FROM: Amber Earns Her Ears Published Mondays

Tales of Broken Disney Dreams

Is Amber ready for her close-up at Disney's College Program? After nearly collapsing in the heat last week at EPCOT, Amber decides to audition for a 'face' role with the company. The audition involves someone staring at her... face. And there's more...

- Amber Sewell, June 27, 2011

"So, what is gonna happen is that I'm going to stand up here and stare at your face for about twenty seconds, and it's gonna be totally awkward. But we're going to play some awesome music to hopefully make it a tad less so."

When you say you work at Disney World, many people assume you're an entertainer. I have two friends who work in that role, and I've heard great stories about what it's like, so when I had some free time I decided to check it out.

Since I don't particularly look like anyone's friend, I knew going in that I would be sent home with the first cut. But I went anyway. I just wanted to have fun and do some serious people-watching.

Amber's Up and at 'Em

Going was well worth it on both counts. It meant waking up ridiculously early and catching the bus, which I'm sure the Cast Members on their way to work thoroughly enjoyed. On the way over, I struck up a conversation with a girl wearing a Les Miserables shirt, who spent the entire bus ride telling me her life's story, from her family's work with Disney to the fact that she auditioned for the little girl's role in True Grit to her current relationship status (confusing; they haven't said 'I love you' yet, but there is always that anticipatory pause before hanging up on Skype).

Upon arrival, we waited in line, forming an even larger group of entertainment hopefuls. Stories were traded; for some this was their first audition, and for others it was as high as their third. Excited chatter filled the waiting area, as hopes were yet to be squashed into little tiny pieces.

The Hercules soundtrack greeted us as we moved into the room where we would be measured and signed up. The group of girls I was with made it into the second group of fifty, and as we all sat in the floor and waited for the final person to sign the paperwork, the excited nerves that had previously caused so much chatter lulled the group into a bubble of silence.

When the evaluators stepped up to go through the process for us, the nervousness escalated to a point of almost audible proportions. People were responding to the auditions in different manners: I, who honestly expected nothing, was gazing around with wide eyes (as wide as possible at that hour, anyway) taking everything in; my roommate was filled with butterflies and nervous energy; and others just wanted to talk at other people about how much they wanted this.

Sixty by sixty they let groups into a dance studio where, as promised, the evaluator awkwardly stared at rows of faces while popular dance music played loudly. Far from formal, the sense of disappointment afterward was still extremely palpable. Leaving after one name in our entire group had been called was much more awkward than waiting in a room full of 187 hopefuls.

The people I met - or even simply watched - in the few hours I was at auditions could supply a novel with a host of interesting characters. Even though I didn't interact with many beyond my small group, just observing them before and after the auditions was a unique experience that made me wish I could get a pass to attend all future try-outs. I feel as if I could sit, tucked away in a corner, just writing up character descriptions the entire time.

Starting with just waiting at the bus stop for our ride...

Amber's Tales of Broken Dreams

You could tell the girls going to auditions, as they were the ones in yoga pants and sneakers. One of the girls, however, was so obviously aiming for Snow White that it was not even funny. You could feel her attitude from yards away; she had on the stage makeup, a red flower pinned in her hair. It was so brashly apparent who she intended to be that it was off-putting. Waiting in line with a superior attitude, she seemed to think her spot in entertainment was assured. It gave the wicked part of me no small amount of satisfaction to see her walk out of our group with the rest of those rejected.

A disturbance rippled through the holding room as we were waiting for everyone to get signed in, and when I looked up to see what had caused so many whispers from the group, I saw one poor girl who had shown up wearing short shorts and a t-shirt that had been cut and tied above the waist. Some were scornful; others felt bad for the person who had come with no prior knowledge of how the auditions went.

Another who received this strange mixture of scorn and sympathy showed up with one of those dreadful orange tans and bleached blonde hair, hoping to befriend Cinderella, and the Hispanic girl with the thick accent (beautiful, but not French) who was convinced that she was destined to be paired with Belle.

And let's not forget the wonderful girl who regaled me with her life's story on the bus, and who continued with it into the audition room. On the bus ride back to the apartments, she nodded off frequently, jerking upright when the bus stopped or when her head made contact with her neighbor's shoulder. Others on the bus provided similar entertainment, but it would take far too long to write up descriptions of them all.

If you come down and are at all interested in what auditioning for the entertainment role is like, I recommend attending one. They are highly selective; I think about 11 out of the 187 people who showed up were asked to stay past the first cut. But the experience alone was so entertaining that I recommend it. Getting your feet wet never hurts, and that is just something else you can add to your list of Disney experiences that other people will never be able to say was one of theirs.

Amber Returns to Reality

Back in the work world, not much has happened.

I've played with numerous small children who manage to make even the most wretchedly boring days worth it, taken some great photos, and finally conquered the squeeze breeze/water cart without the slightest hint of faintness - twice!

I can add up how much three bottles of water will be without the aid of a calculator, I lived up to my Donald Duck character from last year on Monday night dealing with one of my leaders, and I spent a week of sleep deprivation hanging out with my family after work every night.

The Florida storms are excellent; lightning is frequently on the horizon, and I really should start putting my raincoat in my bag instead of leaving it in my locker, which is a good distance away from my actual work location.

The recycling in our apartment has reached ridiculous levels, as all of us are too lazy to take it out. I spent my one-month mark here in Florida in bed all day having a Harry Potter movie marathon after waking up at ungodly hours to hear the Pottermore announcement.

I'm trying to accumulate all the spare hours that I can in anticipation for the vast sums of money I'll spend on my trip to New York City soon, which should make for some interesting writing, as I'm looking for a parade control shift at Magic Kingdom (call me crazy).

Fingers crossed for extra hours and no fainting spells!

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