A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Audition

OK, I couldn't resist The title of this post is a play on the old stand-up comic line of "A funny thing happened on the way to....." In this case, that happens to not be entirely accurate. Actually, a funny thing happened at the audition.

While casting directors vary somewhat in their methods, the audition process itself is fairly standard in LA, Seattle or in any other location. For the non actors among you, here's how it works. You are either sent the sides (a small portion of the script) via email, or you are told that it is a cold reading, and you will get the sides a few minutes before the audition (the email option is much more in vogue now). If you received the sides by email, you study them, make choices as to how you will play the character, and in general, prepare for the audition. If it's a true cold read, you and all the other actors must do this same process in ten to fifteen minutes before you audition.

This past Monday, I had an audition, for which I was sent the sides in advance. What happened when I arrived is when the structure of the audition varied greatly from the norm. Traditionally, when you arrive at an audition, you sign in, and take a seat in the waiting room. One of the casting assistants checks the sign in sheet frequently and calls you, one at a time, to enter a separate room for the audition. Next, you audition, you thank them, and you leave. As I said, that is fairly standard in the business.

For this audition, however, there was no waiting room, and the room to which you entered was the same room were all the actors waited and auditioned. This meant you were able to see the auditions of all the actors who came before you on the sign in sheet. This is highly unusual

I was amazed at the lack of preparation of some of the actors. One punctuated his audition with maniacal laughs, even though the script mentioned nothing about the character exhibiting that sort of behavior. Another spoke in a monotone, even though the script did indicate that the character was somewhat animated. One drew the dialogue out so that it took twice as long as normal. One actor gave quite a good audition, and was obviously prepared.

How did I do? They say the desired result for an audition is to walk away feeling good about your performance; feeling that you captured the character as the script indicated. That is the best you can hope for, and that is what I did. I was also prepared, had a good audition, and walking back to my car, I felt good about how it had gone. Will, I get cast? There are so many variables in an audition, that is impossible to answer. First, I only saw a small segment of the actors who auditioned for the role. Secondly, there are intangibles that are totally out of the control of an actor at an audition, yet often have a direct bearing on who is cast. These include your look, and how all the other actors did in their auditions for the same role. Still, walking away from an audition feeling good about how you did is the desired result, and being able to watch other actors audition for the same role is a rare bonus.

The process of acting in LA continues, as I have a theatrical audition (film) in Burbank this afternoon, and a private lesson with my Hollywood Hills acting coach, tomorrow.

Being a new actor in Hollywood is a work in progress. I attended an acting seminar this past Saturday, and with two audition and an acting lesson this week, that's pretty much par for the course.

Until next time..........