An Audition, the preparation for our theatre profession, is a very serious aspect of an acting career. We pine over the perfect monologue, the right introduction, the best outfit, the most flattering hairstyle. We spend hours researching, rehearsing, and biting our nails. Really, it's quite exhausting. We perform our heart out for the entire 2 minutes and 30 seconds we get in the room and leave with the pride of a mother hen. However, at every audition I've gone to since I have been to in New York (35 and counting) I find myself smirking and chuckling at the events that occur in The Holding Room. (See how cleverly I incorporated the title of the blog?!)
I've been observing and taking notes of the audition process and would like to share the hilarity of it all with you. I hope this blog will entertain, give future actors hope, and maybe teach people a little something about what NOT to do at an audition.
So to start off my first post, I will act like a true writer and give you my metaphor for an acting career: The Gambling Game at the Street Fair.
Earlier this summer my friend Ian and I went to a street fair and got roped into playing a gambling game (First lesson: Don't EVER let this happen to you) The basic premise of the game is if you keep giving $5, $10, $20 etc. you continue to have the chance to gain points that cannot be taken away from you. You get to 100 points, you win! The ONLY way you can lose, is to stop playing. Well, once you've been at 94 points for about 45 minutes and have handed over $120, you stop. Well, that's what we did! That's all we were willing to fork over. Now I know you are thinking, how does this pertain to the acting world?
You have to keep giving ALL of you. Auditions, headshots, postcards, meetings, readings, agents, temp work, slave work, prostitution, BUT if you keep going, you will win in the end. The only way to lose is to give up. Everything you do, everything you give, every point you earn, helps you.
Now, I wasn't going to gamble away any more money (Yes, I do own a $120 teddy bear, and it ain't no FAO Swartz quality either) but I will keep giving myself to theatre and acting till I get the "prize" in the end. Don't get me wrong, some actors may need to borrow someone else's money, play a different game, or stop playing all together, but if you want it badly enough, you WILL keep playing.
After that deep, insightful thought, I will give you some time to mull over it. Future posts will be filled with funny observations from the audition holding room.
***Disclamer: If you find yourself reading this blog thinking "Oh shoot, this is me!" know that I am not being mean, just laughing at you***
I will leave you with this: After sitting in on some auditions, some professional actors (more than you would think) are, well, idiots. I say that lovingly, I do, because after all, we are all in this together (Yes, I did just use a High School Musical quote). For all of those people who wonder where we get the phrase "All actors are crazy" this blog is for you!
I've been observing and taking notes of the audition process and would like to share the hilarity of it all with you. I hope this blog will entertain, give future actors hope, and maybe teach people a little something about what NOT to do at an audition.
So to start off my first post, I will act like a true writer and give you my metaphor for an acting career: The Gambling Game at the Street Fair.
Earlier this summer my friend Ian and I went to a street fair and got roped into playing a gambling game (First lesson: Don't EVER let this happen to you) The basic premise of the game is if you keep giving $5, $10, $20 etc. you continue to have the chance to gain points that cannot be taken away from you. You get to 100 points, you win! The ONLY way you can lose, is to stop playing. Well, once you've been at 94 points for about 45 minutes and have handed over $120, you stop. Well, that's what we did! That's all we were willing to fork over. Now I know you are thinking, how does this pertain to the acting world?
You have to keep giving ALL of you. Auditions, headshots, postcards, meetings, readings, agents, temp work, slave work, prostitution, BUT if you keep going, you will win in the end. The only way to lose is to give up. Everything you do, everything you give, every point you earn, helps you.
Now, I wasn't going to gamble away any more money (Yes, I do own a $120 teddy bear, and it ain't no FAO Swartz quality either) but I will keep giving myself to theatre and acting till I get the "prize" in the end. Don't get me wrong, some actors may need to borrow someone else's money, play a different game, or stop playing all together, but if you want it badly enough, you WILL keep playing.
After that deep, insightful thought, I will give you some time to mull over it. Future posts will be filled with funny observations from the audition holding room.
***Disclamer: If you find yourself reading this blog thinking "Oh shoot, this is me!" know that I am not being mean, just laughing at you***
I will leave you with this: After sitting in on some auditions, some professional actors (more than you would think) are, well, idiots. I say that lovingly, I do, because after all, we are all in this together (Yes, I did just use a High School Musical quote). For all of those people who wonder where we get the phrase "All actors are crazy" this blog is for you!
