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Cast Member in Wonderland

The Biggest Hot Dog I've Ever Seen

Rating: 2 votes, 5.00 average.
I auditioned for the entertainment department of Disney World so that I could perform during my six month stay in the Disney College Program which turned out to be one of the most fun experiences I've ever had.

The fact that the audition was in Oklahoma City means that I had to drive 2.5 hours each way to get to this audition, and this was the closest one! Crazy, I know! But I had to do it to see if I could be in the entertainment department so alas, I must.

I arrived at the dance studio about 45 minutes before I had to sign in and still the entire waiting room was full of applicants. I swallowed nervously and waited for 3:30 so I could sign in.

Finally they passed around papers to fill out and take down the hall where you would get a number, get measured, and have your picture taken. I got there and then realized that I was first so I wound up with the sticker that read "1", which made the intense nervousness even stronger.

I stepped into the empty dance studio nervous and not ready for what was about to happen. Slowly 37 other teenagers filtered in, mingling quietly with the others until slowly it became happier and peppier and all around me was nothing but a sea of smiles.

Two women walked in, the first was the casting director and then the second one was a choreographer for Disney World. They talked for a bit about what we were going to do and told us that the first thing we were to do is an animation excercise.

The animation excercise is reminiscent of charades in which we were asked to convey a story without any words but with large clear motions. The first part of it was to act as if you saw your favorite character in which you also need to not only convey emotion, but also to identify the character for the audience.

The big tips here are:
Be expressive and use all of your body to tell the story!
Use your levels, be tall, be small, be on the ground, be flying in the air, just don't stay on one level.
Your face can tell a thousand words with a single expression, so make sure to use your face.

The second animation excercise is to eat a huge piece of food after getting really hungry. Pick something that is instantly recognizable and you should be okay. Also, the more comic you make it the more interesting it is. Just remember to use your time wisely and to make a plotline, have some conflict but resolve it creatively and quickly.

The second half of the audition material was a dance that slowly became harder and harder as the dance went on. Trust me when I say that the dance is only perfectable by those with a ton of dance experience. Seeing as I don't have massive dance talents, I didn't make every step. Instead, I put my energy into not onlly doing the foot and hand gestures but to also be genuinely excited about doing the dance. You'll have many times to work on the dance, but it's still difficult when they take it up to tempo.

After you finish the dance you come across the third part of the audition, the combination. This is the material that you will present at the very end, and so make every second count. Now you have a much shorter animation time because you have to go from your animation straight into the dance, four beats of rest, then animate again and then dance. Basically, you showcase your ability to perform in a parade. you try this a few times then you line up and are brought in in groups of four and then you have your short final show which consists of the combination you just did.

This is the very end of the audition, at this point they thank you give you a sheet of paper letting you know that you have to wait a while before you'll even learn if you're accepted for the Entertainment role. Now that's where I am: stuck in the awkward limbo of waiting for them to let me know how I did.

Wish me luck!

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Updated 11-04-2009 at 06:15 PM by thymeandplace

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Disney College Program

Comments

  1. scoobydooby's Avatar
    Did you make it?????