You Never Know...

Wow.... I had the most illuminating audition this week.

A few posts ago I wrote about a busy week of auditions I'd had, and the rejection and successes therein. (Read that post here.) In particular, there was one audition that week that left me feeling particularly cranky and self-critical.  

It was a commercial spot that required a sexy vibe.  My brand isn't overtly sexy, but the spot was classy and tasteful.  I was curious to see if I could amp up the sexy a bit, so I submitted.  

I thought I'd found my answer when I left the audition thinking, "blech", and wishing I could erase it from memory so that I wouldn't start rethinking every choice I'd made.  

Fast forward three weeks.  I got an email saying that the director of that spot wanted to see me for another project.  I was relieved that it obviously hadn't gone as poorly as I'd thought, and thrilled to get a second chance to make a better impression.

I carefully prepared for the audition.  I even bought a new dress!  When I walked into the room I was caught off guard when the director seemed genuinely excited to see me.  And then, even more shockingly, our interaction went like this:

Director: You should know you were this close (makes a teensy pinch with his fingers) to getting that last spot.  There were a lot of cooks in the kitchen on that one.  I knew I wanted to cast you, but we ended up going with someone that the client liked a little bit more.

Me: (Baffled, but trying to seem cool.) Oh, wow.  That's so great to hear, actually.  I so rarely get feedback unless I book the job.  It's cool to know how close I actually came.

Director: Yeah, you did really well.

Everyone in the room picked up on his energy and started to chat with me casually about that spot and the current project. Once I'd gotten over my shock, and when it seemed like everyone was ready to get started, I tried to calm myself and focus on the audition at hand.  

The unfortunate thing about having a chatty encounter right before the audition is that the focus can suffer, and my first take was a little bumpier than what I'd prepared.  I asked for another go to smooth it out.

Director: Really?  You didn't like that one?  Well ok.  Only for you, though. 

My second read was much better.  He agreed and marked it as the best one.  I thanked them for bringing me back, and the director replied.

Director: Thanks for coming back.  I hope we get to work together soon.

Still amazed, I left the audition thinking about how close I was to booking the sexy spot, regardless of how I'd felt about my performance.  I mean didn't he realize how displeased I had been about the previous audition?  

The short answer is NO, he didn't.  And how I feel about an audition really doesn't matter at all when it comes to casting.  What I'd thought was glaringly obvious was only happening in my head.  So it just goes to show that you really, really never know.  I think the next time someone asks me how an audition went, instead of picking apart everything I did or didn't do, I think I'll just say, "I have no idea.  We'll just have to see!"

In other news, I'd like to present my new website! www.erinbrese.com

Yay!

--Erin Brese

Comments

[Karo]

Hi, I was just wondering how do you get the information about the auditions? Do you have your own agent or sth?

[Erin Brese]

Hi Karo! I don't have representation at the moment, but this site, backstage.com, is one great source for auditions of all kinds, but I imagine you already know that. In addition to Back Stage, I also use Actors Access and Casting Networks to submit myself for work Thanks for reading!.