Tips and Hints for a Nervous Musical Auditioner?

Question:

Tips and Hints for a Nervous Musical Auditioner?

I'm 15 and trying out for my schools musical The Pajama Game. This is my first audition for anything and I'm super nervous. I've never had a vocal lesson, but I've been told that I have a good voice, and I'm hoping its good enough to get me into the chorus, at least. I sing Alto or Soprano.
Qs-
1. How do I support from my diaphragm, or how do I know I'm already doing this?
2.Any confidence-boosting ideas? I have low self-esteem and I need to keep myself optomistic for this.
3. Song ideas so far:

My New Philosophy(You're A Good Man Charlie Brown): A cute, quirky song but I'm afraid there's not enough singing for a one minute or 32 measure audition.

Take Me Or Leave Me(RENT): A huge risk I don't know if I should take. I can hit the pitches but I'll be nervous

Happily Ever After(Once Upon A Mattress): I love this sng, its a great range. but we did it last year(I was on tech crew)?

Any other song ideas?

Thanks so much!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: 1. To learn how to breath, pick up a copy of "High Catastrophe Living" by Dr. Jon Cabot-Zinn. It deals with panic and anxiety, but teaches you how to breath from the diaphram. Singing is about pushing air over the vocal chords, not squeezing the air through them. Essentially, when you take in a breath, if your shoulders rise, you are not using your diaphragm.

The music world is brutal. Remember, every audition is a learning experience. Watch what others around you are doing and remember, what works for one person does not work for all. I always would give myself a "pep talk" and convince myself I belonged. So often I would have a disaster in rehearsal, and after telling myself I was damn good, I would always soar in performance.

Song Ideas!

Pick something you know the words too. You are going to be nervous enough, so trying to remember words to an unfamiliar song only compounds the situation. Try to find something different from everyone else. I usually like to hear something up tempo as everyone does ballads. Be yourself. Walk into the audition room as if you have done it 1000 times before. Don't cower. Walk in head held high and if asked a question, take a moment to think about the answer before responding.

Before you audition, remember to relax the body. Shake out your hands. Bend at the waist and hang like a rag doll. You want your muscles to be relaxed. Your entire body is your instrument, not just the vocal chords.

Have fun, enjoy the process, learn, observe, listen and remember, if accepted you had a good day. If you are told another day, you have opportunity to really prepare for your next audition. Either way, you win!

Good Luck!