Before we go any further, for those not familiar with the Miss America Organization, I wanted to give a brief break up on the nature of competition.
Interview - 25%
Talent - 35%
Physical Fitness in Swimsuit - 15%
On-stage personality in evening wear - 20%
On-stage Interview - 5%
Friday morning started with the parent orientation breakfast. My mother came, and all the contestants stared as their parents wolfed down delicious food (okay, some sarcasm here, but the incredible food was semi-cruel given we were going to be on stage in swimsuits shortly ;) ). The point of the orientation is to give the parents an idea of the pressure their daughters are under, as well as what will be expected of her and how to best support her should she be named Miss Washington - things always better coming from a voice of authority than the contestant herself. I personally learned a great deal from what Gary Umemoto (father of Miss Washington 2007, Elyse Umemoto) and Brittney Henry (Miss Washington 2011) had to say, and walked away very appreciative of their insight.
After the breakfast, the contestants loaded up in the escort bus, and the parents followed as we all headed to the theater. We gave the parents a tour of the facility, and afterwards excused the parents so that we could rehearse in private one last time before showtime! Then, at 12:30, we were released to our parents or director for two hours of last minute prep. For me? This meant greeting my aunt who had just flown in from Texas (YEA!!!!), and then running around like mad to crunch in both a new manicure (a super sweet, complete stranger gave up her seat with the manicurist so I could get in and out) and a spray tan.
With wet nails and a sticky spray tanned body, I waddled my way back to the hotel for final preparation, and by 4:15 we were loading up and heading to the theater for the real deal!!
Backstage, anxiety was high on all accounts, but particularly on my personal end! With memory of my failed talent dress rehearsal the day before (read my Day 5 blog entry), I was already incredibly nervous for the approaching competition. To calm myself down, I plugged music into my ears, and continued on with my preparation.
For the preliminary competition the contestants are grouped into alpha and beta groups, and the two groups complete the four phases of competition in different orders. As an alpha, I had physical fitness in swimsuit, followed by evening gown, then on-stage question, and finally talent. I had initially thought that putting talent last for me was a disadvantage, but with my unexpected problems with talent the day before and resulting anxiety, it being last was suddenly a very good thing as I could have some audience/performance exposure before the biggy (talent is worth 35% of the total score).
After a group huddle, at 7pm the curtains were finally parting for the opening number: VOGUE! And boy was the audience a moving! And so was my heart rate!! ....But only in a good way!
As soon as the opening number was done, and introductions had been made, "Good evening ladies and Gentlemen! I am Analiesse Isherwood, Miss Moses Lake!! I am a medical student at the University of Washington and my platform is Lighting a Fire Within: Inspiring Others to a Life of Service!".....the alpha group ran backstage to get ready as fast as we could for fitness in swimwear.
Up until this last month, I have held that I can interview and play the piano....but anything that involves walking/modeling on stage is not so much my thing. But after working incredibly hard, and with incredible support and expertise from the amazing Rosalie Black in Moses Lake, I was feeling confident! PLUS! Not to brag ;), but I was lookin' good! And sure enough, after "Contestant Number 5!!" was declared, I strutted my stuff across the stage, and did so perfectly - at least in my head! (After competition, I had complete strangers complimenting my swim portion of competition.)
After swimwear, I ran back to prepare for evening gown, and again executed my modeling walk perfectly! THANK YOU Rosalie!!!!!
After evening gown, we prepared for the 2nd half opener: an 80's number.
Now in the second half of the show, I recognized that suddenly talent (again, the biggest portion of competition, and the one that had shown dangerous the day before) was approaching, and consequently my heart rate began to race again. But first up was on-stage interview!
On-stage in my interview outfit, Miss Washington 2011 Brittney Henry asked the first question, "You are extensively involved in aid work in Haiti, and in inspiring others to become involved. Can you tell us what inspires this work?" This question was not a problem, and this was my chance to show the judges, and myself, that indeed I could answer an interview question eloquently, and inspire in the process! And this I did, indeed (as I briefly told my story, I heard several gasps and other verbal reactions in the audience)! The next question, "Tell us about studying music for three months in Salzburg, Austria." proved not a problem, either! (Gimme questions, really.) Success! And on to talent preparation! Gulp.
As soon as I was backstage and pulling my piano gown on, my heart began to race again. I knew that I had to get my mind off of the enormous audience, the judges waiting to critique me, the amazing performers before me, and my failed attempts the day before. So, what did I do? I plugged my headphones in, turned up the music loud, and then took myself outside to do some dancing....literally ;). No, I am not a dancer, but I picked up the giant skirt of my dress and spun myself in joyful circles to the beat of the music in my ears....all the way up until the moment they called out my name to announce my entry on stage!
I made it through the piece with out stopping, but still would only give myself a 6/10 on performance level. BUT, I felt good having just got made it through the piece! I had done it!
When I returned backstage, the other contestants turned my way with the same big question (most all were familiar with my struggles the day before and resulting anxiety): How did it go?!?! All I could do was lift my hands straight up, and with a BIG smile on my face, declare "ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!!" I had done it!!!
Soon enough the show had ended (congratulations going to Miss Columbia Basin, Miss Seattle, Miss Tri-Cities and Miss Spokane, the preliminary talent and swimsuit winners), and we were all packing up for visitation, followed by an early bed time! The next day we would find out who had made the top 10, and those top 10 would then battle it out for the title of Miss Washington 2012!!!
