Every student who wished to be accepted to the HIGH SCHOOL OF MUSIC AND ART had to go through THE AUDITION. These are the true stories from alumni who experienced the anxiety of being tested and soon found that that glorious feeling of trying to get in was only the beginning.Audition Stories - I Got Accepted to the High School of Music and Art is both inspiring and painful but always triumphant as each storyteller bears their heart and soul.

The casting director for Chicago, Pippin, Becket, Gypsy, The Graduate, the Sound of Music and Jesus Christ Superstar tells you how you can find your dream role! Absolutely everything an actor needs to know to get the part is here: What to do that moment before, how to use humour; create mystery; how to develop a distinct style; and how to evaluate the place, the relationships and the competition. In fact, Audition is a necessary guide to dealing with all the "auditions" we face in life. This is the bible on the subject.

This fine collection of short fiction tells of the turning points, unsettling recollections, and ambiguous boundaries of winning and losing. The novelette "Audition" takes a trombonist through the intense preparation and audition for a major symphony orchestra. In "Dream Date," a middle-aged man seeks out a high school girlfriend, with unexpected results. "Meet not Cute," another story with a musical background, describes a relationship through a series of odd and highly memorable encounters. "Alicia" is a lonely girl in a mountain village who yearns for escape and is given the opportunity from a most unwelcome source. "The Errant Knight" portrays a chess match involving a player who is haunted by missed opportunities. These and other stories provide an outstanding new collection by an author whose excellent storytelling will please anyone who likes credible fiction, skillfully told. "Roger Hecht has given us an insightful, accurate and compelling look into the demanding, exhilarating and life-changing entry portal into a symphony orchestra: 'Audition.' Hecht's story has the sound and feel of the real thing, and readers will never again attend a concert without bringing to mind his cast of characters and their musical, emotional, and interpersonal journey that led them to a coveted position on stage-or not." -Douglas Yeo, Professor of Trombone, Arizona State University; Bass Trombonist, Boston Symphony Orchestra (retired)

When high school junior Sara wins a coveted scholarship to study ballet, she must sacrifice everything for her new life as a professional dancer-in-training. Living in a strange city with a host family, she's deeply lonely-until she falls into the arms of Remington, a choreographer in his early twenties. At first, she loves being Rem's muse, but as she discovers a surprising passion for writing, she begins to question whether she's chosen the right path. Is Rem using her, or is it the other way around? And is dancing still her dream, or does she need something more? This debut novel in verse is as intense and romantic as it is eloquent.

"All actors, and many other performers, have one experience in common - the audition. This process is often a dreaded, nerve-wracking trial by fire, but it is also a source of many a great story. What Have You Done? is a treasure trove of such stories." "With hundreds of anecdotes from and about the illustrious and the anonymous, Louis Zorich brings us up on stage, into the producer's office, onto the casting couch - and, frequently, through the exit door - to share how a brief few moments can seem like an eternity, and how individual triumphs and failures reveal the enduring spirit of the performer. Included are stories about Robert De Niro, Madonna, Oprah Winfrey, Renee Zellweger, Barbra Streisand, James Dean, Will Ferrell, Nathan Lane, and many more." --Book Jacket.

"Everyone involved in the performing arts, from professors to casting directors to actors to students, especially those just starting out, should read this eye-opening work." Library Journal, Starred Review A practical guide that shows BIPOC actors how to break down the audition process rather than being broken down by the entertainment industry and its practices of exclusion and bias. Working in an environment that often stereotypes or attempts to “universalize” experiences, it’s more important than ever that actors consider how culture, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and ability are inseparable and important parts of their identity that should not be minimized and can instead enhance their work. In Breaking It Down: Audition Techniques for Actors of the Global Majority, Nicole Hodges Persley and Monica White Ndounoushare real-world audition strategies that centers the experiences of actors of color. They combine practical advice, cultural studies, Black feminist perspectives, and lived experiences to offer intersectional approaches to auditioning. The ten steps outlined in this book aid actors across racial lines seeking to develop the necessary skills to break down a character and script while affirming their full selves into the audition to book the role. Building on the momentum of the #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo, and Time’s Up movements, Breaking It Down emboldens actors of the global majority to embrace every aspect of their identities rather than leaving themselves behind in an effort to gain entry and access to the entertainment industry

