The fine art of auditioning

A busy, actorly week with rehearsals, three auditions and one callback.  And I got my feedback from the agent showcase last week.  Wow, it was really positive, constructive and flattering.  Again, got a thumbs up for my American accent, but even better were comments on my quirky, comedic talents - my strength - that I will find success in sitcom/comedy, and that while my headshot looks like me and is age appropriate, that I'm much cuter in person!  I'm blown away and trying not to get too excited.  It doesn't mean they will sign me.  But definitely worth following up (tick) and adds to the growing pile of general feedback I'm getting from other actors I meet in workshops that comedy is my strength in this market.  Good, something to focus on.  And another reason to make my own webseries and/or short films.  There's a lot of terrible 'comedy' out there, I know I can do better than at least some of it!

Monday afternoon I auditioned for a USC student film.  These tend to be reliably well-run as USC's film course is professional, highly competitive and well-regarded.  George Lucas is a notable alum.  'Lost Girls', the saucy little film I did in November, was a USC graduate student project.  The audition - thankfully - was held in Hollywood rather than on-campus which from Sherman Oaks is a multi-highway nightmare across town.  CAZT is a casting house without resident casting directors.  Tucked away in a converted warehouse, five casting rooms are available off a spacious waiting room.  When you arrive, you check the noticeboards next to each room to find the project you're auditoning for and sign in.  Apparently the great thing about CAZT for independent casting directors is that it charges minimal rent (possibly none), instead making its money by offering actors the chance to view their auditions online.  For a fee.  No obligation, but it's there if you want it.  Being available online, it is also handy for casting directors to access and show to producers etc.  A neat idea.  Testament to my growing network in Los Angeles, I bumped into another actress I know, who was auditioning for something else.  We met at TVI and have discovered a mutual fondness for Aroma, one of my favourite cafes in Studio City, where we've also bumped into each other, enjoying the sunshine on the terrace.  Always nice to see a familiar face in a waiting room; we're so happy and relaxed and plugged in darling!  Long story short, audition went well and I got a callback.

Tuesday I found myself in the nightmare, trekking across town to another USC audition on campus.  USC is vast and feels like a combination of Melbourne Uni and Monash with its mix of old stone buildings and more modern structures.  There were some major roadworks going on along one side of the campus and I got a bit bamboozled.  Found my way to the right place just on time but wondered what the hell I was doing there.  I was about to audition for the role of the mother of an 18 year old.  Either I didn't read the breakdown (description of the role) properly or they left out the detail of the son's age.  Whatever, there I was.  The director seemed impressed - "you're a great actress," he said - but also acknowledged that I looked too young to be an 18 year old's mother.  Technically, I'm not (don't tell anyone), but Thank You!  Didn't get that one.  Which I'll take as a compliment.

Number three audition this week - not for USC - was for a role described as a high-class call girl/Sarah Palin type (I didn't know there was such a 'type', but you live and learn) who is CRAZY.  Okay, sounds like fun.  It's basically a stoner comedy about two guys trying to light their bong and being visited by an array of kooky characters/hallucinations.  Not the height of comedy if you ask me, but what do I know?  The audition turned out to be a cattle call.  Everyone more or less turned up at once, some even before the director.  His assistant was late so there was no sign-in sheet until one of the actors decided to create one for the sake of everyone's sanity.  At one point the director emerged to address the growing throng and ask who among us had time constraints so he could see them first.  Are you kidding?  Nobody wanted to see someone who arrrived 30 minutes after them get in earlier.  We informed the dude that a sign-in sheet had been established and we were happy to stick with that order.  It's not a good sign when the "cattle" are more organised than the "caller".  Once again, I bumped into someone I know, a fellow actor from my regular class.  Then it was my turn to spin some magic in an impersonal concrete room in front of a couple of people who have yet to show me they know what they're doing.  It's a short scene - couple of pages - and there's a natural point at which the character goes from being quirky to outright nuts.  The director stopped three lines in, just before that point.  "Can you be more crazy, like bi-polar, like really extreme?", or words to that effect.  Sure.  Wait two more lines.  That was yesterday.  I haven't heard back yet which probably means I don't have a callback, which is fine.  I'm not sure I want to do it anyway.  When you're not being paid, you at least want to feel like it's worth your while.

Just got a call from another USC student who is casting for an exercise in working with three cameras (standard sitcom set-up).  She's using an Absolutely Fabulous script, so hell yeah, I'm interested!  What fun! Audition tomorrow.