Audacity in Auditioning (and other things too)

When an actor hears about an upcoming audition two things come to mind: (1) This is a great opportunity (2) I'm scared out of my pants! Depending on your experience in the theater business the latter of the two might be a stretch. However, as a student actor, my nerves still take hold of me as I walk up to the stage to perform a piece for a director. 


There have been auditions in which the director is sitting in the very back of the house, arms crossed, look=stern and waves his or her hand in a motion saying "begin!" There have also been times when the director will communicate with you, ask you about your pieces, give you feedback and sit in the very front where the intimidation factor isn't so strong. The non-verbals of the directors are varying, but often times terrifying. It isn't until after the audition is over that your heart-rate returns to normal (sometimes) and your palms dry. Then comes the posting of the call backs...


At the college level, there is usually a general audition that takes place a few weeks before rehearsals. Then that audition is narrowed down to about half, we call these "the call backs". These are the actors the director wants to see again, in hopes to better place them into a practical position for the show he or she is casting. The list for the "second auditioners" is usually posted, e-mailed or phoned. There isn't really a common practice for this. When the list is e-mailed, the actor finds out in private and can celebrate independently. When the actor is notified by phone, there is a weird pause in the conversation. Do I say "thank you"? Do I show my excitement out loud? Who hangs up first? But...when the list is posted, the drama in the drama department unfolds.


A list was recently posted with the names for those called back for a production at the College of Charleston. We (as actors) were aware of the time that the director would post the list. We waited. There were about 10 of us that evening around 8:15pm in the hallway of the main arts building. We talked, laughed and shared our nerves with one another about the pending arrival of the ever-so-precious piece of paper. We had all worked with each other at some point so the anxiety was calmed with the reassurance of friendship. Then the director comes up. He gives a short soap-box speech about how it was very hard to narrow it down this far and what the call back audition would entail. He maneuvered his way down the hall to post the list. We waited once again. I made a joke about being a line of ducks behind him. He laughed, but subconsciously I was serious. 


He left and the hallway was silent. Who would make the first move? Lets all go together. Should we go one by one? This is awkward.


I made the first move. I was called back. I was excited! This was an opportunity. Most of the people standing in the hallway that evening were in fact called back. But as I sat down to make some phone calls to the people that were unable to see the list tonight, I was able to point out the people who weren't called back. They attempted a smile. The surface value of their conversations was easily seen through. As actors, we are constantly asked to put on a face and emotional appeal that isn't ours. Thank God we can do that at the drop of a dime.  It's helpful to be able to hide our feelings, while still being congratulatory to our fellow actors. I know its a fact of life but I'm just trying to figure out if there's a better way to do this whole thing. You know, posting a list without hurting peoples feelings. ("THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT WORKS KIDDO, SOMETIMES LIFE IS HARD") It goes back to the ancient times of getting picked last, or not at all, in a friendly game of playground dodgeball.

http://thereviewcast.com/

It seems like its been done like this for years. With the advancements of social media, email, etc. directors can contact their actors more specifically. But with outlets like Facebook and twitter, the sad (or glorifying) truth is still in everyone's face. I'm a compassionate person and the great thing about being an actor is our ability to empathize. But its hard to see a friend work so hard and then be crushed by a 12 point font, times new roman 8.5 by 11 piece of paper.