Interview - 25%
Talent - 35%
Physical Fitness in Swimsuit - 15%
On-stage personality in evening wear - 20%
On-stage Interview - 5%
Friday morning started with the parent orientation breakfast. My mother came, and all the contestants stared as their parents wolfed down delicious food (okay, some sarcasm here, but the incredible food was semi-cruel given we were going to be on stage in swimsuits shortly ;) ). The point of the orientation is to give the parents an idea of the pressure their daughters are under, as well as what will be expected of her and how to best support her should she be named Miss Washington - things always better coming from a voice of authority than the contestant herself. I personally learned a great deal from what Gary Umemoto (father of Miss Washington 2007, Elyse Umemoto) and Brittney Henry (Miss Washington 2011) had to say, and walked away very appreciative of their insight.
After the breakfast, the contestants loaded up in the escort bus, and the parents followed as we all headed to the theater. We gave the parents a tour of the facility, and afterwards excused the parents so that we could rehearse in private one last time before showtime! Then, at 12:30, we were released to our parents or director for two hours of last minute prep. For me? This meant greeting my aunt who had just flown in from Texas (YEA!!!!), and then running around like mad to crunch in both a new manicure (a super sweet, complete stranger gave up her seat with the manicurist so I could get in and out) and a spray tan.
With wet nails and a sticky spray tanned body, I waddled my way back to the hotel for final preparation, and by 4:15 we were loading up and heading to the theater for the real deal!!
Backstage, anxiety was high on all accounts, but particularly on my personal end! With memory of my failed talent dress rehearsal the day before (read my Day 5 blog entry), I was already incredibly nervous for the approaching competition. To calm myself down, I plugged music into my ears, and continued on with my preparation.
For the preliminary competition the contestants are grouped into alpha and beta groups, and the two groups complete the four phases of competition in different orders. As an alpha, I had physical fitness in swimsuit, followed by evening gown, then on-stage question, and finally talent. I had initially thought that putting talent last for me was a disadvantage, but with my unexpected problems with talent the day before and resulting anxiety, it being last was suddenly a very good thing as I could have some audience/performance exposure before the biggy (talent is worth 35% of the total score).
After a group huddle, at 7pm the curtains were finally parting for the opening number: VOGUE! And boy was the audience a moving! And so was my heart rate!! ....But only in a good way!
 |
| The first thing the audience saw when the curtains finally parted for the opening number! |
As soon as the opening number was done, and introductions had been made, "Good evening ladies and Gentlemen! I am Analiesse Isherwood, Miss Moses Lake!! I am a medical student at the University of Washington and my platform is Lighting a Fire Within: Inspiring Others to a Life of Service!".....the alpha group ran backstage to get ready as fast as we could for fitness in swimwear.
Up until this last month, I have held that I can interview and play the piano....but anything that involves walking/modeling on stage is not so much my thing. But after working incredibly hard, and with incredible support and expertise from the amazing Rosalie Black in Moses Lake, I was feeling confident! PLUS! Not to brag ;), but I was lookin' good! And sure enough, after "Contestant Number 5!!" was declared, I strutted my stuff across the stage, and did so perfectly - at least in my head! (After competition, I had complete strangers complimenting my swim portion of competition.)
After swimwear, I ran back to prepare for evening gown, and again executed my modeling walk perfectly! THANK YOU Rosalie!!!!!
 |
| Evening Gown Competition |
After evening gown, we prepared for the 2nd half opener: an 80's number.
 |
| Dancing to the 2nd half opener! |
Now in the second half of the show, I recognized that suddenly talent (again, the biggest portion of competition, and the one that had shown dangerous the day before) was approaching, and consequently my heart rate began to race again. But first up was on-stage interview!
On-stage in my interview outfit, Miss Washington 2011 Brittney Henry asked the first question, "You are extensively involved in aid work in Haiti, and in inspiring others to become involved. Can you tell us what inspires this work?" This question was not a problem, and this was my chance to show the judges, and myself, that indeed I could answer an interview question eloquently, and inspire in the process! And this I did, indeed (as I briefly told my story, I heard several gasps and other verbal reactions in the audience)! The next question, "Tell us about studying music for three months in Salzburg, Austria." proved not a problem, either! (Gimme questions, really.) Success! And on to talent preparation! Gulp.
As soon as I was backstage and pulling my piano gown on, my heart began to race again. I knew that I had to get my mind off of the enormous audience, the judges waiting to critique me, the amazing performers before me, and my failed attempts the day before. So, what did I do? I plugged my headphones in, turned up the music loud, and then took myself outside to do some dancing....literally ;). No, I am not a dancer, but I picked up the giant skirt of my dress and spun myself in joyful circles to the beat of the music in my ears....all the way up until the moment they called out my name to announce my entry on stage!
 |
| Performing my piano piece during the preliminary competition. |
When I returned backstage, the other contestants turned my way with the same big question (most all were familiar with my struggles the day before and resulting anxiety): How did it go?!?! All I could do was lift my hands straight up, and with a BIG smile on my face, declare "ALL GLORY TO GOD!!!!" I had done it!!!
Soon enough the show had ended (congratulations going to Miss Columbia Basin, Miss Seattle, Miss Tri-Cities and Miss Spokane, the preliminary talent and swimsuit winners), and we were all packing up for visitation, followed by an early bed time! The next day we would find out who had made the top 10, and those top 10 would then battle it out for the title of Miss Washington 2012!!!
Good job Analiesse! Obviously the judges gave you higher than 6/10 on your talent piece. And your evening gown is GORGEOUS!!!! Soooo sparkly!
ReplyDeleteThank you Naomi! And yes, I would guess so on the talent score :). I am SO glad I had a second chance on final night, though :D!
DeleteThanks Cristeen! I am glad it can be helpful for someone! You might check out my latest post. It holds a lot of meat and details. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask! I would be happy to chat about them with you - just put your reason for contacting me in the subject line :) ! anabanooza@yahoo.com
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