#4. Happy Medium *

Mikey DiLorento, executive director of the Happy Medium Theatre Company, messaged me on a Facebook, asking if I would be interested in auditioning for Family (de)Values: A One Act Festival including Steve Martin's WASP and the Boston premiere of Jessica Goldberg's Refuge.

While I wasn't sure if two plays counted as a festival, I was pretty excited, anyway. For the first time ever, I was made aware of an audition before it was announced on StageSource. I didn't think that I'd be offered an audition opportunity without asking for it for at least another year.

But I don't know Mikey. How does he know me?

Whatever! I went to the audition at BU. I thought that maybe Jeff's monologue was a bit alienating for some people, so I switched back to Andrew's monologue for this one.

When I walked in, I recognized Mikey immediately. He was the MC at SLAMBoston. I forget which one. Apparently that's where he saw me perform once before.

He asked me to read for Son in WASP and Nat in Refuge.

I was called back to the Factory Theatre to read for Nat. I recognized a buncha cats in attendance. I guess there's a bunch of companies that are on the level that us younger actors actually have a consistent chance with them.

Because Mikey knew everyone, he just handed out a bunch of sides to everyone, and they all split up to practice. I read twice, once with Rachel No-Last-Name-Given and once with Eric Rollins of the Rollins Estate.

Next day I got an email saying I was cast.





6 headshots remain.

#3. Company One

When I showed up at the Boston Center of the Arts Plaza Theatre for the audition for GRIMM, a collection of short plays by local playwrights inspired by the fairytales of the brothers with the same name, there were posters up for the Performance Laboratory's Le Cabaret Grimm: a punk cabaret fairy tale (sans fairies). I had to ask someone else if they were casting an encore production before I found out that they were different things.

I wonder if Company One was miffed at the timing.

Auditions at the Plaza Theatre manage to draw all sorts of actors, since everyone knows someone who's worked at the BCA on- or offstage, big shows or small, and I always manage to run into somebody I know. This time it was Zack, a friendly fellow with a bold jawline who was in Independent Drama Society's SLAMBoston with me. He played a guy who was trying to help another guy pee.

"This is gonna be a shitshow," he said. "I just started learning this monologue yesterday, and I don't think I have it yet."

"Just breathe and stare meaningfully at something between each line," I told him. "You'll look like you're processing."

The audition called for a modern comedic or dramatic monologue. In school, I was taught that modern monologues came from a different time period from contemporary monologues. Rather than asking for elucidation, I assumed the wanted to hear something written by someone who hadn't died yet. I chose Jeff's.

A trio of ladies were reading from what looked like a side from one of the plays. Presumably, this was a two part audition.

After waiting for a while, pretending I was busy so I didn't have to talk to anyone else, I was asked in by the friendly stage manager. I introduced myself to the two directors, who did not introduce themselves to me. In the middle of my monologue I realize that they had already decided to stop caring about what I was saying. When I was done, they said only the word, "Thanks." I received no side.

I stepped back into the lobby and looked around. The three women were still the only ones reading any sides. Despite the many people that went into audition, no one else had received anything to read from. Zack, who also got a lukewarm response from his audition, noticed this as well.

Well, I guess a good director knows what they don't want.



7 headshots remain.