Altogether An Odd Audition

Audition yesterday in the heart of Hollywood. Here's what the script called for:

...short and skinny, pale-skinned 35 year-old,  whom other characters refer to as beautiful. The character is a mother/assassin.

Here's what came in before and after me....

...a tall (taller than me--and I'm 5'11 in heels) black woman in rubber boots and a rather impressive afro, guessing about 30.
...two petite, latino girls with dark hair who was barely 25...could have been sisters...also in black boots...
...an overweight and obviously unattractive white woman who could NOT have been under 40 wearing clothes that didn't quite fit her properly...dishwater blonde.

Yes, they were all there to read for the same role, including me.  

Now, granted. I'm young for the role and too tall myself.... but this director was seeing anything and everything. Either he didn't know what he wanted or... It was a bit odd to me...but whatever.

The apartment building was labyrinthine, so it was good he had people helping direct us...but THREE guys? That seemed like overkill--but they were all professional with us...so...okay.  And--it was taped--which seemed odd to me for a first-round audition on a small-budget thing with so much variety showing up. Also seemed...unnecessary considering he was the writer/director/and casting person. Yet, it's actually a paid gig...despite it's non-union status. I was treated very respectfully and cordially and it was all very smooth except the wait time, which didn't bother me since I didn't have a deadline to get anywhere next. Having a little extra prep time was a good thing.

Yet another oddity was that one of the men there for the audition was an actor I recognized from TV.  He was doing his own thang so I didn't bug him and I can't think of his name...but that was also unusual to me.  I swear this guy has done Guest Star work--and yet he was hanging around in line to audition  at this apartment complex like the rest of us. "Huh?"  Is the economy doing that poorly? Or is this project less unassuming than I gave it credit for?

The whole thing felt like trying to put together a puzzle with some key pieces missing. I found myself going, "Huh?" more times than I can count--and I did that when I was reading the script too. Strange to admit that...but it was just...odd. All of it. Everyone was nice and the role was fun to play with in the room--although the way the script jumped around we (me and the guy I read with) had to rifle through the script to keep up with the way he had us do the dialogue in audition. So, that made for a rather clunky experience.

Oh--and--the guy I read with was placed behind me at an angle and we auditioned on the same tape. That was a new one for me. "Huh?" Again--it felt like instead of being looked at individually he was trying to pack us in two at a time...which I didn't like...at all. It was a...really weird... to hear a voice coming from behind me in an audition experience. I went with it--just really odd. I had no face to connect with during the reading and a voice that was coming from behind me (my character was talking to her therapist)??? "Huh?" was quickly turning into "What the F....?"

And that was the third DAY of auditions--round one auditions for them. Okaaay...

Some of these things felt normal--standing on their own--but grouped together it was a bizarro mixture. I went, read, and left. Did my job and went home. It was nice to get in front of the camera and get some play/practice time in. I rather enjoy auditions-- though more so when it's an experience I can wrap my brain around--but alls well that ends well.

--Eve White