Waiting Survival Guide

So now that a lot of us have been accepted and we're counting down the days til we arrive ( 51 days, 1232 hours, 73957 minutes, 4437434 seconds) at Disney I thought I would try to compile a list of things to occupy our minds so we don't go crazy.

1. School. As much as it may suck and drain the life out of you if you just immerse yourself into it time should go by faster.
2. Friends. You're not going to be seeing them for a while so get as much time with them as you can. Be social. Sitting in your room all the time isn't going to make time go by any faster.

3. Start working out. Chances are your job will have you on your feet and boosted stamina can't hurt. Plus you'll be on your way towards a bangin Florida body!

4. Learn to cook if you can't. Not only is there awesome self gratification over creating your own meals but you can make some really delicious dishes for really cheap. If you're concerned with saving money then consider making your meals vs. eating out every night.

5. Steal the Back to the Future car and jump forward 2 months. Easy solution :)

Chicago Auditions

First and foremost I want to say that they had a cut before the dance combo and animation. And I didn't make it through that.

Moving on.
Prior to the audition I saw Chicago with Abby and Allison and got some lunch. Once there we were measured and our photo was taken. I was really glad to have brought my headshot too because the camera they used didn't look like it took very good quality pictures. I measured in at 5'5" so I was pretty much screwed from the start.

We learned a very simple 2 eight counts of marching essentially and then they cut about...I would say close to 90-100 people from the 124 that were there. They brought us in a room and said "sorry but we are unable to offer you an entertainment position at the time. Sometimes it just comes down to fitting in the costume." So I didn't actually get to experience this awesomely fun audition i've heard so much about and that is what I was mostly disappointed over. I won't lie and say that I'm ok and not upset. But I've gone through this before, I've gone through similar cattle calls (and that's what this was) and had the same result and it's ok. I can move on. I saw something Jazmine posted on the group and it's true. That now I can make magic for guests and be able to take credit for it. Merchandise here I come.

You hear more people tell you no than yes in this business. And that just makes that "yes" so, so much sweeter. :D

Outburst

Auditions are on FRIDAY!!

That is all.

Woes

With everything great that's going on in my life lately there was bound to be something foul on the horizon.
And that is my parents telling me I shouldn't go to Disney. Well they can't change it. Which is why they said "shouldn't".
But to combat it I started painting again. And while I may not be the best painter in the world it's still something I enjoy doing. I'm currently painting a picture of Alice following the white rabbit in the rabbit hole. I like it a lot :)
I also have the amazing support of the D-Fam. Who I love already and can't wait to actually meet some of them in two months. I can't wait for August when all of us are together!
Short update. Cool.

Roommate Survey

I fail at blogging.
But here's a roommate survey!!

NAME: Sarah, Sar-Bear, Cici, Sarah Beth, McKenney. I'll answer to all of these.
HOMETOWN: Well. Tough question. I was born and raised in Germany for 12ish years, I've lived in England for 2, New Jersey for 5, and now I'm in podunk Illinois and i've been here for...almost 6 years.
MAJOR: Theatre and Dance with a specialization in Performance and all around awesomeness.
OTHER: Special skills include: Laughing, silliness, loyalty, sewing, singing, dancing, skipping, and kindness. :)

CP Vitals

ROLE AT DISNEY: Pimpin' Merchandise. Auditioning for Character Performer in Chicago.
ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE DATE: May 24/January....3?
FLYING IN OR DRIVING: Driving.

HOUSING STUFF

COMPLEX PREFERENCE: Pretty much set on Vista Way. I'm very social.

WELLNESS OR NONWELLNESS: Non-wellness

NUMBER OF ROOMS/ROOMMATES: I would like a 3 bedroom.

I COULD NOT LIVE WITH A ROOMMATE THAT: Leaves post-it notes everywhere dictating what I should be doing/not doing. If there's a problem talk to me. The post-it thing is sooo passive agressive. And yes this has happened to me multiple times. It pisses me off and makes me want to disobey them even more.

LIFESTYLE STUFF

DO YOU DRINK? Quite.

DO YOU SMOKE? I've been known to have a cigarette if I've been drinking heavily. But as far as day to day? No I don't smoke. So yes, socially. Yes and no....

DO YOU LIKE TO PARTY? Yes. Part of the reason why I chose Vista. That and I want a cheaper living area. But yes, count on me partying frequently. I do not like hosting though. So no worries there. I'd rather crawl back than have a messy apartment to clean the next day. And then there's no liability issues either. :)

MEDICAL CONDITIONS? None.

MESSY OR TIDY? Slightly cluttered. Mostly I'll just throw clothes around.

DO YOU LIKE TO COOK? Occasionally. I do make a mean turkey chili dip and chicken stir fry over noodles with soy sauce. It's delicious. Trust.

