Emma Cahoon has dreamed of becoming a princess for a year.
To prepare for the audition, she studied Disney movies for a week to research her characters. When the day came; she woke up, did her makeup and drank a large cup of mango black tea to calm the jitters.
“I don’t think I drank enough,” said Cahoon before the tryout, adding she has zero acting experience. “I’m nervous.”
The 19-year-old was one of about 30 women who visited the Reitz Union basement at noon Sunday to audition for Project Princess Inc., a community service organization where women, dressed up as Disney princesses, visit children with life-threatening diseases at UF Health Shands hospital.
The founder of the organization, Kiarra Brown, 25, said they look for 8 to 10 princesses each semester.
The judges — Brown, Brown’s hairstylist and a woman who previously played Belle — looked for attitude, stage presence and confidence. They talked to the women to see if they could hold a conversation and told them to do their best impersonation of the character they applied for, Brown said.
Cahoon, a UF nursing sophomore, discovered the program last Fall, but her schedule didn’t allow her to attend auditions until this semester.
Cahoon has volunteered at special needs classrooms helping kids with disabilities since she was in seventh grade.
After finding out about Project Princess Inc., she said she knew she had to try out for Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
“I was thrilled,” Cahoon said. “I really love the idea. I think it’s unique.”
Brown founded Project Princess Inc. five years ago. She said she initially enjoyed dressing up as the Disney Princess Tiana so she created a company called Capes and Tiaras, where families could hire superheroes and princesses to perform at parties.
One day, she got a different request.
A set of parents asked her to visit her daughter who had cancer. When she strolled into the hospital room wearing a dress and a wig, and saw the smile of the child brighten the room, she realized she wanted to do that more. She wanted to see more of those smiles.
“The child eventually passed,” she said. “But I’ll never forget that face.”
Brown created the group, which became a UF student organization in 2016. But Brown said UF limits how the project can grow, so she is in the process of establishing it as a nonprofit.
Hannah Kruger, 24, found out about the auditions Saturday night before going to bed. She said she immediately thought about Jack, her 20-year-old little brother.
Jack was 2 years old when he got Kawasaki disease, an illness that causes inflammation in the blood vessels. His family spent about two weeks in the hospital until he recovered.
“Seeing the Facebook event took me back to that stressful situation when we were all freaking out,” she said. “I kept thinking it would’ve been a lot better for everyone if someone dressed up as a Disney character for him.”
Kruger, a University of Central Florida student who’s studying a semester at Santa Fe College, said she wasn’t nervous when she auditioned for Snow White on Sunday. She has been running in and out of improvisation classes since she was 6 years old — her stage fright burned away a while ago.
“It’s a sweet program,” Kruger said. “I want to be a part of it.”
Anyone who isn’t cast this semester can still become involved with Project Princess Inc. in other positions, including photographer, videographer, fundraiser and makeup artist.
Brown said princesses mostly visit kids who are confined to hospital beds or their homes. The princesses interact with kids in full character. For instance, if a kid asks Elsa what she likes to do in her spare time, the actress replies she loves ice skating. If a kid asks Snow White what she likes to eat, her answer is pies.
The selected princesses will go through a daylong boot camp, where they learn everything from what nail polish each princess wears to what role each of the women had at the time they’re portrayed in each movie.
But princesses also do visits outside of the local hospital. They host a Christmas feast every December and invite kids from all kingdoms. This summer, they traveled to Puerto Rico to meet kids at three hospitals and one shelter. They also drop by the Salvation Army to hang out with kids who could financially never afford to go to Disney World.
“We want these kids to escape the difficult realities they are living,” Brown said. “We bring this element of imagination; we’re here to be a light.”
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About 30 women in full makeup showed up at the Reitz Union on Sunday to audition for a princess role. Judges looked for attitude, stage presence and confidence.
