business, and I bumped into the same girls at multiple auditions.  Although I started auditioning and taking classes in New York at an early age, it soon became difficult to travel to the city and I fell behind in school.  My mom decided it would be best to start looking for opportunities in Connecticut, so I started to audition for professional theaters here.  I was lucky enough to be in two tours at the Bushnell and three at Hartford Stage.  As a teenager, I now average being in 3-4 shows a year.  It's almost like I'm addicted to theater and I'm determined to build my resume.  Now that I'm older, I desperately want to go back to New York auditions.  I want to get out of Connecticut and go back to New York but it is too hard with school.  I wish I could go back to that first link and audition more in the city.  The bottom line is that ever since that one audition when I was nine years old, my passion for theater grew.  I love theater, but I almost feel like I love auditioning more.  The thrill of auditioning really gets me.  I love trying to impress someone who hasn't heard me sing before, and maybe even surprise them.  I love bumping into old friends at auditions.  And I love getting happy results from auditions.