Archive for the 'Auditions' Category
I can’t believe I screw up this bad! And all I could think of during the audition was, that I totally screwed up, which made my audition even worst.
David, a TH member, posted a casting notice for his play workshop on Tribe and also on another casting website. I asked him, if I could post the casting notice in the Women In Theatre newsletter, since there were a few mature roles for men and women, and our members would appreciate the casting notice.
He said that it would be a great idea and when I also told him that I would love to be considered for one of the roles, he told me to email him my headshot and resume.
After my submission, David emailed me back and told me to come for an audition on Monday the 16th.
Well, in my big excitement, I didn’t realize, that the email said audition. I, for some stupid reason, thought that I was reading for the part (+ other roles, as he considered it in the email.)
On the morning of the audition (or the reading as I thought) I talked to my Agent, who was asking me, if I would consider adding a last name, because I don’t get called in for auditions.
This conversation didn’t last long, but it gave me a late start to the reading (audition) and I jumped on my bike and hauled ass to get to the given location. (I’m glad I was on my bike, because cars were in gridlock all over because of constructions and accidents.)
As I arrived at the Pico building I had to find a secure, non-moving, non-city property object to lock my bike to, because they didn’t have any bike racks. (Maybe some of you folks out there could help me put the word out to request bike racks at every public facility.)
When I locked my bike up, I got into the elevator, rode up to the 11th floor, and I see all these great looking, dressed up ladies, waiting outside the room, that is marked “Auditions.”
First I thought I was at the wrong place, but then I realized that I myself was wrong at the right place.
Ooooooh, I got so upset at myself! I went to the bathroom, to try to cool myself off. My face was beet red from racing my bike across town, I was sweating (not glowing this time) like a pig and I wasn’t dressed up. Waaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!
I couldn’t do much about my looks and as soon as I got out of the bathroom, one of the assistants called my name and I had to go in.
I tried to keep a cool face (even though my blood was pumping and the veins on my temple must have been bulging) and said hi, and started to read with another assistant (who is already cast for the play) for the character that was assigned to me.
As I was reading, so was David the director who was auditioning me. Hmm. He should be looking at me, I thought, but maybe my beet red face was so distracting that he couldn’t handle the sight.
So now I’m really pissed off at myself for not being prepared in any way. I was auditioning, when I thought that I was just reading for the workshop and the director can’t even bear looking at me.
My head was pumping, I was beating up myself internally while trying to maintain cool and put together.
I’m sure they thought the worst of me, and I don’t even want to imagine what their thoughts could have been.
I screwed up this one worst then I ever screwed up any audition. It will take me a while before I get over this.
But I think I owe a HUGE APOLOGY to David and the ladies in the room for wasting their time.
I will read the emails better next time and I will not show up unprepared ever again for any audition (or reading!)
Auditions | 19.07.2007 15:37 | No Comments
I got cast in the stage play/reading of “Voices From Chornobyl” that will be performing at the EdgeFest on Saturday, June 30th. (Yes, it is spelled with an “o” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chornobyl), it wasn’t a mistake.)
We had our first rehearsal last night and the director Cindy Marie Jenkins is pretty amazing. I haven’t seen a director who gives this much homework to their actors. I don’t think it’s bad. I thinks it very, very cool.
I know, that most of the research the actors do themselves however, I did some plays and films that had historical significance, and non of the directors ever bothered with details. In my experience, it was always up to the actor to gather background info. Or not.
But Cindy had a big pile of paper for us to take home and read over (and yes, all the paper was recycled, with old scripts on the back side! I love her for that!)
She gave us background on the play - The original book was written by Svetlana Alexievich and translated into English in 1999. Cindy Marie Jenkins adapted it and had the first reading at the Fountain Theatre, Hollywood, in 2005 and then the first stage performance at the Open Fist Theatre, Hollywood in 2006.
She gave us the Chernobyl history broken down to the minute and seconds as the accident happened.
She gave us some information about the continuing hazards of this accident. If you are interested in reading up on it, follow the BBC link. Fascinating a scary!
Cindy also gave us a print out that compares Chernobyl with other disasters and a few pages of an interview with the writer of the original book.
I’m going to do my own research and I’m also going to interview my family. In 1986, when the accident happened, my immediate family and I lived in Germany. But the rest of the family was in Hungary. We had crops and we all were afraid. Afraid of the unknown. The women didn’t know if the radiation will affect their future children. We didn’t know if it was all right to eat the crops, the fruits and vegetables. There were pop songs about the accident and it’s after effects. We made fun of the incident, and we were crying over it at the same time.
It will be a very interesting journey! I’m looking forward to it and I’m very happy to be part of this play. This is something that I can relate to. This is something that is relevant even here in the United States.
