Yesterday I went in for my audition for Northside's "A Christmas Carol." It's being directed by my friend, James Lucas. I met James this past summer at Shady. He played Georgette in "Much Ado About Nothing" and Antonio in "Merchant of Venice", and was wonderful. He mentioned that he would be directing in the fall and invited everyone to come out to audition. I gladly accepted the offer.
I'll be honest, this a show I really want. It pays a small stipend, will look great on my resume, will introduce to more people in the Bay Area theatre community (networking is awesome), and the timing is perfect.
I did have a few problems trying to book an appointment. Every time I called I got the answering machine, even during the office hours. And the machine starts off with talking about the Box Office hours and buying tickets. There is no mention of setting up audition appointments. And while it does say you can leave a message for a staff member, I did not initially know which staff member set up the audition appointments. The first message I left was never returned, but I didn't leave the message for anyone in particular. I just expressed my interest in wanting to audition, asking for a date and leaving my contact info. The second time, I specifically left the message for Meredith King, who sent the audition notice through bayareatheatrebums. This time I got my appointment confirmed.
Northside Theatre wasn't at all what I expected. I expected to find something like City Lights or Broadway West, a small space squashed between downtown buildings. Instead I found myself at an elementary school/community center that also has a theatre in it. The space is fairly small, but I'm getting used to that now.
I saw a couple of people there I knew from what I call the SJSU theatre group. These are people I have met either while attending SJSU or are SJSU theatre students. I'm enjoying seeing friendly, familiar faces at auditions. It helps me relax a bit. And it's always fun to catch up with people I don't see very often.
I was told to bring 2 contrasting pieces no more than 5 minutes in length. I had previously asked my mentor if I should find period pieces since it's a Dickens play, but was told "no." Instead I did a piece from Dan Dietz's "TEMPOdyssey," my comedic choice, and a piece from George F. Walker's "Tough," my contrasting piece. "TEMPOdyssey" is the one I've been working on in class so I felt quite comfortable with it. Tough was stolen from a fellow actor of the same class.
Overall I felt this was one of my better auditions recently. I'm gaining more confidence with each audition and the theatre class is definitely helping me. Also, I put some time into these monologues already so I wasn't too worried about the delivery.
After my audition James asked if I could stay to read some sides. Unfortunately, I agreed to pick up an extra shift at my day job so I couldn't stay as long as I would've liked. I did have time to get in one side, Belle's monologue. James gave me a bit of information on the piece before I went out to practice. What stuck with me was James saying that Belle is hurting, but trying not to show her feelings. That's she's strong. So when I came back to do the piece that's how I read it-strong. Belle is breaking up with Ebeneezer, but since she was the one walking away she wouldn't show her hurt. Well, judging by James's reaction I felt like I missed the mark. I had about 10 seconds of panic and my thoughts basically went, "Oh shit, I did it wrong. Um. Um. Quick! Ask him if I can do it again." So I did. I basically said, aloud, "Um. I could try that again if you want?" Luckily, James is great and let me give it another shot with a bit more direction. I tried to be a bit more heartfelt, and show more heartache. I felt like I nailed it the second time around. Right after the reading I had to leave for work. I won't find out for a few days about the casting.
What I really appreciated about this audition was getting a second chance. I'm so new and cold readings are still one of my worst areas. I really wish more directors would say, "Could you try it this way?" during an audition. I do get that there's time to consider and really if you deserved the part you'd have probably nailed it the first time, but for noobs like me these small second chances are so important in my learning curve. I just wish it would happen more often.
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