Have you ever been in a room where every single person is trying to be the center of attention?

After nearly two months of preparation with 12 underclassmen and theater expert Katie Drinkard, I sat in the ThunderRidge High School auditorium waiting for my turn to try out for the spring musical Seussical.

In a room full of "the one guy in every crowd who tries to stand out," I tried to slink down in my seat and stay as incognito as possible. Naturally, I was the first person that the 66 musical hopefuls in the room noticed.

"Kit, you're trying out for the musical?" My response came out somewhere between a nod, a yes and an embarrassed gargle.

"Hey everyone, Kit's trying out for the musical." My cover was blown. Two months of sneaking behind corners in the Performing Arts wing to prepare for auditions disintegrated in a bout of laughter and high fives.

The audition process was simple. Groups of five would enter the stage and face an empty auditorium with only the director, choreographer and choir teacher listening in. The rest were forced to wait in another room and hope that their voice would miraculously improve (well for me anyway).

I was lucky number 13. As chance (or people who wanted a good laugh) would have it, Katie Drinkard, my teacher and mentor for the musical, landed spot number 14. I was the comic relief before the show actually began.

"Numbers 11 through 15 please enter the stage area." My heart skipped a beat. I took my walk of shame to the stage and waited for my name to be called.

"Kit Fox." The sound echoed around the hundreds of empty seats as I took my position to the left of the piano.

"Hi, my name is Kit Fox and I will be performing "A Whole New World" from Disney's Aladdin."

I desperately tried to avoid eye contact with Jasmine, the dance choreographer who bore the same name and resemblance to the princess in Aladdin.

"I can show you the world, shining shimmering splendid."

My musical debut started on a positive note (no pun intended). I might not have been on key but I remembered all the words and I came in at the right place.

"Tell me princess now when did you last let you heart be light."

Visions of my two-month musical experience popped back into my head. I remembered my voice cracking in front of a vocalist teacher while singing "fla fla ninny ninny." I remembered running into the girl on my left while doing pony hops in a dance routine. Mostly, I remembered as a kid with no talent and experience being transformed into a kid with no talent, a little experience, and a little more well roundedness.

Katie told me before the audition to "act" the song. On the last note, I embellished the moment by raising my hands above my head and closing my eyes.

Rather than applause, I heard the scratching of a pencil and a slammed door as I exited the stage. As quickly as it had come, my short stint as a musical artist vanished.

The next day, I was offered a minor role in the play. I was incredulous until I realized that the shortage of males who auditioned gave me a severe advantage.

In an effort to continue my quest to become the most well-rounded student ever, I respectfully declined the (extremely) generous offer.

My musical experience may be over, but there is certainly no shortage of other high school activities to threaten my comfort zone.