Five Things You Will Only Do at Hyde: Auditions by Hyde School

5 FIVE THINGS YOU WILL ONLY DO AT HYDE Malcolm Gauld â&#x20AC;&#x2122;72

Auditions

ears ago, a writer with a national educational organization called me out of the blue and asked, “Does Hyde have any one-of-a-kind activities or traditions we might include in a new series we’re writing on unique educational practices?” Realizing that he was poised to hang up and move on to his next call unless I offered up something on the spot, I blurted out the first two things that popped into my head: • Auditions • Faculty Evaluations. (See Faculty Evaluations) After I offered a brief explanation of both, he responded, “Well, either of those might qualify as the most unique things I’ve heard today. We’ll run both of them.” Auditions is easy enough to explain: Every student and teacher sings a solo in front of the entire school community without benefit of instrumental accompaniment. There are a few regulations. For example, no written notes or lyrics on handheld devices are permitted. Songs extolling drugs or violence or sex are not acceptable. Participants are expected to select something more challenging than, say, “Happy Birthday” or “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” or “Row Your Boat.” It is also not acceptable for students to do what we have come to call “hedging.” (Hedging: Attempting to laugh off the fact that you may have forgotten the lyrics or protecting yourself by warning the audience that you have a terrible voice.) Bottom line: Stand up there alone, face the audience, and give it your best shot. Auditions 1

As difficult as auditions can be for some students, all new students get a taste of the auditions challenge – a warm-up, if you will – on the very first day of school with an exercise we call “introductions.” In writing this piece, I decided to observe a full Auditions session from start to finish. After explaining the process, the teacher modeled the challenge by singing a few verses of an obscure song, one unfamiliar to the student audience. Then a few faculty and veteran students set examples, each taking their turn with an assortment of songs ranging from The Beatles’ “Back in the USSR” to Usher’s “Burn” to Billy Joel’s “For the Longest Time” to Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.” (We were even treated to a version of “Edelweiss” from The Sound of Music, delivered sincerely by a young man who looked big and strong enough to pass for an imposing college football lineman.) Then the first new student stepped up to the plate with Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier.” From there we went to Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle” and then on to “All Star” by Smash Mouth. Some of the students let go of their inhibitions and jumped into the challenge. (I was struck by one student’s selection and delivery of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”) Others endured it, exhibiting minimal levels of volume and eye contact with the audience. There were also a couple of students who failed the exercise, primarily due to the negative attitude they exhibited. No problem. Their apparent need for a broader learning curve will be accommodated with the opportunity to do the exercise again during a future school gathering. Happens every year. 2 Five Things You Will Only Do at Hyde

Introductions As difficult as Auditions can be for some students, all new students get a taste of the auditions challenge – a warm-up, if you will – on the very first day of school with an exercise we call “introductions.” On that first evening, the entire student body assembles in our Student Union and each class takes its turn on stage where each student steps forward individually to face the entire school community. He or she is expected to offer four pieces of information – name, age, year at Hyde, and hometown – audibly, coherently, and with volume sufficient to carry the auditorium. (We urge them to speak to the person in the audience sitting in the furthest seat from the stage.) A student who looks down at his feet, shuffles, mumbles, and/ or does not carry past the first row is warmly challenged to fight through his or her anxiety. It is not uncommon for a student to offer his or her rendition four or five times as he or she stands uncomfortably on stage. However, an inspiring bond of solidarity develops within the student body. No one laughs at anyone else. (After all, you don’t laugh at someone when you know your turn is coming up!) The whole class gets applause from the remaining students once the task is completed. Auditions 3

“My name is...” Here is a typical story: 10:45 AM - The Student Union: a new student trudges up the three steps to the front of the stage to face the entire faculty and student body. After a gulp or two, he begins, “My name is Johnny Jones. I’m 15-”… “BING!!!” Johnny quizzically looks around, feeling like the linguist who has decided to try to learn French by parachuting into an unfamiliar Normandy village. The Dean of Students explains, “Johnny, ‘bing’ means you are not speaking loud enough; so just relax, start over, and tell us again.” After receiving the piece of advice that nearly all new Hyde students seem to require - “speak abnormally loud; speak abnormally slow” Johnny makes another attempt: “My name is Johnny Jones. I’m 15 years old. I’m a soph-” “BING!!!” The one-word refrain echoes through the Union. Johnny’s quizzical expression begins to show traces of anger. He looks to the Dean with a face imploring, “C’mon, give me a break here.” The Dean says, “Johnny, it’s important that you do this properly. It may seem that we’re picking on you but every student out there had to do what you’re doing now. Go ahead and do it right.” 4 Five Things You Will Only Do at Hyde

