Cast Lists…the joy and the sadness

Hello PAA Families!

Now that we have finished auditions and casting for Intensive I, I thought we could use a chat.  There is so much to do and so much to look forward to as we see the days pass us by.  Before you know it summer will be over and you will be thinking about your time at PAA with longing. You will have made new friends. You will have learned new things. You will have surprised even yourself with your potential.

But as I write this I know that some of you are sad.  You didn’t get the part you wanted and you can’t understand why you were given the part you were. I want you to know something. It is okay for you to be sad.  I have always been sad after the cast list is posted. I have only gotten the part I wanted twice in all my auditioning and being sad, mourning the experience you were hoping to have is good and important. Be sad.

But there is something more…

After you are sad and you have wiped the tears from your face, you need to focus on the work ahead of you. You can’t see it right now because you are not the Director, Musical Director or Choreographer but we have big plans for you. Yes, YOU! And we know that you have more potential than you ever knew you had. We will draw that out of you, carefully pulling and sculpting you to be your best.  Your time in rehearsal and class will show you how much you can do and soon being sad will only be a memory. At PAA we have a special thing. No one else does what we do and it is important that you know when I say the show isn’t the thing for us, I mean it!  We are working to build you, to make you into a stronger, happier, healthier you who faces the challenges of the world with determination and love. We want you to help your friends and neighbors, we want you to see the good in others the way we see the good in you.  We want you to be the change this world needs. And so, through our time together, we will push you to achieve more and be more.

The truth about Theatre is that it is hard. There is rarely an experience that doesn’t bring challenge after challenge. We will use those challenges to grow, learn and become more.

The truth about us is we are EXCITED ABOUT YOU being here. We want you to be a part of PAA and we can’t wait to get to know you, teach you new things and watch you grow.  So, be sad and then start memorizing your part. Set a goal to be off book by your first day. Come better prepared than ever before and ready to learn, perform, grow!