Inherit the Herring in the Net

It's official; I was not cast. However, I did get a lovely personal phone call from the director telling me that, in pairing couples, they decided to go another direction. He really enjoyed my read, he said, and I'd be a welcome addition to any show in that theatre. Though I'm disappointed not to get to work for him or with that script, I'm pleased to have made a good impression and to have earned my first callback from a monologue. Sometimes, you're just not right for the part. Onward....

Tonight Orrick will be auditioning for a Ray Cooney farce. Though I love a good Cooney, I will not be reading for the limited female roles in this one unless asked. Should Orrick be cast, though, I've suggested that I might be willing to Stage Manage -- as I did professionally for the show's American Premiere in 2002. It's a risk, but I'm drawn to the parallel.

In Nashville, it was a mistake to let my techie slip show. Actors are a dime a dozen but a good tech is hard to come by. Often in Nashville when I was the best tech available directors would avoid casting me. I'm wary of giving San Diego directors the same power, but there's only one way to know if stepping behind a stage here will be as detrimental to my future casting on it as it was in Nashville, and that discovery depends on Orrick's being cast.

Of course, should I agree and find later that I've teched myself right off the stage, the flip side of the equation is this: techs are needed and techs are paid. Having paid the rent at different times either by acting and by teching, I know that tech work is, for the most part, the better and more reliable income. If in the end I am no longer acting, at least I know I'll be eating!

But I get ahead of myself, don't I? We haven't even been to the audition yet and I've already finished the run, killed my acting career, and taken a job that hasn't been offered!

Welcome to my brain.

In other news, the actors who will be performing a one-night-only improv show on April Fools' Day met last night to discuss possible games to be played. A few were added and others removed from our potential lineup, but much of the improvisation was surprisingly good -- even the musical number that had many of us scared witless (or so we thought). There is much to be said for doing something that scares you every once in a while. A certain confidence comes from suriviv... succeeding.

Enough confidence to assure myself that no amount of tech work could kill the acting momentum I've built here? Well... let's not be silly.