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!

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!