The Run-down of my Audition Thursday...

Originally posted on Myspace Nov. 09, 2007.

So if things couldn't be any better, I got a migraine. Those pounding the right side of your head and about to pop out your eyeballs type pain. Light was hurting it more, sound made me want to crawl into a ball and cry and all I wanted to do was throw up.... NO WAIT!!! IT'S AUDITION THURSDAY!!!!!!! *throws hat in the air like Mary Tyler Moore*

Back to reality.. I leave work around 2 so I could pick my headshots from Walgreens where I made copies, and I wanted to get some food. I get to Austin around 4:15ish and I drive to my "spot" where is near my first audition. I sit in the parking lot near a baseball field, put on a Fiona Apple cd and try and get outside myself as much as possible... did I mention the migraine? In the anticipation of everything, I forgot to take something at the office and I was left to tough it out. Grrreat. I sit in my car with perfect sunlight coming through so I decide to fix my face. Not surgically, just with makeup. 30 mins later, I'm all dolled up so I start vocal warm ups and stretches. I decide to get to the audition about an hour early so I could get in line. Not so much, I was the first one. I sit in my car for another 30mins trying to close my eyes cause my head hurts so much.

Once inside, I use the little cowgirls room and freshen up a bit more. Headshots in tote, a little bit more lip gloss, and I adjust my Target version of Spanx. Hey if it holds in Oprah's gut, it should hold in my gut too. I look around the art center at the walls adorned with "anti-war" paintings, "fuck you" to the government murals, collages, mirrors... yep, I'm in Austin. I notice that while in the bathroom another lady has beat me and I am now the second person in line. There's goes my joke, my one-liner I could tell the casting agent, "Oh, am I first? Wow, that means everyone is going to be compared to me!" lol. Of course I hear myself say this now and I'm so grateful those words didn't come out of my mouth. Oh but let me tell you what did...
Once they called my name to go in, I walked into the room awkwardly holding my bag with my headshots about to spill out. I'm such a mess, an awkward mess. I close the door and the casting agent immediately starts to introduce herself, but I'm not listening.. I'm concerned with my bag that has just partially spilled out on the floor. Then she introduces the screenwriter. "Congratulations on the script!" Is what I should of said, instead.... it went like this. "Oh I'm Anne, and this is John (names changed) who is the screenwriter", and I respond "Congratulations." WTF?? What did I mean? Congratulations on being John? Oh god, I'm such a moron! I quickly made small talk to kind of ease over the asshole brush off I just gave to the writer of the movie that I'm auditioning for.

Then we very briefly go through the characters I'm reading for, quick rewind...... when I signed in Anne looked us over and gave us who we were going to read for. I assumed I was going to read for a "ditzy watiress" no sweat. Well she looked me over and gives me the waitress and another character, who happens to be similar to Shannon Elizabeths character in American Pie. Ok, let's imagine this... shannon elizabeth..... me..... I don't carry a single characterisitc of that "hot, wannabe supermodel" type at all. I know this, I never try to front that I do, but when she handed me the script to read for her. Not gonna lie, I got a little freaked out. Sexy? Can I pull it off? Only one way to find out...

Back to where we were, we discuss this supermodel character briefly and then we begin.. Suddenly all my fears of playing sexy, beautiful just faded away and I tried to convey as much hotness as possible through my eyes (cause I couldn't do it with my body). Luckily I memorized it as much as I could when I was waiting cause I couldn't turn the page to get the last of my dialouge mainly cause I was nervous, hands were shaking and then the worst happened... I felt all the blood just rush up to my head and my face turned bright red. REALLY!!! NOW!!! The scene ended, and I just played it off like I got really into the character and that's what she would have done. Whether they bought it or not (which I doubt they did), didn't matter. I got some amazing feedback, they really enjoyed the way I potrayed her. Score!! I felt really good about that one.

On to the second character (side note-- this is the first audition where I get to read for 2 different roles). This character was described as Jennifer Aniston in Office Space as the waitress. They told me that she had to be played as a ditzy/bitchy waitress who is fed up with her job. I read through it twice, and they said it was good (being polite) but I don't feel I nailed it like I did with the first one. Overall I left the audition feeling really good about myself. I was so glad to get rid of that inital audition. This was my first film audition in I don't know.... 5 years. Dang.

Onto the second audition. I'm driving around in the dark in what looks like one of the seadiest neighborhoods in Austin. I'm completely lost and all the lights from cars arn't helping my headache at all. I was really tempted to call it a night and just go back to San Antonio, but low and behold I found the studio. I was so tense by this point, my headhurt, my neck everything. So I needed a breather. I sat in my car in the parking lot for a bit, closed my eyes to put myself together. Once I calmed down, I went in. I waited around for a while went over my lines... remember this is the role where I have to do a jazz routine/mexian hat dance. lol. So I tried to block out the overly talkative ladies and tried to focus. I was the last.... the very LAST person to go in. Awkward moment 2 begins right after this brief re-cap..

In the audition classes I've taken, they always told us, don't talk to the casting directors, don't try and shake their hands, just walk in hand your headshot/resume and wait for instructions before you start. So I guess I still carry that militant mentality today. Back to awkward moment...

So the guy calls my name and we walk down the long hall to the room, he says that he's the guy that wrote the script and I was amazed that it was him running the whole show. What I should of noticed was his hand out to shake mine, but I didn't... cause I'm a moron which we established in the first awkward moment. Finaly I see his hand is out and I knew I had to shake it, but I hesitated... what if I did and he just pulls it away at the last second? "Ah Ha!! That was a test to see if you would touch me!! You failed... no part for you!!!" or maybe "Psych!!! You thought!!" But that's too 5th grade, anywho I shake his hand in an awkward angle because half of me was already in the room and he wasn't, so I did this 45 degree angle handshake while my back is facing him... yea, it was bad. Obviously I need to learn social skills, or to take a fucking chill pill and relax!

So I look at where I'm going to rehearse, a large green screen with a a single chair in the middle of the floor. No biggie. I sit down and notice a lady off in the corner taking notes.... hrrm. Then he says, well go ahead and read all you lines, I'm not going to feed any lines I just want you to read everything by yourself and tell me when you're done. "Are fucking serious?" Was what I wanted to say, but instead I said "Ok, no problem." Thank god, the awkward sensors were up and blocked that one. So I start my lines, and he starts looking at other headshots and writing stuff down. He wasn't looking and it made me nervous, which I seriously should of blown off but I let it get to me and I missed a line. I had my script in my hand so I was able to recover, then it was onto the dance sequence. NAILED IT!!! I was so freakin' happy, and I made him look up and he watched with a smile on his face. I delivered my final line to him dead in his eyes too. So it may not of started good but, I sure did finish strong.

Overall I don't know what to think of that audition, I'm happy with my performance but I don't know if the rocky start will effect his decision in anyway. But I feel good, even if I don't get a callback it's ok cause I just tackled the hardest thing ever. The audition process. It's a killer. But I have one more left on Sunday and I think that may be it for November. I'm just really happy that I'm branching away from Friday Night Lights and finding other projects to work on. It's tough sitting in the back away from the camera, it's really frustrating for me cause I know I have talent and I just want to showcase it.

Cross your fingers for a callback!!