Auditions Are Awkward

Last Thursday we held auditions for Andrew Darragh’s new band. The audition process is constantly evolving as we learn from each round. I’ve also gained from the experience of other churches who are gracious in sharing their information, specifically Terra Nova (Troy, NY), Mars Hill (Seattle) and Sojourn Church (Louisville).

This week on worship.vintage21.com, we’re going to share several things learned over the years that have helped improve the process. Today’s lesson: Auditions are awkward.

I’ve always been in awe of the people who can play an instrument in front of or along with others, without the slightest appearance of being self-conscious. The few I’ve known who can do this are those who have played for years, usually from childhood, and many times they are proficient on several instruments. The remaining majority of us find much more comfort in playing along with people we know well, and so the process of an audition is the closest we come in real life to the proverbial “naked at school” dream.

In the early years of Vintage21 Church I did everything possible to make people comfortable: tried to point out the awkwardness by talking about it, avoided critiquing and thus adding to the pain of an audition, and rushed through it without processing and discussing potential areas of strength or weakness. I was like Paula Abdul on American Idol – always positive, but really just taking up space.

By trying to make an unavoidably awkward situation comfortable I performed a disservice to the church, the musicians and God. If the idea of an audition is to find those best suited to serve in this capacity, to water down the audition process means you’re not effectively accomplishing the goal. You do the musicians no favors by neglecting to give honest, detailed critique by which they can then learn from. Like most acts of people-pleasing, I would say it was out of kindness to those auditioning, but it was more a self-serving act of avoiding conflict. It was poor leadership, and certainly not building the kingdom of God in the manner we’re called to.

The awkwardness cannot be avoided- it’s the nature of auditions. I no longer try to avoid it, but instead take a similar approach to entering the ocean in October – the quicker you get in, the sooner you’ll get used to it and have fun. Now, I make sure we’re prepared, communicate well in regards to what is expected, and then just dive into it. This past round of auditions was the least awkward and most successful we’ve had yet.

- Matt Stevens

Tomorrow: Demand Much