With auditions for the spring musical Matilda being this week, I asked a few students how they prepared themselves for their auditions. These actors have a strong passion for the performing arts program here at Ascension. They all told me that in selecting what song they wanted to audition with, they had to consider the role they would want to play. Senior Ellie West has been a part of the theater program since she was seven! She said she prepared for her audition three months in advance, and that way, she was able to change her mind about what song she wanted to do but still have the time to rehearse it. The song she chose was “I Won’t Mind,” a number from a musical that has not even been released yet! Junior Martha Odom has been a part of Ascension’s theater program for as long as Ellie and started preparing about a month in advance with her song selected from a list given by the internet. The song she selected was “Slipping Through My Fingers” from the musical Mamma Mia. Finally, another junior, Emmeline D’Albor has been a part of the theater program here since she started school here in eighth grade; however, she has been performing outside of school, in KPAC from eight years old to thirteen, in CYT from eight years old to sixteen, and Wonderland from eleven years old to now. She started her preparation five weeks in advance. She chose the song “Land of Yesterday” from Anastasia. After talking to these students, I noted that it takes a lot of practice along with advanced preparation to ensure you are ready for auditions as well as the show itself.