Saturday, April 6, 2013

#X. Stagesource, Again

The big one! It's been a while, so I was actually excited for this one.

My big self-imposed challenge for this one was to debut two brand new monologues.

Techincally, I failed. Not that I haven't enjoyed what I've seen or read, but nothing that was particularly me

SO I went with Prince Lir, whom I used just once before, and one from my character in Party Time. (coming later this July!!)

Of course, the big thing about non-Equity auditions is the two-minute time limit on the audition. (My peer Joe, as a Union member, gets three whole minutes.)

A peer of ours named Casey Preston posted some Stagesource advice on Joe's Facebook wall.
Do two contrasting monologues with contrasts within the contrasting monologue. Forget about trying to tell a story or have the monologue make sense. Nobody is actually paying attention. Your goal should be to wake up the audience by showing your ability to quickly change moods or characters.
I cut down both monologues a lot and actually timed myself. Every few times I went over I looked out for another sentence to drop. Whenever I was worried about making sense, I reminded myself that sense may not necessarily be the most important part of my audition.

How do other people do it? I still don't know.

The scheduled audition time was for 11:00am. I was asked to show up 45 minutes before. So basically my audition time was 10:15am. I got up nice and early, so instead of making the transfer at Downtown Crossing, I walked through Chinatown up Washington Street.

It was in a rehearsal hall in the Calderwood Pavilion, Boston's theatrical bastion. I headed up to the top floor, where the actors were corralled, and handed over my 40 headshots.

Since every waiting chair was taken, I put my stuff down on the floor, slumped against the corner, and played a little Wild Arms.

I met a fella named Woody, with whom I commiserated about a dearth of seating and a surfeit of time. Soon, Juan C. Rodriguez appeared. We were all in the 11 o'clock crew. My roommate Chelsea appeared soon after.

When our turn came, we were trotted to the break room just outside of the rehearsal hall, at which point we were informed about the audition space, including the presence of a precious chair, and reminded about the 2-minute limit - the stage manager, Maureen, would open the door to the hall and say, "Time."

We were also informed that we'd have 10-seconds prior to say Hello and introduce our pieces. It was then that I forgot who wrote The Last Unicorn.

Some people got their audition down pat. Woody strolled out of the door just as Maureen opened it to say, "Time."

When I went in, I said, "Hey, gang," grabbed the chair, placed it up-left, came down center and said, "These two pieces are from The Last Unicorn and Pinter's Party Time."

I liked doing the Unicorn piece. I don't think I'm who comes to mind when casting directors think of "princely" but it was mostly for me to have fun and get energized.

The Party Time one, though, is definitely what people would cast me for - a sad weirdo with serious problems. I got to the last word just as Maureen said, "Time."

I realize now that I had actually been concerned with how much time I had left for the duration of my audition. While my mind was thinking about the clock, my mouth and the rest of my body were acting.

Practice is so important that way!







1 headshot remains.

2 comments:

  1. I am studying acting at Emerson College and find your blog so insightful to what I am to expect in the boston theatre scene. Thanks so much!!

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  2. Thanks so much for your blog and especially this post which I suddenly came upon, the day before my stagesource slot, lol!! only to hear for the first time about a "chair" that needs to be moved out of the way (hopefully not getting pitched off the stage as it is being done). Thanks so much for posting! and I loved your CP Casting story too - hysterical - Why do people even bother with film, lol!!! j/k!

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