How My Dreams Came True!

In life, everything happens for a reason! This I have learned over the last few years, if not over the course of my entire life. The greatest example I can think of is how I landed the character performer gig. First off, I want to clarify that I did not consciously know that I wanted to work at Disney World as a college program participant let alone as a performer. People always ask me how I became a character performer if it wasn't a dream I already had. The answer, in short, is fate.

During Fall 2013, I was not in a good place in my life. I was living with a very crappy roommate and her obnoxious boyfriend, who in all honesty was the meanest man I have ever met. I won't go into specifics of why he wins that title, but I will say that he is the kind of man that is not only physically abusive but also emotionally abusive which has scarred my roommate for life.  

One day, I found myself on the Disney Careers website and to be honest I cannot for the life of me remember what brought me to the site in first place. I have always been a Disney fan so perhaps I was curious about their job openings, I do not know or remember. The point of the matter is though, I found myself on the College Program website and before I knew it I applied for the program out of no where! I wasn't planning it. I did not know it would change my life forever. It just happened. 

Before I knew it, I got a web-based interview and passed it with flying colors. However, it was phone interview that changed my life forever. See, as I mentioned before, I did not know I wanted to be a character performer. I honestly did not even know it was a possibility. The recruiter I was being interviewed by asked me whether I was planning on going to the audition that week. I was interested, so she promptly told me that it was two days away in the same city I was currently living. It wasn't until later that I found out how lucky I was, because there are only a handful of different cities where the auditions take place and I just so happened to be living in one of them. Not to mention that I was informed about it only a mere two days beforehand, therefore I was not given a sufficient amount of time to panic and decide against going.

The audition process was simple, fun, and nerve wrecking! I went to the Austin, Texas audition (shout out to those who auditioned with me) and it was insane. Over 200 people showed up and yet it was completely organized and under control. The first step was check in and get measured. A quick tip: to be a character performer you must be within a certain height range which breaks down as follows:

mouse height - 55.5 inches to 60.5 inches

munk height - 61 inches to 63.5 inches

Pluto height - 66 inches to 68/9 inches (I'm a little fuzzy on this one).

Goofy height - 71.5 inches to 75.5 inches

The second step was to learn a very simple march across the floor as if you in a parade. It is important to show a big personality in this step. Now, after this step they cut the large majority of people so don't be discouraged if this happens to you. Chances are it wasn't that you did something wrong but that you weren't what they needed at the time. This is especially true if you don't fit in to the height ranges I mentioned above.

The third step, if you were not cut, is to animate a scenario they give you for two 8 counts and then learn a dance routine that progresses in difficulty as you learn it. This was by far my favorite part of the audition process because it was incredibly fun! The song picked for the dance is always very upbeat and catchy so be warned it might be stuck in your head for the next couple weeks. The important thing to remember during this part of the audition is to have fun and show the casting directors your personality and enthusiasm. They are more likely to remember the girl/guy who is having the time of their life and smiling all the time than the person sitting alone in a corner miserable. Also, take the opportunity to befriend as many people as you can during the audition. You never know who will end up working with you in the future, and often times the people you met during the audition become some of your best friends. 

Once you are done, they may or may not ask you to stay back for additional pictures. If they do, you are most likely being considered for a face character role. If they don't call you, that doesn't mean you are not being considered though! The results didn't come until 2 weeks after I auditioned, but I got in and I cannot begin to describe how amazing that feeling was. 

The letter I got informing me I was selected to be a character performer!

In all, I definitely recommend auditioning to be a character performer for Disney World, whether or not it be for the college program or a part-time/full-time position. It was honestly the best experience of my life and I miss it dearly every day I am not there. Being a character performer opened my eyes to the different adventures out there and got me out of my comfort zone for a little while. The memories I made during my program are irreplaceable and I wouldn't change a thing. So, if you're considering giving the Disney College Program and/or being a character performer a chance, I definitely encourage you to do so.