Bunheads meets The Kicks in this first novel in a brand-new middle grade trilogy from New York Times bestselling author, dancer, model, and actress Maddie Ziegler! Twelve-year-old Harper has been dancing practically since she could walk. She loves her dance studio and team, and just won her first ever top junior solo in a regional competition. But right before the school year starts, Harper’s parents drop a bombshell—the family has to relocate from their cozy town in Connecticut to sunny Florida for their jobs. That means goodbye to her friends, dance team, trips to see shows in NYC—and did she mention dance team? When she arrives at her new dance school and new team, it feels like everyone has better feet, quicker turns and faster taps than Harper. And it doesn’t help that a group of girls, who nicknamed themselves The Bunheads, wonder how the heck she made the team if she can’t even do a simple turn sequence in front of the class. Thankfully, Harper befriends Lily, a fellow newbie in the studio who is just as eager to make her mark and find a friendly face. With a big competition coming up for the dance team, Harper is determined to show everyone—especially those Bunheads—what she’s made of. And when a very badly timed injury threatens all of the work they have done, The Bunheads, Lily, and Harper must learn to truly work together to give them their best shot at the top spot!

Since the death of his wife seven years ago, documentary maker Aoyama has not dated anyone else. Now even his teenage son, Shige, thinks that he should remarry and his best friend Yoshikawa comes up with a plan: to hold fake film auditions from which, he can choose a new bride. Of the thousands who apply, it is a beautiful ballerina, Yamasaki Asami, who captivates Aoyama. Infatuated by her fragile nature and nervous smile, he ignores his increasing sense of unease, putting aside his doubts about his new love, until it may be too late... In Audition, Ryu Murakami delivers his most subtly disturbing novel yet, confirming him as Japan's master of the psycho-thriller.

Best friends Tatum and Lori are used to doing everything together-including a clarinet/flute duet for District Honor Band auditions. But all that changes when Michael transfers to their middle school, and into their band. Suddenly, not only is he competition for Tatum's spot on stage, but he's stealing Lori, too. Tatum doesn't like change no matter its form: not with her good friend Aaron, who seems to believe her fib that they're secretly boyfriend and girlfriend. And not with her mom either, who, to cope with a separation from her dad, is performing in community theater, of all things! Amy Fellner Dominy composes an equally heartwarming and hilarious story of how holding tight to the status quo can mean missing out on the future-and how often times the best way to move forward is by going solo.

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • An inspiring and riveting memoir from the most important woman in the history of television journalism. “A delightful tale of the golden age of television.... Juicy behind-the scenes details of the celebrities she’s interviewed, mixed in with stories of her own trials and tribulations.” —The Washington Post After more than fifty years of interviewing heads of state, world leaders, movie stars, criminals, murderers, inspirational figures, and celebrities of all kinds, Barbara Walters turns her gift for examination onto her own extraordinary life. Walters was the product of a turbulent childhood that featured a glamorous father who made and lost several fortunes as well as the companionship of a mentally challenged sister. Feelings of responsibility for her family played a large part in the choices she made as she grew up: the friendships she developed, the relationships she had, the marriages she tried to make work. Ultimately, thanks to her drive and a decent amount of luck, Walters made it to the top of a male-dominated industry. She was the first woman cohost of the Today show, the first female network news coanchor, the host and producer of countless top-rated Specials, the star of 20/20, and the creator and cohost of The View. She has not only interviewed the world’s most fascinating figures, she has become a part of their world. These are just a few of the names that play a key role in her life, career, and book: Yasir Arafat, Warren Beatty, Menachem Begin, George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Roy Cohn, the Dalai Lama, Princess Diana, Katharine Hepburn, King Hussein, Angelina Jolie, Henry Kissinger, Monica Lewinsky, Richard Nixon, Rosie O’Donnell, Christopher Reeve, Anwar Sadat, John Wayne . . . the list goes on. Barbara Walters has spent a lifetime auditioning: for her bosses at the TV networks, for millions of viewers, for the most famous people in the world, and even for her own daughter, with whom she has had a difficult but ultimately quite wonderful and moving relationship. This book, in some ways, is her final audition, as she fully opens up both her private and public lives. In doing so, she has given us a story that is heartbreaking and honest, surprising and fun, sometimes startling, and always fascinating.