Another CD Audition

My plan for last Friday was to go work at McGill, with one of my favorite scenarios, then go to the Forum to see Keep Calm and Make Art at 4:30, as part of the Montreal World Film Festival.

Instead, on Thursday night, I got a call from my agent, for an audition on Friday at 5. It was for not only a real Casting Director, which had been one of my goals, but one of the best here in Montreal. It was for the type of character that terrifies me, and I probably would not have submitted myself for, but since they were asking, I accepted. More than anything, it was my character’s career that threw me, but I have to keep in mind that what you do isn’t necessarily who you are. And luckily, the scene itself was about relationships and answering questions, with the thing that terrified me only being implied.
I worked on the sides Thursday night, using my newly developped process, which gets amended every time I take an awesome workshop with valuable insights. On Friday, I ran it a few times with my mom in the morning, then with a friend and fellow actor once we were done work.
I was incredibly early, so I worked on my voice, went over the scene and all the work I had done, then went for it. I still went in really early, so I got to experience…The Waiting Room. I knew the names of 3 of the 5 girls I was in there with, although I don’t think any of them knew mine. I have a lot of nervous energy before big auditions, so it helped me to be able to walk around instead of just sitting and letting it stew. I also put in as many power poses as I could manage without feeling self-conscious, which would have defeated the purpose.
Oddly enough, or maybe it makes perfect sense, but I was a lot less nervous once I was in the audition room. Where instead of worrying about what was going to happen, I actually got the chance to do something about it. I took a deep breath and tried my best to be comfortable and to own the room, because I should, and the part I was reading for definitely would.
I did the scene once, then got some direction from the casting director and did it again, less nice, more straight.  I got positive feedback, but I am pretty sure she was the type who might just be nice and supportive to everyone. When it was over, I thanked them and went home.
This was a huge victory for me. It was my first audition with the new agent, and although I don’t really expect to get this particular part, I did get into the room. And I am striving for a career, not just a job, so getting into rooms and letting people see what I can do is always going to be a win 🙂

“The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”

-Vince Lombardi