WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT...

...YOU BOOK SOMETHING BIG!

The week, started off pretty busy. I had three commercial auditions, varying in role and product types. All three were for fairly well-known brands/companies. For the first, I was definitely not the type they were looking for (there is only so much you as an actor can do when the breakdown calls for a girl with a “full sleeve tattoo” and you don’t give off the vibe of someone that has ever considered getting one). Nevertheless, I actually enjoy stretching myself as much as possible to fit into various roles and always do my best. I think I looked the part (for most part - minus the tattoo) and I figured if they really wanted me, then darn it they would give me a fake tattoo! Alas, it seems that they did not.

The second commercial was a cattle call of all the pretty girls in the city (and during these, I always find myself surrounded with models vs. actors). Since I do float between both the acting and modeling auditions, I’ve gotten pretty good at reading between the lines and guessing which type of people I would encounter at which auditions. Sometimes at these auditions where they literally call what seems like hundreds of pretty girls, each one very pretty in her own way, I wonder if the casting directors even watch the tapes (especially for SOC) roles or if they just randomly choose, haha! I know it’s all legit and professional, of course, I just have a good time imagining the “poor” casting directors and their “poor” assistants (which happen to be mostly young men at this particular place) having to go over tapes of a million hot chicks for days! Anyway, I also did not book this one. I’m sure not for lack of skills or hotness, of course. ;)

My third and final audition of the week was for a commercial for a really well-known company. I guess a leading, international company in their line of work, you could say. The role breakdown was one of those where they tell you to dress casual and even though you’re the “hero”, they call you something random and odd and they say the script will be waiting for you the casting office so you don’t really know what you are doing or what is expected of you from the breakdown. In all honesty, from all the commercial auditions I have done not only that week, but probably all year, I worried the least about this one. I didn’t fuss over my hair (which I always wash and style right before the audition). No, in fact, I simply used the curls I had from the afternoon before and brushed through them. I didn’t fuss over my make-up, which was very minimal, but melting from the heat of one of the hottest days of the year. I made sure I wasn’t shiny, but I just let it go. In fact, I even had tiny wrinkles in my freshly-ironed top, again, due to the fact that it was super hot and sticky. Now, even though my wardrobe did not call for frumpy in the least, I didn’t freak out over it like I usually would. I would, at times, change ten times before settling on a perfect audition outfit for a specific role. Sometimes, I plan and plot the night before with my mom (and then still end up changing like three times the morning of the audition, hehe). I do have my top five go-to outfits for various roles, but I just want everything to be perfect to the last detail. But I honestly…I don’t know what got into me. I can’t say that I didn’t “care”, because, of course I did. I just “let go”. Kind of like “a whatever will be, will be” attitude. I was going out for a role in a commercial for a huge company and I know that they were casting their net very far and very wide, so I didn’t really have my hopes up too high.

I was not surprised when I arrived at the casting office and found tons of people – girls, women and men of all ages with perfectly groomed hair and dressed to the nines. What’s more, I was called in first (with two other men for a group audition). I am often first at two specific casting offices in the city and often last at another one. I’m not sure why this is, I assume it may have to do with my name or my agency or another odd reason, but I have yet to determine whether going first/middle/last makes a difference (and if so, which is the best position). Anyway, since we were the first group, the casting assistant who was taping the audition explained what he needed us to do and then he called in EVERYONE. FROM. THE. WAITING. ROOM. (and there were a lot of actors in there since not only were they running a little behind, but many arrived early) so that we could PERFORM. FOR. THEM. ALL. because it was somewhat tedious choreography and he said that he wanted to show everyone auditioning what they needed to do. I don’t know if this is common practice, as I have never had it happen in my entire life (I mean, I was taught simple choreography for a commercial in a group with other actors, but never did another actor do the actual demonstration. Anyway, there I stood, thinking that I really wanted to insert a laugh at a certain part that would be cute, but didn’t want to give the other actors any ideas of how I wanted to tweak the audition and make it stand out so that made me a little uncomfortable. However, I decided instead of seeing it as a negative, that I would use the demonstration time as rehearsal time so when he started to actually shoot my audition, I would be great! After all, how could they not cast me?; I was already performing the commercial in front of an audience! Anyway, it went as well as all other commercial auditions often tend to go (which really means nothing at all) and I went home.

I did end up getting a callback the next day for the day after, so I literally repeated my entire routine - day old curls and nonchalant attitude included. Now, I usually try not to get my hopes up during callbacks, because even when it’s just between you and another person, nothing is guaranteed. It was definitely not between just me and another person. It was between me and at least five other people, maybe even ten because they just kept coming and coming. Anyway, this time around, I didn’t have to do the presentation, and again, it went well. Well, well, well. (My mom always calls me after an audition to ask how it went, and unless I think I really messed up something, I don’t have much to say…I mean it usually “was amazing”, or it “went well”, or “grr! I messed up”!) but who knows as it seems that no matter what, I have the same booking rate with all three, so I’ve kind of given up trying to figure it out (okay, well, I haven’t really and never will, but I did with this particular audition).

I received a call and was placed on hold. Heck even when you’re on hold and it’s between you and one other person – it could still unfortunately turn out that you don’t get it. I have learned early on in my career that while holds are a reason to pat yourself on the back, they are not a cause for celebration. A few days went by. I didn’t let myself get excited or tense or anything really. I wanted it, yes, I wanted it very badly, but it was literally out of my hands.

That is, until I got the call! I BOOKED IT! So I suppose the moral of the story is that you really never know. When you least expect it, when you go to the audition with day-old curls and just let go…you just might book it!

xoxox