Sebring Cheerleaders Audition For Movie
‘BRING IT ON 4’
PART OF A SERIES

By MANDY SHEETS


SEBRING — Ditzy isn’t exactly how they want cheerleaders to be portrayed, but if it scores them a role on the silver screen, Sebring High School cheerleaders say they can act the part.

Four cheerleaders took a road trip to Orlando with their coach Carolyn Shoemaker on Friday to try out for roles in “Bring It On 4” – the fourth in a series of comedy movies about cheerleading squads preparing for competitions.

“I think the movie is more about mocking cheerleaders and that stereotype you think of,” senior Lauren Johnson said. “It’s funny though, and if it gets me on TV, then I’m all for it.”

The group went to auditions intending to try out individually, but when the casting directors saw they came as a group, they were invited to try out as a squad. They spent the day tumbling, cheering, doing stunts and reading lines.

Shoemaker said she wasn’t allowed in the audition room, per the direction of her cheerleaders.

“They said they would be too nervous to try out in front of me,” Shoemaker said. “They do the routine in front of me all the time, but, for whatever reason, they didn’t want to during try outs.”

The group from Sebring outnumbered everyone else who attended the auditions, Shoemaker said.

“We were the only team there,” Shoemaker said. “We don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

Junior Kayla Griffin was used to the pressure of auditions because she’s been cast in several commercials and plays. Griffin’s agent mentioned the casting call to her, and she recruited her teammates to try out with her.

“My experience with acting has already been so great,” Griffin said. “I’ve met so many great people that I never would have met otherwise. Being in a movie would be really cool though.”

Now that the stress of auditions is over, the potential actors wait to see if they’ve been chosen. Griffin said her agent will be in contact with movie producers and, if chosen, they likely will have to attend callback auditions.

Although a big paycheck would sweeten the deal, senior Nicole Rodriguez said she would accept a part just for the experience.

“This is not the kind of experience just everyone gets,” Rodriguez said. “Just being able to say you’ve done something like this would be neat.”

Senior Michael Dozier was already taking on the air of a star a few hours after the auditions.

“The movie star is here,” Dozier said, as he walked into cheerleading practice Friday afternoon.

Dozier thought the auditions were fun and he had his eye on the part of Cory, a cheerleader with a “ghetto style.”

“Cory’s a cool character, but the script is very ghetto, making fun of cheerleaders and stuff,” Dozier said. “I think it would suit me.”

The entire team is going to audition Feb. 24 for a role as a team during competition scenes.

Senior Sarah Cleveland said the team has been working hard to prepare.

“We just practice our routine over and over,” Cleveland said. “It would be so cool if we were in a movie because everyone would see us. I would make all my friends watch it.”