A Peek Behind the Curtain

Madison Weikle, assistant editor

The theater is a space for personal expression. Actors, directors, stage hands, and designers work for months for a production which will, inevitably, end. PVCC theater performances have entertained the Charlottesville community for years. Audiences laugh, cry, and share awkward moments with the actors on stage.

Each show starts with an audition. For an actor, the audition is the most terrifying moment of any production. It is the first, and sometimes last, impression an actor will make, and as such, it is important to get it right. However, the nervous energy and anxiety surrounding auditions can cause them to go terribly wrong.

Brad Stoller, assistant professor of theater arts and the director of PVCC’s productions, attempts to battle against the nerves and make auditioners feel comfortable enough to give a great performance.

At auditions for his latest PVCC show, a musical adaptation of As You Like It, by Shaina Taub, Stoller had the actors participate in movement exercises and sing together before starting individual auditions.

“The warm-ups helped me shake off the initial jitters I was feeling,” said Ana Lorenza, student at PVCC. Lorenza was cast as Celia alongside my role of Rosalind in As You Like It.

Along with providing a warm up, Stoller encouraged actors to attempt their audition songs multiple times. He recognized it is not always easy to get up on stage and sing. I struggled with my song at first but was given another opportunity to perform. The second time I stood on stage to sing, I felt more comfortable belting out the notes of “Rosalind Be Merry.”

Lorenza said, “Everyone was so supportive, we all know it’s hard to get up on stage and sing, maybe one of the hardest things there is. So it was great to be surrounded by a group of people who were all rooting for you to succeed.”

According to the PVCC website, performances of As You Like It will be on Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 2, 2:30 p.m.