Kaitlyn Sandvik & Jenny Levine
Arts, Entertainment, Technology Editors
@ksandvik @jalevinecourant
Audrey Kirkpatrick has spent the better years of her life sitting on the floor of her mom’s recording studio, embracing the melodic music, an early experience which contributed to her discovery of something that would later become her greatest passion.
Seeing her mom working on her music impacted her daily life as a kid. “Between the ages of 6-9 my mom was getting her album produced and there I was, sitting on the ground doing my homework after school,” Audrey said. “It’s not something a normal kid does.”
First stepping into the music world wasn’t as seamless as some would think. “I started out and I was an okay singer, I made the sounds that sounded good to me,” she said. “It was something I wanted to do so as soon as I found my ground to stand on and I went on from there.”
photo by Hannah Kirkpatrick
As time progressed, Audrey’s talents matured and she auditioned for her first musical in 6th grade at her school in New York City. “I auditioned for Guys and Dolls, it was the first time I got a call back for a lead. I was beyond excited…I thought it had been my big break, which is so delusional,” she said. “I was so happy going back and reading for the part and that was when I first got a taste for it, it’s such a rush.”
Auditioning is an enormous part of the theatre process; some kids find it more challenging than the show itself, yet Audrey finds the process invigorating. “You go in and read something brand new, analyze it for 30 seconds and you’re off,” she said. “They’re observing you, comparing you to other people.”
Audrey believes that auditioning itself is an art. “You have to know what you’re doing, you have to be able to stay grounded, if you’re shuffling your feet than it gives people the impression you’re unstable, there’s a lot of different aspects,” she said. “In the real world the audition is what they see of you but here it’s different, because I’ve worked with my director for years so one audition isn’t going to ruin me, but in the real world if I have one bad audition to people I’ve never seen before, that’s it, first impressions mean a lot.”
photo courtesy of NCHS theatre
Developing the ability to accept criticism is something Audrey gains from participating in the NCHS Theatre, and the friendships she forms makes the process easier. “It’s a very close-knit environment, but it can definitely get hectic and overwhelming at times, especially at hell week when you’re doing rehearsals every day you’re pushing and pushing yourself,” she said. “At the end you get critiques so you have to be able to take critiques and roll with it, having tough skin is important because everyone here is so talented. There are no weak links at the program, and it gets tiring.”
The training process that Audrey practices is rigorous with voice lessons, three dance lessons, acting classes. “It’s all to build my confidence and talent, I consider this to be something I want to do so I want to master it and make it my profession, and the only way to do it is through training,” she said. “Training is a huge part of this, Broadway Actors will tell you they did all those classes and auditioned and got cast in a show, training it’s something that contributes to the profession.”
All the training and work that is put is something Audrey firmly believes pays off. “We have one of the best programs in the country,” she said. “We’re so unbelievably blessed and we won Best Musical for Milly at the Halo Awards, which was a very big win for us.”
Even in the summer, Audrey participated in a two week program to enhance her craft. “I did a program this summer called Broadway Artists Alliance in the City, the way it worked was you send in an audition of you singing a 16th 32 cut of a song,” she said. “Everyday I would take the train to Ripley Greer’s Studios, where tons of Broadway shows practice and I would get to see Broadway actors.”
The program included master classes with professionals that would come in and mentor those involved. “I would sing a 16th 32 cut and they would say, ‘Ok that was good now try it this way,’ they would tweak it. There are different classes which focus on different things, there is an on camera class, and an audition class where they give you audition tips.”
Audrey feels lucky to be growing up in an environment that nurtures her love of music. “My mom totally gets it. She helps me through the not so great auditions, as she’s had hundreds of those,” she said. “It was a big thing for me seeing my mom writing and singing her own music; it’s something that’s never been absent from my life.”
