Friday Play by Play

8am, Friday. I force myself out of bed. Laptop in hand, music on, walk to the kitchen and turn the kettle on. Water boils.

I take a shower. I take a 10 minute shower while the water is boiling. I bring the laptop into the bathroom with me to play music to wake up the nerves. Vocal warm-ups in the shower.

Then I get dressed, hair wet and tied up in a swirl. The kettle whistles. I pour boiling water into my French Press for my morning cup of coffee.

I like my coffee with cayenne pepper and almond milk. Then I make breakfast.

Goat Yogurt, blueberries, dash of granola, and whole flax seeds. Mix, eat, and yum.

8:30AM. I pick out outfits for appointments for the day and then work at night. Pack all audition clothes and work clothes in a bag. Thank goodness I have a car.

I study all three sides of the day, on my couch, while drinking my cayenne coffee. 9:00AM. Phone rings. It's my 9am phone meeting for a possible new business venture.

Meeting is a full half hour. It will require a follow up meeting, but over all it's great. I am excited.

9:30AM. Dry the hair and paint on the make-up. Double check my load for the day. Clothes packed. Sides packed.

Did I bring enough headshots? No.

Print resume and staple to headshot. 9:50AM. I drive. I drive to West Hollywood to rehearse for one of my appointments. No traffic. Thank you. Parking spot. Thank you.

First rehearsal begins. Lots of laughing, analyzing, timing, reversals, images, and everything is off book. Choices and more choices, because I can, and should, or else. I am grateful for my rehearsal friend.

11:40AM. Leave friend's house and head towards first appointment. I drive.

I pull over to Chick-Fil-A in Hollywood and have a quick protein lunch outside with some sweet tea to wash it down. Yum.

12:45pm. I drive again, to the first appointment. No traffic. Lots of different directions. I find and drive to the gate.

The guard tells me to park, descend the stairs, cross the bridge over to the next security gate, where another guard will tell me where to go. Classic. I know I'm going to mess this up.

1:00PM. I have to change. I find a remote parking spot and change, in my car, into the first character of the day. I grab my load and descend the stairs. I see a sign that says RESTROOMS. I walk towards it.

The restrooms turn out to be locked porta-potties. I turn around. The door I just exited to the parking lot has now closed and locked behind me. I knew it.

I find a locked gate that leads to a walk way circling around to the front of the parking lot where there are people.

I open the lock (don't ask me how) and walk all the way to the front, between trees and a solid set of iron bars and scream.

Security comes running down, "How did you get in there? I don't even know what that space is?!"

Apparently, I wasn't told to not walk down the back set of stairs. Back is bad.

The new guard lets me in and I walk, with him, to the front set of stairs and the restrooms there. I am saved. I cross the bridge. Thank goodness I was an hour early.

I wait for another security guard to print another pass. I walk towards my first appointment. I am first to arrive. I wait. I am first to enter. Producer session is smooth and fun! Thank you. 

Now let it go, onto the next. 2:30PM. Appointment #2. Outfit number two, different age range, polar opposite character.

I change in the bathroom near my next appointment thankfully on the same lot. Lucky. This is the one I rehearsed for and it's a lot of fun! I'm ready; hairdo, outfit, lines, choices, the whole she-bang. 

I am an hour early again. I take a ten-minute power nap on one of the couches in the lobby which is filled with pretty-vampire-boyfriend types lined up for another pilot. Classic. I pretend I am listening to music and close my eyes.

At 3:00pm, I move into the specific waiting area for my appointment. I sign in. I sit with the other girls. I am in my own company, funny girls with balls of steel. I am happy.

I go in. Casting works with me a lot. Layers and more layers. Fun. I leave happy. And I let it go.

Walk across the lot, across the bridge, up the stairs (the front ones), and back to my car. I change again, in my car. I love my car. Her name is Fiona. Fiona deserves a medal.

4:09PM, I reprogram my GPS towards Hollywood, and head to third appointment, third outfit, third character of the day.

The inside of my car now looks like my dresser drawer. I eat a banana and a nut bar. Dinner.

I drive again. There is some traffic, I am a half hour late. 4:40pm. We only read the first scene. It's a play. Solid, fun, and I top the serious with just the right amount of funny.

I leave. 5:00pm. I exit the theater door and breathe a sigh of relief. I look up to the sky. I did it. Again. Three appointments in one day, which totals five in two days. Thursday was similar. And now...I get to go to work.

I drive down to Santa Monica in rush hour traffic but it's flowing. My manager calls. We chat (hands free) about the day, the activity, and the wonderfulness of it all. This is the sky I see.

While I drive, I stick my left hand out the window, palm up to the sky, to the heavens, "Thank you for today! Thank you for every inconvenient, convenient, creative, challenging, fun, stressful, joyful, time-compressed, silly, unexpected moment of today."

I do the same thing everyday, no matter what.

I stop by home, to unload, take a five minute breather, grab another nut bar and change into work clothes.

6:30PM. I enter work. I am grateful for the people I work with; for each of their individual personalities.

This situation is as comfortable as it gets. The boss walks by and asks me, "Hello Ann! How are yoooooo-u today?" He is never without bounce and gusto.

My answer, "Fan-tahhsss-tic!" I am fantastic. I am also physically and mentally spent; and ready to take on another 200 people...hopefully.

I am on my feet for the next five hours, talking, selling, laughing, connecting with people. But by 11:15PM, I'm about to fall over. It was just enough busy for me. 11:30PM. I leave work.

11:45pm I reach home. First, I meditate. Next, I'm hungry and it's now midnight.

My roommate wraps herself in a blanket and joins me in the kitchen while I make spicy midnight pasta.

She makes the apartment feel like a home. She has brought relief to every area in my life.

We chat, we eat and I shoot a shot of rum. I load the dishwasher. I brush my teeth, wash my face and put on matching pajamas.

1:14AM, I say a few prayers, thank my lucky stars, my parents, my reps, my friends, my courage, my joy, and hit the sack.

1:20AM. I force myself to call it a day and fall asleep.

Head to the pillow. Body melting in the bed. Grin on the face. Spirit satiated.

Thursday wasn't much different and I'm not complaining...at all. Most days in my life, have been like this Friday play by play. It's when I feel most like myself, on days like this.

That. Was. My. Friday. More please...

(photos courtesy of the Blake Gardner, punchstock.com, and the fabulous Los Angeles winter sky)

Yours Truly -- Ann Hu

 

 

Comments

[Cole Matson]

This is one of my favourite Unscripted posts in a while. Well done, and break a leg on your next audition triple-play!

[David Yakobovitch]

Love the cayenne pepper! :)