PJC students attend a professional musical audition
Published or Revised March 09, 2012
While attending a required professional audition for the outdoor musical “Texas” recently, PJC students were surprised upon arrival to learn they would be included in the dance audition. Visible among the those trying out for dance parts are PJC students Trenton Little (white shirt), Taylor Jackson (dark green shirt) and Jordan Carter (green shirt), all of Paris.
As part of their requirement for the music theater concentration at Paris Junior College, six music and drama students traveled to a professional audition held recently at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. They auditioned for the production "Texas," an outdoor musical drama staged each summer in the Pioneer Amphitheater in Palo Duro Canyon, about 25 miles from Amarillo, Texas.
"My goal for our students was that they experience auditioning for a professional role outside of education," said drama instructor William Walker, "to experience the rigor of it."
"We want them to have a real-world experience before they leave," added music instructor Philip Briggs, "and if they are in the music theater concentration, they are required to do one professional audition for each of their two years here."
"It was very exciting, definitely different," said Melissa Fox, a freshman from Paris. "They made us do the dance audition, and we just had fun with it."
"There weren't as many people there as I had expected," said Ryan Box of Paris. "We've been through a professional audition now, we have one under our belts, and it makes the next one that much easier."
"It was interesting that the dancers were all ballet, not modern," said Stephanie Goudy of Burleson, Texas, "and the choreographers and dancers were very nice. We learned that most of us are 'movers,' not dancers."
"It went quickly," said Trenton Little of Paris. "Now we know more for the next time – what to do, how to dress. It was interesting reading from the script for the director."
"It's not as nerve-wracking as people think," said Jordan Carter of Paris. "It was fun, though we didn't know about the dance audition until we were there."
Other students attending were Matt Austin, Taylor Jackson and Kevin Calhoun, all of Paris.
The "Texas" outdoor musical begins with a lone horseman carrying the flag of Texas appearing at the top of a 600-foot cliff, who then gallops away as fireworks go off.
Should any of the PJC students be chosen, they would appear from June through August as part of more than 60 actors, singers and dancers in the 45th season of the Official Play of the State of Texas.
