Born this Way

Emily Jorgenson: STRAIGHT, but not narrow.

I support gay rights.

How was I born?

Straight. White. Attracted to older men.

Sexually charged, sexually responsible.

Proud of who I am, proud of the choices I've made.

Proud that I don't bury my head in the sand, or up my ass.

Liberal.

Accepting.

Supportive of love, no matter who you are or who you were born to love.

 Happy to be happy!

Confident in who I am and what I believe.

Are you proud of who you were born to be?

This is REALITY.

Greetings, all! Just as I thought it would, the Disney Character auditions made everything REAL. Actually meeting some of the people I'll be sharing this experience made it all fall into place. Everyone was friendly, personable, and excited to be there as I was. It was a fantastic experience.

As far as the audition goes, it was a blast. There were thirty-three people at the audition, myself included, and it was hands down the most fun I've ever had at an audition. It was laid back, relaxed, fun... everything Disney is supposed to be! We started out the audition with the basic measurements, job descriptions, meeting the casting director, and small talk chit chat, kept us all relaxed and loose!

The audition was simple and fun! We did two animation exercises (Disney's terminology for an improv audition) which involved LARGE, exaggerated pantomiming and NO speaking, which allowed them to gauge whether or not we'd be suitable to portray one of the hundreds of furry costumed characters that grace the parks on a daily basis. (Think Mickey... he doesn't speak!) After those, we learned a dance combination, rehearsed it over and over... and the audition ended after about two hours! It was a great expereince!

Overall, I feel the audition went well! I had a blast, I had energy, and I made the casting director laugh. Can't get much better than that! I'll be happy if I get a role, don't get me wrong, but either way I'm looking forward to August now more than ever :)

As far as hearing back goes, the results of the audition are released anywhere between three and five weeks following the FINAL audition date of the fourteen-city tour of DCP Auditions, which happens to fall on March 30th. Ergo, I should hear back about the audition anytime before April 30th. It'll be an exciting time!! (I'm hoping it's closer to three weeks than five, ha ha).

Check back for an update ;)

Twelve Hours to Go.

I'm twelve hours out from my Character Performance audition in Minneapolis. After a four hour drive and twenty minutes of looping around one-way after one-way to find the entrance to the parking lot of our hotel, I'm finally inside the hotel, relaxing, mentally preparing myself for the task ahead. Haha, so serious! 


I'm just joking, I'm actually feeling very confident about this. I know what to expect, and I know what I'm capable of. I'll give it my all, and I can't ask any more than that!


Aside from the actually audition process (which I love, they're a blast!) I'm VERY excited to actually meet some of the people who will be joining me on this life adventure. As far as that department is concerned... I've networked for months on a facebook page for the Fall/Fall Advantage 2011 College Program, and have come across ONE other person auditioning in Minneapolis tomorrow, so it might be a VERY small audition. The sizes have varied anywhere from 50 to 200 students auditioning, so we'll see how many Disney-hopefuls trollop through Minneapolis tomorrow! 


I have a feeling that after this audition, the reality of the rest of the year is really going to sink in.  Moving to a new state, with no one I know, for five months... working for minimum wage to pay my way through a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I'm feeling a whirlwind of emotions at this moment, I'm anxious, excited,  happy, scared, tired, awake... it's a crazy feeling. 


Look for an update tomorrow... I'll recap the audition then!

T-7 DAYS... and other Disney updates.

There is officially less than one week until my Character Performance audition in Minneapolis, MN, and I couldn't be more anxious/excited! My dad is getting a hotel lined up right downtown for Monday night, and my audition is at noon on Tuesday. That audition seemed ages away when this entire process started, and now it's right at my doorstep. I'm hoping that it goes swimmingly, and I'm feeling very confident that things will go well! 


Also on the Disney front, I found a roommate for the program and I'm quite excited. Her name is Mariela and she hails from sunny Puerto Rico! Talk about two different worlds :). Me from the frozen tundra, her from a tropical paradise, but after chatting with her for a while we seem to really get along and I'm very excited to share my Disney Adventure with her. She's a CP veteran, so I'll have someone with some experience to lean on while I get my feet wet in this crazy little things called the Disney College Program. We seem to have a lot in common, and she's easy to talk to... and I'll meet her in 145 days (give or take a few, I haven't counted in a while ha).


