Outside the Audition Room

A friend of mine recently blogged about "living the dream," and I thought, "That's what I'm doing!"

Every time I go to an audition, I get to act and sing and meet the creative team for some regional theatre or Off Broadway play or Broadway musical. I get to do what I love!

And sometimes I get the gig! :)

In the meantime, I'm auditioning.

Now, there are some actors who will say, "Oh, why show up? (Rumor is) the show's already cast!" But as Woody Allen once said, "80 percent of success is showing up."

So what about the other 20%?

As Rick Liebling says, "The answer... is creating content with a unique voice," which ironically, my friend Monica recently blogged about as well.

I'm lucky to be surrounded by inspirational people. :)

And speaking of inspiration, Melissa Leo, the actress who's been winning award after award for her portrayal of  Alice Ward in The Fighter says, "For many many years, auditioning was just a chance to get to go and act."

And that's where I feel like I am lately. But you know what? I love it! I love getting to walk into the audition room and perform! I'm taking the lessons I've learned from great coaches like Josh Pais and Karen Kohlhaas and applying it! I feel such good growth with my work, and I swear, I can feel the energy in the audition room.... bloom!

Sometimes just getting into the room can be a bit of a challenge, and I forget that some actors will try to sabotage each other. I haven't run into this in a long time, because I've been fortunate to be around people who are focused on their work.

At today's audition, I ran into a friend, a fabulous actor who's a really nice person, and I was buoyed by his presence. But then right before I was about to go in, one actor began kvetching to the actor in front of me, because this other guy couldn't get into the audition. And 2 girls in line for a different audition that hadn't even started yet decided to make snide comments about the prep I was doing to go into the audition room. I was simply breathing and doing some shoulder rolls to let the energy run through my body, but they had to comment on it.

I was astounded that these 2 different groups of actors had no respect for their fellow artists. But I realized that it was their insecurity, not mine, and that I had to focus more than ever on the work I was about to do.

So I went in and did my best, and I feel good about it. I learn every time I go.

It's like Melissa Leo said, "I still do audition. I audition all the time. I find it more and more of an arcane ritual....to expect an actor to do their best in the worst of circumstances!"

You have to have a good outlook, a respect for yourself, your craft, and your fellow actor.