Johnny steels himself and defiantly bellows with what he is sure is too much volume (Note: It never is!), “My name is Johnny Jones! I’m 15 years old! I’m a sophomore! And I’m from Cambridge, Massachusetts!” The room erupts into applause as the dean motions Johnny to return to his seat. Johnny wasn’t sure what had transpired but he did have a smile on his face by the time he returned to his seat. Some might regard the above scene as harsh. It is certainly rigorous. However, consider the notion that one who can confidently state one’s identity will eventually develop a genuine pride in the same. Johnny does not know that he is capable of standing up in front of a crowd and stating who he is and where he’s from. When the Dean demands this of him, he may choose to get through it by adopting a rebellious demeanor, but he will likely depart the stage knowing something about himself that he didn’t know only a few moments before. He will hopefully soon discover that this introduction is merely the beginning of his discovery of many hidden potentials.

He will hopefully soon discover that this introduction is merely the beginning of his discovery of many hidden potentials. Auditions might be considered Advanced Introductions. During my years as Hyde’s Head of School (1987-98) I would typically offer my rendition first – an exercise of executive privilege to get it out of the way! – and while my knees might no longer have knocked as loudly as they did when I was a young teacher, I nevertheless experienced annually that familiar moment of fright just before I was about to go on. Auditions 5

Why do we do auditions? I recall a conversation with an alumnus who had recently been hired for a job for which he was underqualified. (The advertisement for the job called for a master’s degree and this alumnus had only recently completed his bachelor’s degree.) When I asked him why he thought he had landed the job, he replied with a wink, “It’s all due to those auditions I delivered back at Hyde!” He noted that he went into the job interview without inhibition and confidently sold himself. I’ve heard many versions of this story over the years. It speaks to why we place such a high value on performing arts at Hyde. Not only do performing arts build confidence, we invariably find that everyone is a bit more talented than they think they are. Annually, scores of students and faculty will claim to be tone deaf but very few have actually caused the members of the audience to place their hands over their ears and grimace in audial pain. We’ve also extended the performing arts curriculum to parents. They do Auditions and perform skits and shows themselves. The possibilities are endless. A story from my head of school days offers further evidence of the value of auditions and the performing arts. Although this story took place thirty years ago, its message is timeless. 6 Five Things You Will Only Do at Hyde

We were going to try to teach the Springfield kids about the Hyde education in a half-hour show. Moods in the audience were varied: guarded hope, cynicism, apprehension, suspicion, mockery, etc. Springfield, Massachusetts - 1990 “When I first came to Hyde I was very nervous about doing performing arts. Kind of like I am right now.” Thus spoke Susan Janson (not her name) on the stage at Van Sickle Junior High in Springfield, Massachusetts. She spoke for many in the cast. All could sense that this crowd of students would not be as supportive as the one back at school. We were going to try to teach the Springfield kids about the Hyde education in a half-hour show. Moods in the audience were varied: guarded hope, cynicism, apprehension, suspicion, mockery, etc. The Hyde performers had a few moods of their own. Many, probably most, for the first time were in a social setting where they constituted the racial minority. On with the show. After just three notes of introductory instrumental accompaniment, the audience collectively realized that Susan was about to sing Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All.” [Note: a huge hit at the time] We could feel the Springfield kids coming alive. Ah, our song selection would not hurt us today. Then Susan kicked in with the vocals. I wide-angled the audience for its reaction from my perch in the rear of the theatre. Auditions 7

They laughed. Some laughed hard. These kids wanted Whitney. They also weren’t the least bit shy about indicating that Susan’s rendition was a bit shy of the real thing. It seemed unfair. At this moment I felt for those performers who get booed off the stage at Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre. My protective instincts kicked in. What if that were my little girl up there? Why should the youngest member of the cast have the most pressure? Then my focus zoomed frontward and telephotoed Susan at center stage. How would she react? She sang. She sang hard. She stayed right with it, just as she had been taught. Her perseverance symbolized the point we were trying to make to our audience. She won them over! By the second verse it was almost as if the audience collectively realized, “Hey, I get it! The point isn’t to sound like Whitney. The point is to give it my best. Come to think of it, I don’t sound like Whitney. But maybe I am capable of giving it my best.” It was a great moment. Our kids had worked hard: twelve shows in only three days. We set out to teach the Springfield kids something about Hyde. One cast member noted that they probably taught us more about ourselves. Like we always say, “you gotta give it to get it.” Suffice it to say that Susan not only passed her Audition. She inspired everyone – including herself – in the place. n

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