The Wild Card

Like I said I've been busy. Auditions are abound and consistent. I've gotten used to running around town what with all my 'jobs'. And aside from the flat tire I had last week, things have been rolling along.

I've had house guests all summer and will continue to have house guests all the way up through the fall. And with all this spiritual massage work I'm getting done, I feel great! This brings me to my current blog.

They say one of the most important things you must know about yourself as an actor particularly in Los Angeles is your type.

And by type they don't mean what you see yourself as, but what others see you as upon meeting you; your foremost energy, which is why it's so important to have it cleared and focused.

I have been told that I have a naturally authoritative tone in my voice and energy that often teems off of me stronger than my Dior Pure Poison. I'll take that as a compliment. I really just want to be saved!

Just kidding.

I am often cast as the independent woman type. The Lawyer type. The Public School Figure Type. The Business Woman type.The Sexy but tough Bartender type. The disagreeable woman with an emotional catharsis on her shoulder type. 

Every once in a while the quirky med student type and most recently the young female Iraq war vet who can kick serious ass type. I likey.

But about that callback, which was for a recurring role on a new sit-com, I found myself sitting in a waiting room with a wide variety of other types also vying for the role.

The age 50s plump Caucasian type, the age 50s lean Caucasian type, the age 40s spunky African American woman type, the Agent-put-her-on tape type, the Offer-Only-type and me.

I wonder, how is it that I end up in a room with these ladies? I barely look 30s in a close-up on camera let alone in person. You've seen pictures of me on this blog!

There were only about five other actresses called back for the part; which is great, because some of these call backs I go to, might as well be called 'All backs'; where everyone there the first time is there again.

But if we were a poker game, the casting director would have had a straight flush in the waiting room. My efforts and ambition were starting to feel pointless. Am I just there to make the competition look good? 

My callback read was great, I thought. Aside from a few extra butterflies in my stomach, I did basically what I did the day before with the casting director after adjustments and notes.

It was actually the best and most fun audition session I've ever had with a casting director here in LA.

I drove over to Lisa Jay's apartment afterward to contemplate; which is something actors also should not often do. Once it's over, let it go.

But I had worked on the sides with her beforehand which is also what I think helped get me the callback and I guess I wanted a helpful perspective.

"You're the Wild Card," she says.

"The what?" I ask.

I like the new nickname already, must be the wild thing in me. Vata-Pitta-Kapha-Wild.

"The wild card. You're the type they would cast if they were going to go against type, cast outside of the box," she explains.

Oh! I get it. I'm the actress they would cast if they end up going the other other way with the part. The unpredictable factor. The risk factor. The Wild Card.

This new nickname or type brings me to realize. I am totally the competition.

I am the way the producers want to go, if I can really give a bang out performance and be not only the best actress for the part, but the unconventional choice that would give their show some edge.

Suddenly I feel empowered. 

My mother used to tell me, "Ann, you have to be better than the best, that way no one can deny you." No pressure there, and only the mainstream of Hollywood to convince, right?

And not that any actor has control over the politics of casting, but once you realize what those politics are, you can learn to play the hand you are dealt. The Wild Card. I likey.

But now it's over, I've let it go, onto the next. There are opportunities that I am right for on both coasts. And I will continue to play my wild card, my type, my 'Me' every time. And I will beat the house.

I have to.

(photos courtesy of punchstock and Greg Crowder)

Yours Truly -- Ann Hu

Comments

[WiL]

Awesome! Same here, I'm a wildcard myself but I will take some of your words and remind myself-or your mother's, "I have to be the best."

Thanks for the blog ;-)