Hair perfectly coiffed. Makeup flawless, maybe with some extra shimmer or a spicy bold lip. Killer shoes, a great outfit, and numerous rituals beforehand to calm your nerves. All day prep that can leave you either energized or, if it goes poorly, exhausted. Repeating mantras to yourself to keep your mental game sharp throughout the day.

Wow, dates can be exhausting, right?

Oh, did you think I was talking about auditioning? Well, in a way, I was! When you look at the two situations, the preparation, execution, and desired outcomes definitely draw some parallels. Let's take a look at the overlapping rituals and routines between the two perilous positions of both auditioning and dating!

1. Love at First Sight

Two parties can show interest in each other through media samples or in-person interaction. For dating, there are numerous websites and apps such as Tinder, Bumble, Coffee Meets Bagel, JDate, etc. Or you could always find someone the old-fashioned way by meeting them in person, but you'll have to consult Jennifer Lawrence for tips on that because I haven't fallen in love with a man I met in my neighbhorhood whom I asked to enter a dance competition with me lately. For auditioning, we have the inescapable YAPTracker, TrueLinked and The Opera Stage. Of course old- school networking involving cold calls and emails are still tried-and-true methods. 

2. The First Impression 

So your Tinder match didn't ask you inappropriate questions about being an opera singer - bravi tutti! You make a date in a mutually convenient location. Similarly, the company you sent materials to has decided they are interested in you and have invited you to a live audition. Perhaps the location isn't mutually convenient for everyone but they let you know to meet them at the audition spot and you show up, come hell or high water!

3. Prep Your Mental Game

Both parties prepare mentally and physically for the appointment. Once you have the perfect outfit picked out, perhaps you decide you want to seem well-informed and quickly brush up on some on the latest blurbs in Newsweek. Preparing for the audition is quite similar, though you might be reviewing composer facts and language as opposed to current events. While you're getting ready to kill your reendition of "The Doll Song," maybe you do some homework by watching multiple singers perform the aria or you decide to speak the French text from the aria for thirty minutes. Hey, whatever makes you feel the most confident!

4. Keeping Your Team Up-to-Speed

Friends and family definitely receive texts, Snapchats, and other forms of social media interaction to alert them of how the process is going - "He's running 15 minutes late - getting nervous!" Oh, if only my Snapchat ghost could talk. Friends and family have probably heard all the jucy details of your dates and auditions, from the layout of the NOLA hallway to the selections the panel asked for. Text or email screenshots, photos of your outfit, videos of you singing to "check your voice" (guilty), a pep talk over the phone, or perhaps a phone call where you voice your frustrations and dissapointments- we've all been there.

5. Fighting off the Peanut Gallery in Your Brain

Let's not even mention that Simone Biles and Aly Raisman have basically been executing mental gymnastics through your head all day... "Did they like what I just said? Am I funny enough? Wait, are they taking me seriously? I just mispronounced a word - well, that's embarrassing..." It happens. We all try to quiet our mental chatter but it pops up from time to time, especially in situations of high stress.

6. The Waiting Game

Last but not least, analyzing the finale. So much thought goes into interpreting the final moments of your date. If I had a dollar for every time I tried to analyze the statements of my dates or the comments from the audition panels, let's just say I wouldn't be swaddled in debt from auditions. At the end of the day, you can't look too deep into any specific statement or action. If someone likes you, they'll let you know. The same with being hired - if someone wants you to sing with their company, they'll make it happen. You've been your awesome self and it's time to let the chips fall where they may.

So, if dating and auditioning are so much alike, we should be pros at it right?