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.

Pucker Up

The kiss of death in a theatre callback, it seems, is an enthusiastic director telling you how wonderful your choices were, how great you are, and how hard you're making it for him to cast the show. Roughly translated it means: I didn't expect to enjoy your performance, I called in a friend to read for this part, and even if I like your reading better, I'm now obligated to cast her and you are out of luck.

So, though I'd be surprised and elated if I got a casting call today, I'm not holding my breath for it. With no other interesting shows on the horizon and a lot of free time ahead, my focus will turn to an actual (gasp!) job hunt.

I'm finding that, in this larger market, the effort required to find a job is somewhat greater than I'm used to. In smaller markets, jobs found me. Here, I've gotten no response from resumes, demos, and airchecks sent to agents and radio stations. Erm... what happened to my small pond?

But all is not lost: a town this size has plenty of restaurants.

Are you ready to order?

New and Improv'd

Okay, so it's been a little more than a week since my last post and the time has come to just write something. Got it. Here it is.

On Monday the 26th, I faced my demons and performed a monologue audition. Poor turnout that evening prompted additional auditions on Tuesday, during which actors would only be asked to cold read. Had I known, I might have waited to be among them, but as it was I had already earned my callback: my first from a monologue. The pride of that first, however, is probably all I'll have to show for the process after callbacks this evening. Sources close to the director (and a slip of the director's own tongue) suggest that the role I most want has been pre-cast, and that the week interim between auditions and this callback has been spent calling in actors who did not audition at all. Whether I will remain in consideration among those actors will be seen tonight.

Catching my breath after the dread monologue last Monday, I gave another audition that night at the playhouse where Orrick was reading for Inherit the Wind. Though really a vehicle for male actors, it does offer a few small female roles. I gave a good read in a weak field and went away fully expecting to be called back. Sure enough, I was.

In an e-mail, I was informed that the director was thrilled with his great cast and would be holding callbacks for support roles and townspeople the following week. These roles were described as "walk on parts that do not need a lot of rehearsing... if you want to start out in acting or feel that your not ready for a major part then this is your chance." Not ready for a major part? My chance? If, after 20-plus years on stage, I'm getting those offers now, my career is running in the wrong direction! My inner Diva joked with Orrick, hautily: "Did they not READ my resume?!? I've done Simon! I've done Cooney! I've won awards! Don't they know who I am?"

This is tongue in cheek, dahling. Please.

Perhaps I was too hasty -- it was a poor communique that didn't make clear where they were drawing the "supporting role" line -- but I declined the callback. Not that there's anything wrong with being the second Bible-thumper from the left, but I do have hopes of finding something somewhat meatier to play in the coming months. We'll see how that plan pans out this evening....

In yet another theatre, we have begun our rehearsals (if they can be called that) for the improv fund raiser that will be staged on April first. We met once to watch a tape of the previous year's performance, then met again to attempt the games (or structures) ourselves. Some games are right up my alley while others scare the daylights out of me, but we will have at least 3 more meetings in which to familiarize ourselves with the format before we see an audience.

To prepare, I've been searching the web for tips and pointers. Cutting and pasting into a Word document any valuable info that I ran across online, I finally ran across someone who had done the same thing for his own improv group and posted his results, with notes from performances, as a file ready for download. As the Improv Handbook is distributed in Beerware™, I owe Dave Hitt a refreshing beverage should I ever meet him in the real world. Thanks Dave!

Here's to the kind of theatre where you can't possibly know your lines and it's okay to bump into the furniture. Cheers!