NIGHT PERSON OR MORNING PERSON? Night. It would probably be wise to not converse with me in mornings before i've showered/had a cup of coffee.

ROOMMATE STUFF

FAVORITE CHORE? I don't know how anyone has a "favorite" chore. But putting dishes into a dishwasher would probably be it. Easy.

LEAST FAVORITE CHORE? Hand washing dishes. Good thing we have a dishwasher right? And bathrooms.

DO YOU SNORE? No. I can't sleep if my roommate does either.

WHAT TIME DO YOU USUALLY GO TO BED? I almost never go to bed at the same time every night. For the most part it depends on what I have to do the next day.

WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP ON FREE DAYS? Like..noon. hahaha. I like my sleep.

I PREFER TO SLEEP IN A ROOM THAT: Is dark and quiet.

PERSONALITY STUFF

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU: Adorable, trustworthy, hardworking.

ONE GOOD QUALITY: I don't blab things. "that's why her hair's so big it's full of secrets"

ONE BAD QUALITY: I can be extremely absent minded and forgetful at times.

FAVORITE FOOD: Spicy food. Really....really spicy food

5 FAVORITE BANDS/SINGERS: 1. Lady Gaga 2. Blondie 3. The Four Seasons 4. Carrie Underwood 5. Beyonce.

5 FAVORITE TV SHOWS: 1. Glee 2. Lost 3. Friends 4. Will and Grace 5. Jersey Shore

5 FAVORITE MOVIES: 1. Beauty and the Beast 2. Alice in Wonderland, 3. Shakespeare in Love 4. Mean Girls 5. Princess and the Frog

5 FAVORITE BOOKS: 1. Harry Potter 2. Water for Elephants 3. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister 4. Wicked 5. Alice in Wonderland

HOBBIES: Pretty much anything involving creativity.

DISNEY STUFF

FAVORITE MOVIE: Beauty and the Beast

FAVORITE CHARACTER: uhhhhh....Belle or Alice

FAVORITE PRINCESS: Belle

FAVORITE VILLAIN: Maleficent

FAVORITE PARK: Magic Kindgom

FAVORITE RIDE: Teacups

FAVORITE SHOW: No memory of those...

FAVORITE RESORT: I've never stayed in a resort

FAVORITE RESTAURANT: Again don't know

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN TO DISNEY? twice

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT AT DISNEY? Living at Disney World!

Quick Update

I haven't had my computer over the past couple of days because a friend of mine gave me !!300!! viruses on my laptop. Yes. 300. And yes. I am furious with him. But no worries because I got it fixed FO FREE! My dad has 30 years of IT experience and he fixes my laptop whenever something goes wrong for freeee. Swell hookup there.
So now I have it back and it's good as new and I can stop using my itouch to get online now.
I plan on posting a charity themed blog because there are two charities that i'm incredibly passionate about and would like to get more people involved with them if possible.
Also this weekend I will be in Louisville, KY for the Humana Festival of New Plays. Pretty much a weekend of being submerged in theatre. So I may or may not be on my computer...if I decide to pack it at all...PACK! omgosh. I still have to pack!
I've been doing a lot of stretching and working out to get ready for the audition too. And just a florida body in general. A good thing though is I had my BMR calculated and it's super high. Basically I could lie in bed all day and still burn 1483.5 calories. I think that's pretty good.

Audition Tips

I thought I would create a blog for all of us going out to the Disney CP auditions! Being an actor myself I have gone on countless.....countless auditions so I think my advice matters in this case. :)

Tip #1:

Be there early! If check in is at 3 be there at 2! There is a saying in the business, "To be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, to be late is unacceptable!"
Getting there early gives you ample time to stretch, warm up, release some nerves. Warming up is CRUCIAL. Even if the combination we're learning is simple still stretch and warm up. You don't want anything to hold you back. If you get there closer to the start time you probably won't have as much time to do this as you will probably get thrown into the action immediately. Also if you get there early you have more time to meet other people. Personally for me, if I know people there i'm more willing to go big in my audition.

Tip #2:Dress comfortably. Dress like a dancer! Chances are those they push through the audition are the ones that look like dancers! I plan on wearing a leotard with a tee (to hide my tattoo), my dance shorts, tights, and nude jazz shoes. Leg warmers depending on my mood. Dancer clothes are form fitting so instructors can see the muscles and how they're moving so they can tell if they're moving correctly. If you're wearing sweat pants that's going to hide a lot of what you're doing. Don't wear baggy clothes. You may be comfortable. But at a dance audition you just come across as sloppy. Also don't wear a ton of makeup. Some foundation and concealer is ok just don't cake it on. And some neutral eyeshadows may be ok. But they want to see you. Not a caked on you.

