B (6:28)
Okay. Yes. I do love this story a lot. And I feel like I'm gonna tell this for ages, but. So I graduated with a BFA in musical theater and a minor in psychology from Penn State. That was in May of 2025. And right after graduation, I booked Bring it on at the Muny in St. Louis. And then that was in June, and it stretched till, I guess, mid June. And then I did a summer contract with Music Theater Wichita in Kansas. And we did Crazy for your first Newsies and then something Rotten. And in Newsies, it was around July, I received a self tape request from my agents for this new revival of Chess on Broadway. And it was one of the first kind of auditions that I've had since being out of school. So I was testing the water and I just, you know, came back from rehearsal one day from Newsies, set up my little camera in the Airbnb that I was staying at, and sent the tape in, not knowing where it would go. And then a week later, I received a callback for it. And it was an in person callback in New York. And at the time we were, it was. We were about to go into tech for Newsies. And one thing about that show is that it is very technical as far as the set, the set moves, the choreography where we're running around and chasing each other. There were a lot of things going on, going on. And so it was also the first time I felt like I needed to take a few days off of the current contract I was doing in order to go to New York. So there was a lot of worry and also kind of fear of missing out tech of Newsies. But luckily I was able to get the green light from the people at Music Theater Wichita. And I hopped on a plane, went to New York. It was an early flight, landed and went straight to the studio. I went straight into the callback, did my makeup in the holding room, got dressed at the, at the venue with my luggage in hand. And I just remember being like, trying to warm up myself and ground myself for the audition. And so I went in, sang my little song, and then had some sweet conversations about graduation and how exciting it is being out of school and ready to do the thing. And then I left. And I remember one thing about this was that I again had my luggages in hand and I was gonna go stay with a friend for the two days that I was in New York. And when I headed to the elevator on the first day, I bumped into none other than our new book writer, Danny Strong. And he was. I recognized him immediately. He saw my luggage and he started talking about where I was flying from and Penn State and all the wonderful things like that. And then we reached the lobby of Pearl, which was where the audition was at, and we were on the sidewalk of Pearl. And he was like, oh, it's so good to see you. Good, good job today. And I said, thank you so much. And then he goes, okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow. And I. My jaw dropped, my eyes popped out of my head. And he like puts his. In his pointer finger to his mouth, like doing a shush sort of gesture. And like, start. Starts walking the other way. And I. That was when I was like, okay, I guess I'm coming in tomorrow. Then I received the email from my agents saying that I got called back for the next day to dance and then sing. So the next day, I show up to Pearl again in the morning. We danced, I believe it was one combination. And it was. It was. It's really fun looking back on this because I remember this specific callback. We were told to bring ballet slippers, sneakers, heels, and knee pads. And that was the first time I felt my heart, like, drop in my stomach because I was like, what are they gonna make us do in this room? I was honestly quite scared. But luckily gathered all my belongings and headed straight to the. To the studio, rather. And I was like, you know what? We're gonna have fun today. I'm excited to see what this is going to be. So I ended up choosing to put my heels on, and I was stretching in the holding room. And, like, at that time, what was going through my head was, I have to get back to Newsies Tech. Like, I had a. I had a flight to catch that evening. So I really was just, like, in the moment, relaxed enough to do what I needed to do in the room and kind of really center myself enough to get the job done. So we went into the room, did the dance combination, and thank goodness that I was in the show Newsies, because my stamina was up. My endurance was ready. Like, I was. We were all sweating and working really hard doing that combo. But my, like, having done the Newsies choreography for weeks, at that point, my body was ready. So we did the combination, and then I went back to the studio to sing in the afternoon. So I got lunch, went back to the studio, and then sang some songs again. Saw Danny Strong in the room, saw a whole bunch of the creative team, and I remember saying to myself that this room had so many people, a lot more people than I anticipated. But I was like, great. This is, you know, the more the merrier. So I was really just living in the moment and singing my songs. And then we got back to talking about Penn State again, and the excitement of that, and that was that I remember leaving the room, and so I went back to the holding room, and at that point, it was empty. I think I was the last person in that specific chunk of slots that they were doing. So I was ready to gather my stuff and change to go catch my flight back to Kansas. And on my way out, the casting director stops me at the door and is like, Wait, could you actually come back for two seconds? And I was, like, confused because that had never happened to me before. And I was like, oh, boy. What are they gonna make me do? So I asked him. I was like, should I bring my book? Like, my repertoire book, in case they want me to sing again? And they. And he was like, no, that's okay. No need. So then I drop off my change of clothes, and I remember, like, taking a beat for myself to prepare myself mentally and physically for whatever they were going to ask me to do. I was like, I'm wearing my laduca heels in case they want me to dance the combination one more time. I could bring my knee pads if I wanted to, but alas, I just walked behind the casting director back into the audition room. And at that point, when I enter everyone in the room, the dozens of people in there were standing up. And that was a sight that I will never forget, because I was very shocked and confused. But I. I came in, and Michael Mayer, the director, was like, oh, I'm so sorry. We forgot one thing. And first thing in my head, I said, my knee pads. My knee pads. What am I gonna do? They're gonna ask me to do the combination again, and I don't have my knee pads. I was freaking out. But on. On the outside, I just said, oh, that's okay. And he said, you booked the job. And I. I just remember my mind went blank. My. Like, every part of my body was, like, still. I didn't know what to do, what to feel, what to think. Like, nothing. No words came out of my mouth at that point. And I just remember this blank stare. I was, like, looking at Michael Mayer. And then every. Like, there were a couple of laughs in the room when they realized how shocked I was. And he said, yeah, we'll see you in the fall. And I just. The only word that could come out of my mouth was, wait. I just said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I. I feel like I said it hundreds of times until another word came out where I was like, thank you so much. And I remember, like, hugging Michael Mayer. And, like, I, like, remember wanting to hug every single person in that room, because I just felt. I just felt like I was flying. I felt like I was soaring above clouds and literally on cloud nine. But I remember hugging everyone and saying, thank you so much, and then leaving the room, going back to the holding room. And again, I was alone in that holding room at that point. And before I could even process what had happened, I remember, like, falling to my knees in front of my stuff in the little corner and just saying a quick prayer of thank you, gratitude. I have no idea what just happened, but I feel great. And now I have to get on this flight back to Kansas. So I grab all my change of clothes, go to the holding room, or not the holding room, but the changing room rather. And I remember calling my mom, who at that time was. She was waking up from her sleep. There was like a 12 hour, 13 hour difference between us. So at that point it was probably 2am for her.
