By Kaitlin Ristau

Stand in front of four assessors and perform a solo song, dance, and cold reading. Sounds terrifying? Maybe. Extremely rewarding? Absolutely.

It’s getting to be that time again for the annual musical tryouts. This year’s musical is going to be The Wizard of Oz.

Garrett George ‘16 was principal dancer the past two years. According to George, the nerves are the worst part.

“Getting past the stage fright is the hardest thing about it. Seeing others practice and encourage each other really helps a lot,” George said.

Abby Ernst ‘16 who scored the lead of last years musical and principal dancer in years before. Ernst remembers her past three auditions and how much she enjoyed performing after the anxiety passed.

“Once the nerves settle down, performing gives you a shot of adrenaline and it becomes exhilarating.” Ernst said.

A typical audition looks like performing a solo song of your choice, a dance skit and a cold reading from the upcoming musical. This is all done in front of the choir teacher Denise Beauchamp, the band director Dave Hepinstall, John Cramer, and the musical’s dance instructor Alex Eakins.

“The best thing to do when you start your solos is just to embrace your nerves and put your full self into everything you do,” said Catherine Lemus ‘16.

Lemus has been involved in the musical, performing as a principal dancer, all of her high school career and she recalls it as being the best way to gain confidence and make new friends.

“The best advice I could give someone who wants to be in the musical would be to just relax and be yourself. We are not looking for perfection just students being themselves and doing their best,” said Beauchamp.

Tryouts will be held Nov 16 and 17 after school. After tryouts, students will be informed of their character placement online, the night before Thanksgiving.