THE ASINGANIAN JOURNAL: audition day for Mia

mia at mayfield

Mia, just before her interview

"Where is Peanutbutter? You are next.." said a lady as she opened the door of the small room that looked like an oversized closet with a piano and a boom box on top.

It is called a PRACTICE ROOM, a place found in the MayfieldSchool of Arts. Yesterday we went for an audition/entrance exams for Mia. Michelle, Mia's mom wanted to enroll her in this prestigious school for this September..When Michelle ( my daughter ) wrote out her application form, she included the short story PEANUT BUTTER which is also featured in this Journal a few weeks back. In this way, the adjucators would know she is well.-rounded with other art forms as well. Her list of skills include painting, ballet and basic video film editing.

Her birthday is August 11. It struck me because one of my good friends in the DC was also born August 11.

Anyways, We got out of the room, into a hall then we followed the lady into the entrance of a bigger room which is used, among other things to screen applicants. Only the applicant was allowed into the room but since I am accompanying her in one song, I was allowed to go inside with her..

Two ladies working as screening judges were seated a few feet away from her. Outside, peering thru glass doors, were the 2 Moms ( Michelle and Miguelita ) .

So I sat in front of the black Yamaha piano and when one of the teachers said: "Okay, let us hear your song," I started playing an intro to HERE I AM LORD, a very popular church hymn..Usually, it is sung in a solemn, slow tempo. But I transformed the timing into something bouncy, like a soft rock..It works and it never deviates from the spirit of the song...I was very, very careful in playing the accompaniment, because in a way both of us were under scrutiny as we did our separate roles..It was over after 3 minutes.I stood up, and walked to the door.Michelle opened the door and went in too. Mia's next song is a pop number NEVER HAVE A DREAM COME TRUE and the accompaniment is a karaoke track on an IPod. She had to make the necessary cable connections to the boom box in the hall. Feeling nervous gave me some hunger pangs and so I walked to the school cafeteria and sampled the coffee and pastries the school prepared for all the applicants. There were quite a few of them that morning. Only 30 openings are available. We heard there were about 600 applicants.

Every now and then, a lady ( a staff of the school ) would clean up the table ( napkins, juice boxes, styro foam cups etc. ) left by applicants and accompanying family members..

In about 30 mins, Mia, Michelle and Miguelita came in. Mia was crying.."Why??" I asked her..

"Oh she is nervous," Michelle said.."Her interview went fine..The 2 judges spent so much time chatting with her after the technical questions and exercises..In fact they laughed at her stories concerning hobbies and present home/school activities.."

Mia is like that. She is composed during an interview and right after she goes out of the interview room, she would break down into tears..relieved that the stressful chat is over..She did not make any mistake in the songs. She sang HERE I AM LORD gazillion times in church and she sang NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE during her paternal grandmother's birthday.

And at the end of the interview, one of the 2 judges told her: "From now on, you won't be called Mia anymore..We would call you PEANUT BUTTER!"