Audition Hopefuls with Mysterious Motives

Sitting in room 57, sophomore Angie Barlos listens to Xanadu by Rush. It’s Aug 20, auditions for the fall play, “While the Lights Were Out.” Barlos doodles anime and bobs along to her music as she tunes out the rest of the hopeful auditioners.

“The competition was extremely tough,” Drama club Secretary Brittany Steck said. “I think the new people are going to give the upperclassmen a run for their money.”

In her mind, Barlos goes over the lines to her monologue, “Ferret Envy,” about a girl who kills her friend’s ferret because she is jealous.

“I like animals,” Barlos said. “It’s about a ferret, and it’s funny.”

At number 27 on the list, Barlos has quite a wait. The room is noisy and distracting. Running through lines becomes tedious. To relax, Barlos switches to The Trees by Rush.

“I’m a little scared,” Barlos said. “I’m not sure when I’m going to have to do it.”

Drama club Vice-president Jessica Olsen calls number 27 and tells Barlos it’s her turn. Barlos smiles and walks into the auditorium. The stage is dark and her only audience members are Drama Director Jeff Tandler, Student Director Christina DeSalvo, and Stage Manager Zoe Ridenhower. Barlos delivers her monologue quickly and only skips one line. She leaves the stage feeling confident.

“I think I did okay,” Barlos said. “It was scary, but not as bad as I thought it might be.”

Now all Barlos can do is wait. The callbacks list is posted, and her name is not up. All she can do is wish for the best and hope she just got a role.

“I hope I get a part,” Barlos said. “Any part.”

Thursday morning, the cast list is up. When Barlos goes to check the list, she doesn’t see her name.

“I was a little disappointed, but I will try again next time,” Barlos said.

Meanwhile, junior Rain Northrop celebrates her success. After auditioning with a piece about a paranormal investigator and attending callbacks, Northrop received a part in the play.

“When I saw the cast list, I was ecstatic,” Northrop said. “I was so worried that I wasn’t going to get casted because there’s so many talented people there.”

Northrop’s character, Monica, is the wife of the hotel manager, Clive, played by Matt Miller. “While the Lights Were Out” is a murder mystery about a groups of hotel guests trying to figure out who killed the hotel manager and one of the guests. This performance will take place Oct. 25 through 27.

“I think there’s going to be a big turnout because it’s a fun show, and the audience gets to be involved as the story unfolds since they’re trying to solve the murder too,” Steck said.

Check out the rest of the While the Lights Were Out cast here: http://goo.gl/A8xnj