If you don’t have anything planned for the 30th, we will be performing at 2 pm at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Ride your bike or take the Metro. The Red Line is just around the corner. Come and say hi to me afterwards.
Auditions, Goals, Rehearsals, Voices From Chornobyl | 16.06.2007 16:13 | No Comments
It was a nice surprise to hear from my Agent. It was a double nice surprise to get sent out on TWO auditions.
One audition was for Hilton Hotel and they called for fresh faced, fit, athletic, modern, contemporary females. Also, they asked us to wear workout clothes and shoes in bright colors or white. The clothes gave me a bit of a concern because I have no workout clothes and the few sweat pants and tops that I have are black.
So I rummaged through my closet, through drawers, and in the laundry, hoping to find something bright colored that would look like workout clothes. I found a bright yellow wife beater and a bright pink mini skirt. Ha. Perfect.
I put on a black pair of tight shorts (no, not the padded kind) and my black workout bra. Over it I put my yellow wife beater and the pink skirt. Looked very modern and contemporary. Or maybe I just looked like a freak. It didn’t matter. I wanted to follow directions and this is what I could come up with. Casting Directors are known to be quite ticked by actors who don’t follow directions.
The next audition was for an IBM Print campaign. I had to dress sharp, sophisticated, clean and business like. Oh, and I had to look Eastern European 
So I loaded my pannier with my dress suit, skirt, stocking, high heels and a dose of Hungarian attitude. I also packed my make-up and a hairbrush and I was ready to hit the road.
The auditions were two hours apart. One was in Beverly Hills and the other was near Los Feliz. I was hoping that the first one wouldn’t take too long, but I also knew, that I couldn’t make it to both auditions in a car in 2 hours.
So I got onto my saddle 45 minutes before my first call and I rode to the Hilton Hotel audition first. There were about 8 people ahead of me when I arrived and they all wore black workout clothes! Have they not read the audition notes?! I had time to brush out my hair and touch up my make-up. I filled out a size card, pulled out my headshot from my bag and I was ready. I was ready to kick ass and show them my freak outfit and my Hungarian attitude.
After 30 minutes of waiting, they called three of us in, we slated, did one-by-one sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, and some weightlifting, and that was it. They didn’t scold the other girls for not following dress code directions. They didn’t ask me to perform or to say some lines. Nothing! I hated it! I was out of there as fast as I could and I had an hour to get to my next audition.
I took some side streets and it was a really beautiful clear day. Once I got up on Santa Monica Blvd. the air wasn’t that clear anymore. The cars were all stopped in traffic and the exhaust was visible and I could smell it as I passed all the cars and the buses and the trucks. I really left them all in the dust. Er, cough, cough, in the smog.
I arrived at the IBM Print audition 20 minutes early and I had plenty of time to change into my business outfit, put on my lipstick, brush out my hair, and fill out a size card. As soon as I got my number, I was pushed in front of the camera and the photographer said: “Hold the card in front of your chest. Lose the card. Smile. Thank you.” That was it. I hated this audition as well. I was out of there in no time.
I rode home in my suit jacket and my high heels, and in my skirt. I thought that if auditions can be humiliating and no fun, I’m going to have some fun on my way home. And I had a blast.
I stopped traffic! Yeah!
Well, not really. The traffic was already stopped because of… well, traffic. I could weave my way up to the red lights with ease and nobody tried to squeeze me. Nobody honked at me. People waved me ahead at Stop signs. It was a nice ride.
I rode 15.54 miles and did two auditions that I didn’t enjoy, where I was treated like a prop or a walking costume. Two auditions where I didn’t get to perform, didn’t get to tell a story.
All in all it was a great day. Just getting sent on auditions is encouraging and even if I got no feedback or acknowledgment from the casting directors, I did get to go on a fun ride on a beautiful day. And now that I think about it, (rewrite memory) I’m sure I stopped the traffic! I’ll take the affirmations where I can get them!
Auditions, Bike Ride | 27.02.2007 16:29 | No Comments
All day yesterday I was waiting by the phone. Yes, I was waiting for a guy to call me. He said that he would call, so I trust that he is telling the truth.
Kristian Steeler, the director/actor who auditioned me yesterday and the day before, said, that he was going to let his actors know whether they got cast or not. I wanted to be cast! I sent him an email on Saturday night, letting him know that I really want the lead role and that I enjoyed the audition.
So now I was just waiting for that special phone call. The phone call that will either get me really pissed off and depressed, or that wonderful call that will make me jump for joy and shriek with delight.
And finally it came in the middle of the SAG Awards Show. I checked my phone at a commercial break, and there was a message from Kristian, asking me to return his call. His voice was very matter of fact. It didn’t sound excited. It didn’t sound like he was smiling while he left the message. And he said that he was only taking calls until 10 pm. Uhg. It was 9:34 pm.
