Auditions became my time in the lab to explore the ideas and frameworks I was being taught in class. I was being taught to analyze and break down dramatic literature, to approach a play through an academic lens. This was my first exposure to pure scene study without the promise of an audience or the end goal of securing a job. Reading for a role no longer became a test of my value, my ability to win, my beauty, my perfection, or even my talent. I started to see auditions as simply a gift and an opportunity. They became moments in time when I had full permission to use my imagination—to play,
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