Entourage Update: Audition Debrief

I’m still not entirely sure how it all happened, but the audition went really well. I was a good mix of Energized-Excitement and Nervous-Wreck, but I had no expectations of finding Greatness today. I actually had to gather myself before driving away from the casting, playing back the string of events to make sure it had all actually happened. Turns out, it did.

By the end of the first of two run-thrus I was a big mess of a crying baby… and that’s a good thing, the scene called for it. Rhonda (the casting agent and Queen of the audition auditorium) saw the raw emotion, let a little anticipation slip, and got the camera guy to quickly set up for another take. She told me to try the scene again while in this new head-space (aka all-crying-and-whatnot). The second reading was great. It was complex and driven. I fought to keep the emotion down while working through the scene, and then, between bouts of frustrated energy, I let the guilt and sadness and disappointment bubble back up to the surface. I could see the effect change Rhonda as she read for me, and that continued to pull me deeper into the exchange. By the end of the scene, when there was nothing left to hide behind, I had created a strong character that was totally broken and exhausted. The conflict within me was huge, and it made the ‘acting’ very natural.

Rhonda seemed to really love it. Having gone out and auditioned for her before, I know that she is not in the habit of performing much beyond the audition scene. So her reaction was the real deal. At this point I don’t even care if I get the part. Not only am I excited about having risen to the occasion, proving to myself that I can play the Game, but Rhonda does a lot of castings and auditions and having performed well for her will go a long way to making sure it’s not my last appearance in the casting room. Plus, wow, it feels gooooooood to create like that. It’s amazing that ‘make believe’ can make you feel so alive.

So it’s been another great Thursday so far. Who doesn’t like a lunch hour roller coaster ride from cubicle to water-works to cubicle again? The best part was that I actually Clark-Kent'd-it in the truck, spinning in and out of the EngiNerd costume, hiding my ‘by-day’ from my ‘by-night’. And the fun has just begun; plenty more of the engineering world left before I Fred Flintstone out of the 9-to-5, catch some NHL do-or-die, hit the soccer pitch, and prep for tomorrow’s introduction to the long weekend. I feel like the only thing I’m missing is a George Costanza sous-desk siesta, then again, the afternoon is still young.

As for the ways and workings of the performance, well, the key to any big scene is