I was scared to call him back. If I didn’t get the part then it doesn’t matter if I return the call or not. If he wants to offer me the part or any other part, it would be very unprofessional not to call him by 10 and he might give the role to someone else. I began to dial.
The phone rang. I held my breath. I was anticipating the answering machine. But Kristian answered. I started making small talk, hoping that he would make the first move. I hate this moment of not knowing. I hate waiting and having to guess. So I cut to the chase finally and asked. “So?” I said. He laughed. But it wasn’t a full hearted laugh. It sounded very dry.
“I was wondering” he said, “if you are still interested in playing the part of Alyssa.” “YESSS!” I cried, and there was no response. So I gathered myself and said in a calm voice “Yes, I’d love to get the part. I’d really appreciate it!” Inside, though, I was ecstatic. I wanted to jump up and down. But nobody around me was sharing my joy. And Kristian sounded like a dead man.
But hey, that is o.k. with me! I GOT THE PART! And I love him for it! And maybe he liked that I rode my bike to the audition! I’M HAPPY! YESSSS! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAL!
Auditions, Goals, Hollywood Reigns | 29.01.2007 16:33 | No Comments
Today I had an early morning audition at USC. It was a cloudy day, and the weather forecast said, that it was going to rain. Well, this was not good news, but it was a good test. The USC audition was at 10:30 am and I got a call this morning about a Theatre call back, that I could go to until 1:30 pm. Hmm.
Was I going to ride? As I got ready to dress, my eye was constantly on the outdoors and on the sky. I decided to dress in a suit, so that I would be dressed the same for my call back, and I was going to put on a nice shirt, so when I took the suit jacket off, I looked like a school teacher for the USC audition.
Again, my eyes were looking up into the sky. The clouds looked dark. I dressed, put on my make-up, and got my headshots and a change of shoes. I don’t mind riding in my high-heel boots, but I didn’t want them to get wet. So I put on my hiking boots (looked very classy with my suit) and I stuffed my nice boots into my pannier (this is a side bag, that you can attach to the bike rack in the back.) I put my make-up and my headshots into the bag as well, and now there was no turning back. I had to ride my bike. I couldn’t wimp out.
As I rode down to USC, the clouds parted and the sun came out. Yesss! This was nice! I rode the 8 miles, arrived on time to fix my hair and put on my boots, and prepare for the cold read audition.
When they were ready for me, they called me in. The director, Mo Twine, gave me some feedback after my first read, I made some adjustments, and we talked a bit about riding my bicycle. It was a great audition. I walked (er, rode) away feeling good.
As I left, I glanced up, and the dark clouds started coming in again. Well, I thought, I won’t melt, and the air is really nice and fresh, so lets go. I had to pick up some freecycle items before I was going to to my call back, so I had to hurry.
I chose to take 4th Street Boulevard, because I knew they were filming there for the 4th Street Boulevard campaign. But it seemed like I missed the group. They started somewhere in Silver Lake at around 11:30 am and I arrived at 4th at 11:30 am. I wasn’t going to wait for them to head my direction, so I just continued my way to Hollywood.
I got to the freecycle pick-up at 12:05 pm and I was ready to get to the call back. Since I didn’t have to ride far, I changed my shoes, and now I was wearing my nice high-heel boots. (When you wear high heels on a bike, people start pointing. It’s really fun!) The sun was gone by this time, and it was a matter of minutes before it was going to rain.
I arrived to my call back and got my sides (the same as yesterday) and I had plenty of time to prepare, to relax, and to memorize the lines.
The director, Kristian Steeler, was fantastic! He remembered everyone’s name from the day before, he was professional, very respectful, and clear in his ideas. And he let me create my character, he let me use the space, and I had a great audition. He made some adjustments, I took them, and he seemed impressed. I had a great audition!
Kristian, a bit worried, asked me if I only have a bicycle for transportation. I told him that I have a car, but I choose to ride. I told him that anybody who uses their bicycle for transportation, will never have a car excuse for being late or for not showing up! He seemed to like that
I rode 20.17 miles today, from one audition to the other, picking up some stuff on the way. I’m glad I took the bike and didn’t chicken out because of some clouds. When I think of all the hard core cyclists in Chicago, I have nothing to complain about.
I love to ride! I felt energized, alive and alert! All these things are important factors of being able to perform. And I did well. I took chances, I was confident about myself, and I didn’t get stressed out about traffic, and about my parking meter expiring. It was a great day to ride! It was a great day to audition! It was a great day to be alive!
Auditions, Bike Ride | 27.01.2007 22:55 | No Comments