I've done some......interesting things either taking, preparing for, traveling to and during auditions. In my classes and discussions, many of these come up and I think it's helpful to see someone else's experiences, vulnerability and humanity in this business. Thought I'd share a few of my special moments with you all.

Used a shoelace as a triangle clip (left the actual clip in the warm-up room)
Used a small vibe pedal carpet as a bass drum muffle for "Rite of Spring" (also left the muffler in the warm-up room)
Traveled by bus overnight to an audition the next morning
Learned an excerpt in the warm-up room
Practiced pad outside during winter to simulate not being able to feel the sticks due to nerves
Watched horror films to stimulate nerves, then played a mock
Played Tchaikovsky 4 on bass drum, with the brakes off (it moved the entire time, the proctor and I laughed afterwards)
Consciously played an excerpt differently than I had practiced, on a whim
Stayed at an Air BnB and took public transit for an hour to arrive at the audition
Took a twelve hour train ride to an audition, took a 3 hour lesson after the audition, and then took another train home afterwards
Took 10 auditions between November 2016 and June 2017
Deprived myself of sleep to "be too tired" for nerves (it actually worked, kinda)
Ate a lot to trigger a food coma to "be too tired for nerves" (didn't work as well as #12)
Never recorded myself to see how I sounded (still haven't as far as audition prep goes)
Never brought more than one drum to a professional audition
Did not practice an instrument before the audition (that was for Calgary, I did not practice bass drum)
Completely changed my technique on an instrument (also for Calgary, I changed my cymbal technique two weeks before the audition)
Practiced 18 hours a day for 4 weeks leading up to an audition (please don't do that)
Practiced in my sleep (it's hard to do, only managed it 4 or 5 times so far)
Played motivational tapes, or my audition excerpt playlist while I slept