Speaking from personal experience, I know that drama gives kids much more than just confidence.  Growing up I was never athletic, so I was never part of any organized sports team.

Sure I took Physical Education, it was required, but being painfully shy, and having no natural athletic ability left me standing waiting to be picked when team captains began choosing their teams.

Acting is tough. The hardest part of it is the fact that you’re not going to get every role you want, no matter how badly you want it or how perfect you think you are for it. They say you’ve got to have a thick skin in this business- you have to be prepared to be rejected.

But instead of telling you how to deal with rejection, all everyone keeps saying is “something better is coming”, “one door closes, another one opens”, “it’s their loss”, “everything happens for a reason” etc. Those sentiments are all well and good, but none of them have ever actually made me feel better when I wasn’t cast in a show I had my heart set on.

According to many actors who consider themselves a triple threat, “A Chorus Line” is high, if not on top of, the bucket list of musicals-to-be-in.

Publicity started early. Buzz was palpable in the musical theater community for months before the actual auditions. I got the idea it might be somewhat ironic, if not clever, to share with you the experience of community members auditioning for a musical about auditioning for a musical.