Fitting The Parts

Post-audition biker-girl selfie!

My first week back home from honeymoon passed by quietly. Too quietly. As I busied myself with the laundry and trying to find the floor in our new home I soon realized that the housewife thing was not for me. Thankfully by my first weekend back home I had received emails for auditions and castings. I had something – aside from my dissertation and piles of housework – to do!

In the space of a week I auditioned for a nurse, a biker chick and a beer girl. The following week saw another three castings and auditions. Ranging from pretty dresses to jeans and leather boots to looking like I was so sick I was knocking on death’s door. At one of the auditions I arrived at a friend had seen me approaching:

“I saw that blonde hair walking in and I wondered if you were under it”. At this specific audition we saw the director in rounds of ten. You went in, did your lines with the director, and if he liked what he saw you waited. At the end of your round of ten those who were deemed worthy came in again and were recorded to be shown to the client.

I was number 11. I knew my lines, but in the scene there were 3 characters namely X, Y and Z and a therapist. I walked in, took my place and started as my line was the first line in the scene. The director read the next line of text which belonged to the therapist. I knew two more characters would speak before it was my line. The director looked at me expectantly. I looked at him blankly. 

“Do you know all the lines?”

“I know the lines for the female character.”

“I want you to know all the lines, and I’ll read the therapist. That way we can have a better back and forth”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know.”

As I walked out of the casting room and frantically looked for a script the director followed me out and announced that everybody needed to know all the lines for characters X,Y and Z. Not just one.

By the time that number 12 had auditioned I knew the lines. I was waiting by the door as number 12 left:

“Are you sure you know all the lines already” the director asked after spotting me at the door.

“Yes”

“Then let’s do it”

And it went smoothly. I was asked to stay to be recorded. I entered the audition room for the third time.

“Third time’s a charm!” I chirped as I walked in for my call back.

“Exactly like you did it last time”

As I finished the director looked at me seriously.

"I'm happy with what you did. Now it all depends on the client. If you look the way that they want you to look”

And it turns out that I didn’t look the right way. But its all part of what we do. And even though I didn’t get the part, its comforting to know that the director was happy with my work. And that I’m back in front of casting directors doing what I do.