It's only January, but college students are already dreaming of summer. While some are thinking of snagging office internships, working part time jobs around their hometown, or just spending lazy days by the pool, the theater students have only one thing on their mind: getting in a summer stock show. Summer stock is one of the best experiences for theater students. They get to practice their craft out in the real world, and they don't even have to take time away from school. They might even get to explore new places, make new friends, and (if they're reallylucky) get a little bit of extra cash. However, for performance majors, before you can get cast, you have to go audition. And if you're like a lot of theatre students, working up the nerve to go to these auditions can be really tough. But even if you're absolutely certain you won't be cast, even if you don't want to go to an audition at all, here's some reasons why you should.

1. You'll Gain So Much Experience

The old saying "practice makes perfect" might be a bit cliché, but it's true. The more you go to auditions, the better you will get at auditioning. Think of it in the long term. Maybe you won't get cast in this show. Maybe you won't get cast in the next million shows. But someday you will. And when you do, it'll be partly because of all of those lessons you learned from all of those previous auditions. Instead of focusing on the outcome of your audition, focus on making it an enriching, learning experience.

2. You'll Make Connections

Show business is all about who you know. When you have connections in the theatre world you hear about more opportunities, build up a reputation, and might even get remembered when someone is casting a show. But how do you make those all-important connections? Well, never are there so many theatre people gathered in one place than at a casting call. So go to that audition. Be friendly and polite to everyone from the stage manager to the janitor. You never know who might remember you later on.

3. You'll Regret It If You Don't

Let's be honest. If you're even considering going to this audition, it means that you're already dreaming about what it would be like to be cast in this show. Then the logical side of your brain kicks in and you try to convince yourself that there's no way you're going to get it, so there's no point in auditioning. Well, there's only one way to know for sure, and that's to audition! You don't want to be back at home this summer working at a fast food restaurant and wondering how everything would be different if you'd just gone to that audition. So just go! Even if you don't get it, at least you'll know you gave it your all.

4. You'll Feel Good For Putting Yourself Out There

It's so empowering to work hard towards something and then accomplish it. Even if you don't get cast in the show, you'll have worked hard and stepped outside your comfort zone. That's something to be proud of! As artists, we have to do things that scare us in order to be successful. This is such a great way to practice pushing beyond what's comfortable and easy and instead choosing to take a risk. Afterwards you'll feel amazing.

5. You Never Know What Could Happen

You might be 99.9% sure that you're not going to be cast in a show, but even then there's still that .1% chance you will be. You truly never know what the director is going to see in you. You never know what's going to happen. So give it your all, and you just might be surprised.