Check back in a week for updates about the audition!


Now outside the realm of Disney... things are going very well for me. I'm back at work, which has been a breath of fresh air. I've really missed Buffalo Wild Wings, I didn't realize how important that place was to me until I was gone for a while. My annual review went very well, full marks for being awesome! Ha! Just kidding, but I did do well and I'm ready to continue proving myself as a valuable employee and saving money before I take off for the fall adventure I have ahead of me.


Socially speaking, things are crazy. I've been going out, having a good time, spending time with fantastic new people and loving every minute of it! One particular person in my life is proving very stimulating to say the least, and I'm quite excited to see where THAT leads.... we'll see! 


All I know is I'm happier now than I have been in a long time, and I'm stoked to see where all this leads.


:)

Picnic Post-Mortem

A show's closing performance is always bittersweet. There is a flood of emotions that pours over you, right as you take your first step on to the stage up until you take your final bow. That feeling of "this is the last time I'll do this!" after every one of your lines, your movements, your interactions, and with every entrance and exit you know you are literally one step closer to saying goodbye. There is a sense of accomplishment after a successful run that you can't find anywhere else, and this show was particularly strong in that sense. Watching the show come together and grow is always exciting, especially when there is new blood involved. "Picnic" follows Madge Owens as she finds herself and learns what it means to fall in love and grow up, and she runs after the new guy in town, Hal Carter. The actor that played Hal was a first time performer, and watching him grow in his craft, and discover how wonderful theatre can be was a once in a lifetime experience, and I am so very proud of him.

The cast of a show quickly becomes like your second family. In a relatively short time period, the cast and crew of "Picnic" were my constant companions, I'd spent every evening with them and most weekend nights, and as the rehearsal period went on I found myself becoming attached to these people, as you always do. Saying goodbye to them today was hard, even harder than I thought it would be. It made me think about how hard it is going to be when I leave for my internship in the fall. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm ready to see what those reasons are.

157 Days to Go!

There's no denying it, Disney is on the way. It is steadily approaching, and I'm starting to get very anxious-excited. The idea of me picking up my life and moving halfway across the country is starting to sink in, and even though I'm going to miss everything I'll be leaving behind more than I can stand... it's only a temporary leave. I know this adventure will be here before I know it, and just as quickly it'll be gone. Everything in this life is so temporary, you just have to seize the moment when you have the opportunity, before it slips away. I'm trying to remember that as I waltz through this crazy thing called life!

I've been very happy as of late. Things are going well, new friends, new beginnings, new experiences abound. I had my very first sushi experience this past Sunday, and let me tell you it was about as close to life-changing as a meal can get! I was very apprehensive going in, but it is really unlike anything else I've ever eaten... enough to where I HAD to go back today. I find myself in the midst of a crop of new things and new people lately, stay tuned for what I'm sure will be plenty of humorous stories to share.

"Picnic" is entering the last days of production, and its a bittersweet end. While it's been nice to be back in my element, performing again, and creating living art to share with the community, I'm still quite ready to have my normal life back. I miss working, I miss my job, I miss my coworkers, and I miss my customers. Buffalo Wild Wings has became such a huge part of my life in the past two years, I can't believe how empty my life felt without it! It's sad, but I'm attached. March 7th is my first day that I'm available to work again, and I'm excited to get back in there.

With that in mind... I've been thinking a lot lately about everything I'll be leaving behind when I go to Florida this fall. My job is somewhere near the top of that list. I took a one month leave for the rehearsal process for Picnic, and I was so miserable away from my coworkers. As cliche as it sounds, the employees at Buffalo Wild Wings have become my second family, and at this juncture I am faced with a choice. When I leave, I can either submit a request for a five-month leave of absence, and resume my employment when I return to Fargo, or I can submit my two weeks notice and find a new job when I come home. While I love BWW and everything about it, I know I won't be returning to the same place I left. The turnover is high, people leave at a drop of a hat, and if I'm completely honest the majority of the people working there now will more than likely be gone by the time I return. It's a conundrum.

I'm less than 20 days out from my big Character Performer audition in Minneapolis, MN. Keep checking back for updates.

-Emily-