Yesterday I took part in Richmond Hill’s Youth Action Committee’s annual Hill Afer Dark event. The event took place at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts and revolved around various arts performances such as music, dance, and art. After auditioning I was offered the opportunity to perform during the event which is what I’ll be writing about today.
Sometime in January, a classmate from elementary school who’s on the committee told me that they needed to find people to audition for the event. I figured that I wouldn’t be too busy around the time of the event I decided to audition. The auditions for the event were done through video email, and even though the video I submitted was rushed, it was still accepted.
Between the time of the auditions and the actual event, I didn’t really worry about it too much since exams were my main focus at the time. After the second school semester started, I started communicating the Youth Action Committee a bit more. They needed to know the details of the performance and what equipment was needed. I didn’t really start practicing until a week before the performance, but I already knew how to play the song.
When I showed up for the event the Youth Action Committee was still setting things up before people arrived. The room that they had everyone put their things in was actually a kitchen area that was pretty small with nowhere to sit. After all the performers did a soundcheck most of us waited in the kitchen room. While I was waiting I got to know one of the other performers who had performed for a couple of years at the event already.
Once the show actually started there wasn’t really much to do besides waiting for a committee member to call you down to get ready to go on stage. During my performance, I made a few mistakes like moving my capo up to far, but I think the first half was pretty good. Once I was finished playing I packed up my guitar back in the waiting area and went back down to watch the rest of the performances.
After watching the performances up until the almost hour-long intermission. My family didn’t really want to stay so we ended up leaving early. I ended up getting a thank you card from the committee members and that was the end of the event for me.
Overall, I think it was a good experience auditioning and communicating with the committee as well as performing for other people. I wish that they had a bigger area for everyone to put their belongings though because the small kitchen area they had was quite cramped. Otherwise, I enjoyed the time I stayed at the event, and I plan I auditioning again next year.
Bravo on a job well done. I enjoyed all the performances as well. Your take of the song was much better than the one at the previous school concert, so great improvement on your part.