CA State Thespian Festival 2026

Where did the fun go? After watching thousands of auditions every year, I want to help encourage folks to make bold choices, take risks, and play when they get up there and sing. When we are kids, we make up stories and play pretend with ease. As we grow, we are often faced with insecurities, questioning the decisions we make, and by extension the actions we take as performers, and the musical sounds we achieve while singing. In auditions, when everything seems high stakes, over preparation often removes the very reason we want to go into performance—to tell stories, create characters, and have fun being someone else. This workshop will encourage folks to take risks, raise the stakes, and remember to have fun! This is applicable to both the college audition—where you are auditioning to LEARN, grow, and train, and the professional audition—where you want to show you can bring choices to the audition room and collaborate. We’ll workshop material, choose action, and remember to play!