On Sept. 2, Milligan University hosted auditions for the upcoming musical, Freaky Friday.
Director Diane Traveau chose the musical to highlight the strong female cast and to celebrate the seniors taking their final bow.
The audition process can be nerve-wracking for actors. Each one must come prepared with a monologue and a number of bars from a song of their choice.
“If they’re smart,” Traveau said, “they will choose something relevant to the show.” On audition day, they enter at their appointed time, have a headshot taken on a polaroid, and turn in their résumés.
Actor Irie Manning shared that she eases her pre-audition nerves with prayer.
“Walking down here before the audition, I just started praying. I believe that everything I do here, in musical theatre and anywhere, I believe that it should be done in the glory of God. And that always helps ease up my nerves, because then it’s not about me anymore,” she said.
When making casting decisions, Traveau says she focuses on not only the audition, but the actor’s schedule, their age and if they fit in with the rest of the cast.
“Mostly we are looking for the right people that can bring this story to life,” she said.
Traveau’s directing process encourages her actors to avoid watching other versions of the role, enabling them to create original versions of the characters. “I always make the cast of whatever show I’m doing take a pledge that they will not try to mimic what was done before, but instead try to bring their own take on the material.” Traveau herself has not seen the original stage show, or the Disney Channel version of the musical.
Actor Conner Morgan shared that he appreciates Traveau directing in this way because it allows him to make the characters his own. He shared that when working with her in the past, she would give the cast quotes from the original novels every day.
The cast has limited time to prepare, with opening night set for Oct. 26, they have less than two months to rehearse. According to actor Sallie Hatfield, rehearsals can be time-consuming. Sessions can last three hours or longer, especially during the week before opening night.
“It doesn’t bother me because I love it,” Hatfield said, “This doesn’t feel like work to me.” Hatfield encourages people to see the show because she believes it’s a relatable story full of heart and laughter—that a lot of people can connect with.
