Audition #2: Actor's Theatre of Louisville

Whenever you go to an audition and return home you instantly are confronted with all the questions:  “How’d it go?” , “Did you get it?”, “What’d they say?” etc. etc.  Sometimes when an audition didn’t go so well, the hardest part is finding some way to answer those questions without saying:

“It went terrible my acting career is over! I don’t know how I’ll live.” or the ever popular: “They just don’t know what they are missing! They can’t see the talent oozing out my pores.”

Even if you may be feeling it on the inside.

When having to deal with all these questions concerning my Actor’s Theatre of Louisville audition, I have found the most ambiguous but poignant statement to use is the “It was a great learning experience.” answer. 

And it was, but it still sucks to come home knowing you didn’t wow them this time.

The Audition:

Grove Street in Jersey City: Home
for this trip.

The audition was in New York City. I was beyond excited to be back in NYC.  When I go to NYC I get the overwhelming feeling that this is where I belong, and to actually be in a place where you feel you belong is always a dose of excitement and confidence.  As a young actor I did everything on the checklist of what you should do before an audition:  

• I went to the studio where the audition was located the day before. It was on the 4th floor of Pearl Studios and I got to see all the spaces that were there, as well as the hectic and crazy atmosphere.  It seemed wild, but exciting at the same time.  I was prepared. 
• I made sure that I researched everything there was to know about Actor’s Theatre of Louisville.  I went through their entire website and wrote things down that I thought were  intriguing as well as any questions I might have.  I was prepared.
• I had worked my monologues throughly.  The day before my friend and I found a space and just worked on our pieces.  Trying to make them the best possible package for the audition. I was prepared. 
• I made sure I was dressed to impress.  I spent a lot of time primping myself and felt that I looked good. Very “cast-able”.  I was prepared.
• I made sure that I did a great warm-up before the audition.  Making sure that my body and voice were loose and ready to do anything. I knew that I could do this.  I was prepared. 

Preparation is a great tool but it can only take you so far.  You have to remain available and flexible to anything that could happen.  You have to throw preparation out the window and just rely on instinct, which is never as reliable as you wish it was.

My audition was at 2:15 p.m.. My friend and I finished warming up at about 1:40 p.m. and headed over to Pearl to check in.  When we get there the place is even more hectic then it was yesterday: college students to one side, dancers auditioning for “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” in the middle, and stage moms with their kids on the other side.  The place was teeming with nervous energy.  

A space at Pearl Studios.
Not the one I was in. It was smaller with
no mirrors.  Still very nice. 

My friend and I found a place to sit and wait for our names to be called.  Well, little did we know, that the audition was moving at a very rapid pace.  Before I even had enough time to get out my headshot/resume and take a sip of water my friend was called in to audition and I was called to be on deck.  I was not ready for this, I like my time to sit and watch people go in and observe the process.  This time I had to just jump right in.  When I get over to be on deck I see a group of people also auditioning for the program. Looking them over I come to the sad realization that I look absolutely ridiculous.  They were all wearing jeans, a nice sweater or dress shirt and some nice shoes. I, on the other hand, looked like I was about to go to the party of the year down the street.  I was way, way, way overdressed.  The realization dawned on me that I was dressing for my auditions like I was going to a unified, cattle call.  I had dressed like I was going to SETC, NETC or Strawhats, but when you are auditioning one-on-one it’s more appropriate to lose all the glitz and the glamour and just wear something that shows off your ACTING the best.   The gimmicky stuff may be great for getting you noticed at a cattle call, but when you are in an audition room right in front of them, they just want to see you. DUH. Eventually I am called in to audition and the room is extremely friendly, but for some reason I am still feeling rushed and it showed.  My first monologue was a piece from "Big Love" by Charles Mee, and it was a train wreck. I’m sure the feeling I had of “Please, just let me get this over with,” was apparent all through it.  My second monologue was from "The Dreamer Examines His Pillow" by John Patrick Shanley. It actually was pretty solid and I felt like I really had them by the end of it.  I say my thank you’s and exit the room.  I go back out in the hallway and sit with my friend as we wait for the end of the hour and the callbacks to be announced.  We both find ourselves in a state of limbo, not really knowing if what we did was good enough for a callback, but still hoping that they saw something they liked.  Well eventually they call out the callbacks and out of all the people they callback two girls. TWO GIRLS! One of the girls had even gone right after me. I can just remember how confident, interesting and approachable she was. I know that those are qualities I need to continue to work on.  In the end, sometimes all you can say is, “Oh well, next time.”. My friend and I leave the studio and go to TGIFridays and get some much needed drinks, appetizers and time to bask in the dejected feeling of rejection.  Now you can see why, whenever anyone asks me about the audition I just say, “It was a learning experience,” and that is exactly what it was.

LESSONS LEARNED:

• You can prepare all that you want to, but in the end you must remain flexible and willing to adjust to any thing that comes your way.
• What you are wearing is important, but don’t let it stand in the way of your acting.  Know that when you are auditioning alone, in front of a panel, the best bet is to look good, but don’t distract from your acting - enhance it. 
• No matter what the atmosphere of the hallway outside or the room your auditioning in, your audition is your time to shine.  Take as much time as you need to collect yourself and put yourself together.  Your time is just as important as theirs, and rather than rushing to get it over with, create a moment in time they will never forget.  

So did I get the job? No.  But, have I learned enough to where I feel like if I did it all over again I could get the job? Yes. And I think that is what truly matters, especially when I’m just getting started. It’s not over till the fat lady sings! Right?

Next Up:
The United Professional Theatre Auditions.  Or UPTA as they are more affectionately called.  The audition is in Memphis T.N. and there I will be auditioning for about 86 companies.  It’s very exciting to get that much exposure in so little time, but I don’t have a huge reputation for doing well at cattle calls.  I’m banking on this time being different.

Here’s to hoping for much success!