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While Mr. Milner was writing and preparing his musical, he also led drama camps all across the South. At each camp, he would invite a few hardworking students to audition for HomeSquad. I went to camp after camp and didn’t get picked… until one day, I finally did! You can watch that amazing moment below—it was unforgettable!
Milner told us that auditioning meant we would be competing with about 300 kids from all over the Southeast for a limited number of roles. I had to pick a song, learn how to introduce myself (called a “slate”), record my audition, and submit it online… then wait.
At first, I wanted to sing “Hakuna Matata” from The Lion King, but my vocal coach suggested “When I Get My Name in Lights” from The Boy from Oz instead!
I worked really hard to learn it before the deadline and finally submitted my audition. You can watch my audition below!
I was so grateful when I saw my name on the cast list. I couldn't believe it, and now that I've had a chance to meet the rest of the cast, I'm even more excited to join them in the Big Apple!
Here's the cool part: I was cast for is a homeschooler named Braxton; interestingly enough, I'm the only actual, real-life homeschooler on the whole cast!
Being a part of HomeSquad is a really big commitment. I have memorized a TON of lines and the lyrics to another TON of musical numbers.
Ready for another fun fact? Not only am I the only homeschooler on the cast, but I'm also the only kid chosen from Terrebonne Parish. The other nine students from Louisiana that were chosen to participate are all from nearby St. Mary Parish. That's where I travel to to participate in drama camp almost every time the Baillie Players come to Louisiana.
In June of 2025, my family and I traveled to Inman, South Carolina to watch the Inman Children's Theatre cast perform Homesquad: The Musical, meet the rest of the Baillie Players cast, and perform Homesquad for the first time myself!
The program for the show explained more of the history behind the production. Here's what it says:
"The history behind Home Squad: The Musical
This musical started out as a simple, fun project for Mr. Milner while he was in college at North Greenville University back in 2019... The original draft was performed at NGU and The Inman Theatre on January 17th and 18th of 2020 and consisted of a hand-selected cast of Inman Children's Theatre students. Milner, unsatisfied with the original draft and wanting to revive the concept of the show, decided to start working on it agin in 2023. The show matured into a second draft with a new ITC cast (also hand-selected), and premiered in January of 2024. Mr. Milner was unsatisfied with this draft. The second draft was a cluster of too many personal life struggles happening at once, which created a bit of a dark, depressing undertone, taking the fun out of the production. Determined to finally ger it right, he decied to make a third draft... using the same ITC cast, and also inviting students from all over the southeast on The Baillie Players drama residency tour... Milner believes he finally has a wonderful musical that is able to balance out the corny jokes with important messages about family, relationships, and societal pressures on kids."
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