Tip #3
SMILE! If you don't smile then it's pretty safe to assume you didn't pass the audition. This is Disney! You HAVE to smile! If you don't then it comes across as you don't care, are too tired, or you're bored. If you are any of these things then just don't show it. But try to have as much fun as possible. I know two guys who completely forgot a dance combination in an audition but they whipped out this crazy improv dance that really entertained the crowd and they were both cast. If you do forget something DO NOT let that smile drop from your face because the casting director's eyes will go right to you if you do.

Tip #4Be nice to all members of staff. Stage Managers, etc. If you are rude to these people they WILL go to the directors and you WILL NOT be cast. Don't put yourself in that position. Be kind and gracious to anybody. Even in a waiting area. You may be around a million people and not one of them may appear to be in uniform but if you are even just heard complaining about the wait, about the weather, about anything someone who matters could hear you and take that negativity to the director. So don't be negative, don't be rude, don't be stupid.

Tip #5
If you are cut don't hang around and mope. Don't beg and plead with them for a second chance. It may not be over for you. They simply have just seen all they need to see from you. If you cry and plead and beg with them that will send them over the fence and not take you. Nobody wants a drama queen. So in the event that you are cut or they ask you to leave simply smile and say thank you...and leave.

I hope this was informative! Feel free to ask me any other auditioning questions you may have!

Excitement

So I haven't updated in quite a while but i've been super super busy but now it's spring break!! And I have a wealth of free time not to mention a sickness....

cough.....sneeze....

So that means that I can probably write a blog with some meat in it......but what to talk about? hmmmmm........

I booked a room at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort for the night of May 23 so if you are also staying there that night I will be the pale white girl with bangs who just got off of 15 hours of driving. I may be cranky. So if I do meet you that night let me have a few cocktails before you judge me. :)
I looked at pictures of the hotel and it is probably the nicest hotel i've ever stayed at so that makes me excited. I do plan on getting breakfast in bed so I should come with plenty of $$$ for that. I've never had breakfast in bed before and this sounds like the perfect time to do it.
ALSO.
I plan on seeing Orlando when I get there. More importantly. I plan on eating at Friendly's ASAP. I used to eat there all the time when I lived in Jersey but they don't have any in Illinois/St. Louis. sadface.
BUT.
I'm not sure if i'll end up pulling off the highway as soon as I see one because I'm probably going to be super excited when I do.
OR.
Waiting until I check in at the hotel and possibly meeting a few people and THEN going to Friendly's with them. But I will definitely be hitting that place up as soon as possible. That's like my #1 thing to do when I get down there.
I just think it'd be fun to get a group of people the night before and see the city before we get sucked into Disney.

I also requested a few work locations for Merch and here they are!
#1: The Basin in DTD
I want this location SO BAD. I don't know what the chances are or if they even put CPs in this location but IWANTIT.!! ughhh. I love soaps and skin care products so much!
#2!!: Disney's Pin Traders
I know that there is the DTD location and some other like...carts? Correct me if i'm wrong. I think that would be a lot of fun. I used to collect disney stickers when I was a kid so pins is perfect! And they don't stick and leave residue either....
####Numero Tres: World of Disney
WOD would be so much fun I think. It's the biggest store right? I would love that. And i'm pretty sure the reason I got merch was because we talked about when I worked a seasonal job at Toys R Us during Christmas season in my interview so they know I can handle a ton of people talking to me at once. So my chances of being there are pretty good I think. Or maybe i'm just full of myself. Whoooo knows. I like toys though.
#Four4: Any store that sells costumes
I really want to work somewhere that sells Princess Dresses to be more specific. The thought of seeing little girls trying on and buying dresses of their favorite princess and seeing the look on their faces when they look in the mirror sounds like the best feeling in the world.
#FIVE: EPCOT location
Cause seriously...how cool would that be?

AUDITIONS
I audition in....20 days.
YES
so excited.
I plan on getting up there and staying with some friends of mine in Chicago. One of them is the director of a play and another is in that play so I plan on auditioning and then seeing their show. It should be good because I also haven't seen these people in 3 years. Reunion! I also have never been to Chicago. I technically have actually...but it was on a college visit in high school so I don't really count it. I didn't really get to see anything.

I also saw a midnight showing of Alice in Wonderland.
and i loved it.
so much.
I did not love however, the extreme lack of costumes and makeup. In fact me and my best friend who I saw it with were the only people to do makeup. And our looks were kind of tame too...we still got dirty looks from people. But really? Dirty looks? Did I offend? I don't think so...
Midnight Showing FAIL.
This was my first midnight showing of a movie too. Major letdown.

Formspring me!
http://www.formspring.me/sarahmckenney

do it! I need blogging material clearly. I'd like to not have weeks in between blogs because I have nothing to talk about.