Imagine going into a job interview with the perfect spiel memorized and thorough knowledge of the company, only to arrive with the interviewer looking for the complete opposite of what was prepared. This is the reality many Southeast Missouri State University theater and dance seniors face during their job search for a career in the performance field. Perri Edwards, a senior in the department, said often times the employers themselves do not know the characteristics of the people they want to hire.

"One day I was watching Disney supercuts, because working for Disney is my ultimate goal, and a lot of their executives said they don't know what they're looking for," Edwards said. "They've hired people with absolutely no experience right alongside people who've been dancing and singing since birth. With an accounting job, for example, they can look on an employer's website and see their qualifications word for word. They can check off the requirements, present their resume and get hired. But with what we do, we can have a stronger voice or more talent than the next person, but not get hired because somebody had brighter eyes or a certain smile."

Students in the Department of Theatre and Dance audition all over the nation with the hopes of landing their dream job. A few of the companies many students are interested in include Disney Cruise Line, Shakespeare Festival in St. Louis, 5th Avenue, Little Theatre On The Square and Broadway.

The auditions even extend outside of America, with senior theater and dance major India Duff auditioning for a role in England as a director's apprentice. Being a director's apprentice in England constitutes accompanying a current successful theater director in England and learning the trade while gaining world experience. Duff also has the opportunity to represent the U.S. in an international competition.

"There's a competition called 'World Championship of Performing Arts' in California," Duff said. "My video submission was accepted to pass auditions, so now I have a Skype interview set up with them. If they like me, I could represent the United States as the American Singer and Actor in this competition. It's pretty scary but also really exciting."

These auditions might sound like fun to an outsider, but there is a dollar amount that takes a toll on the students that they must budget and plan ahead for. Duff said although everyone in the job force must put money into their careers, theater differs in the immediate gratification.

"With any profession you're in, you have to invest in yourself, but with this profession, you have to invest more than you're getting back," Duff said. "Depending on where you go, you could spend hundreds of dollars on a single audition. That's why it is important with this career to have plenty of friends, colleagues and connections to lean on, so when auditions come, you can have people willing to help you out with simply a couch to sleep on in the city you're auditioning in."

The peak audition season for theater and dance majors is February through April, but auditions take place year-round and students are always preparing for their next job opportunity. To find out more about the Department of Theatre and Dance and its upcoming events, students may call (573) 621-2149.