Hi everyone,

We hope you are having a lovely week and enjoying this bout of sunshine!

This week’s newsletter is not really one as such, as it doesn’t contain news. Instead, we wish to address the emergence of some negativity that Miss Lynn and I have noticed that is not in line with our studio ethos. At this time of year, when there are lots of auditions and castings happening, it can be a tough time for those who miss out. We’ve had a lot of talks around this in classes over the years and I’ve addressed these challenges again this week in classes going through auditions. So, we thought it would be a good idea to inform parents of the kind of values we encourage at the studio.

NAPA Ethos

At NAPA our training methods are geared to preparing our students to reach a professional standard. Even those who do not want to pursue the Performing Arts as a career can benefit from this type of training, whether they end up as a teacher, lawyer, journalist, electrician … whatever! The life skills embedded in this training encompasses hard work, commitment, creative thinking, endurance, problem solving, confidence, effective communication, team building, discipline and yes, disappointment, are all a part of life.

Auditions

Auditioning can be tough, on both the auditionees and audition panel! We have previously included some audition tips in our newsletters but here are a few important things to remember:

Preparation is the key. You always want to put your best foot forward in an audition. Nerves can take over in auditions so the more prepared you are, the less nervous you will be!
Have you followed the instructions? If an email has been sent home, ensure you follow the brief carefully. If you have been given instructions in class, ensure you are listening and taking note of what your teacher is saying.
Presentation is key! Are you wearing the correct attire? Is your hair done in a neat and tidy fashion? If it has been specified that you should wear a uniform or have your hair a certain way, ensure you have followed this instruction.
Choose a role that best suits your skill set. You don’t always have to be “the lead” and should choose a role that challenges you; but is within your capabilities.

Casting

Casting a show is tricky! We have so many talented cherubs at NAPA and lots of kids miss out on parts every year. This does not mean they are not talented; it just means they were not right for the role. Many things are taken into consideration when we cast roles or place routines. Some roles do require performers to have a certain skill set and this is obviously the first thing we consider, but there are many other factors that come in to play.

Is the performer a team player? Being kind and supportive of your fellow performers is very important and something that does not go unnoticed by teachers. This is something that we really value in our studio, and why we have our reward charts and studio spirit awards.
Do you look the part? Sometimes we need performers to play adults or young children, so height can come in to play. Do we specifically need a blonde-haired child? Do we need someone with a certain ethnicity? Perhaps we need someone who has green eyes? This is something that happens consistently in professional casting. I once missed out on a role because I was too tall to fit inside a prop cupboard!
Has the child been given an opportunity previously and not worked hard? This is a factor that will often come into play in the professional world. If you are given the role but do not work hard and show us that you are capable, it may mean missing out next time, until you get those skills up to try again down the track.
Commitment to classes and extra rehearsals – if you are someone who has excellent attendance and are always at extra rehearsals, then we know we can rely on you to take on the commitment of a lead role. A lot of extra work is necessary for larger roles, and this can mean sacrificing other things to ensure that you are 100% committed to your role.

Dealing with disappointment

This is a hard one, as it is difficult to see your child upset. I always say to the kids “it is ok to be sad you missed out, but it’s not ok to be mad at the person who got the role”. This is the main reason for me writing this article, as I have heard a lot of negative talk this week coming from parents around kids “always getting parts”. Just like in the professional world, we always cast who is best for the role. We do not believe in “taking turns” or “who’s been here the longest” but rather, who is right for that particular role. This is a tough industry and the old saying is “you will get 99 no’s for every one yes”. Dealing with disappointment is all part of their training and they can learn how to do so in the safe environment of NAPA. Here are some tips on dealing with disappointment.

Focus on the positives! So, you didn’t get the role you wanted, but perhaps you’ve been given a featured position or ensemble role. This is where you will best hone your craft! Being in an ensemble is where you learn the most amazing skills – picking up choreography, learning harmonies, bringing focus to a scene, stagecraft, creating interesting moments on stage… there is so much to learn! The ensemble can also have more stage time than leads. Big productions numbers, cool costumes… what’s not to love! Ensemble positions also make up the majority of professional work, so you will one day be grateful that you learned these valuable skills.
Reflect on why you missed out. Did you do your best audition? Do you need to work on certain skills to help you get the role next time? Who did get the role, and what did they perhaps bring to the audition that you didn’t? Do they fit the brief better than you? Are they more experienced or doing more training than you?
Ask for feedback. This is not something you will get in a professional audition, but we are happy to give feedback when it is asked for in a respectful way. Quite often teachers or directors can give insight into what parents don’t see in the classroom, that they can then use to assist their child’s understanding of why they have missed out.
Don’t indulge negativity. It’s never easy to see your child upset, but as parents we need to be sure we don’t slip into the negative culture of “it’s not fair”. Negative talk always has a way of finding its way back to us. Gossiping and whinging to other parents and indulging negativity is not something that we condone. It has been unfortunate to hear that this has been happening quite a bit, especially with the parents of our younger students. We rely on our parents to support our studio ethos and to encourage your child to be happy for those who have been cast in roles or featured in dances. How a child or parent reacts to not being chosen can tell us a lot about them and may hinder them gaining lead roles in the future.

I have talked about a lot of the above in classes recently, so if our parents are also supporting us, then the children with have a much more positive experience around casting and auditions. Emotions will happen, but if you can talk through it with your child in a calm and supportive way, then they are more likely to also show those traits when they miss out in the future. It is a very tough industry but the success we have had with students and graduates reinforces our values and training practices. We are so proud of our graduates who are working professionally or continuing their training at prestigious Performing Arts Universities. We are constantly receiving thanks from them on their training, and they often say that they would not be able to withstand the pressures and demands of the industry without the lessons they learned at NAPA.

Respect for our studio and staff

Another big issue that we are having is respect for our building. Recently we posted in our newsletter asking parents to remind children that they need to be mindful of cleaning up after themselves and being respectful of the space. Unfortunately, this week has been worse than ever. On Tuesday evening, I entered the girl’s bathroom to find that someone had squeezed half a bottle of toilet cleaner all over the floor and over a new roll of toilet paper. This happened between 6.30-7.00pm.

This week we have constantly had to clean up spilled food, food scraps and wrappers off the floor. Our courtyard floor was a mess with food debris. A total waste of our time and a sign of lack of respect for us and the studio. If this does not improve this week, we will be removing the games and toys for the remainder of term. The message sent home last week has obviously not been communicated to all of our students. What is most upsetting about these situations is that there are generally parents around when these things have happened and no one has assisted us in reminding the children to clean up, and in fact some parents have also walked away and left their mess for us to clean up.

This is all a part of the students’ professional training. When we go to competitions, the NAPA Performance Teams are always commended by organisers on the cleanliness of our dressing rooms, our theatre etiquette and respect for the space. This is something that takes a lot of work to instil in our students but will serve them well if they work professionally in the industry. Keeping a dressing room tidy, appreciating technical and support staff, showing good understanding of theatre etiquette and all aspects of respect for the space are just as important as being a talented performer.

Lynn and I feel very strongly about the training we are giving and believe it is reflected in our student’s success. We thank those of you who support us in our studio ethos and hope that we can move forward in a positive way, so that our current students can have the best chance of success in The Arts.

Best wishes,
Kim