The day came around for my first audition in show business, I was already 28 years old. At that age a lot of actors are living large and already have a career , but so what, they don"t know what I know. I was going to audition for a revival of "Feiffer's People", a comedy by a well known cartoonist , Jules Feiffer.The show had already been running awhile and this audition was for replacements.The Backstage casting notice for the play listed several characters that I thought I may be right for, so I went.
I got there early and there were already about 10 people waiting in the lobby of the theater, which was above a bar on Lexington Avenue. They were all sitting and studying a few pages in their hand.I looked around and I must have looked bewildered because this young actress Theresa, who by the way was already an experience actress at 18 years old.,asked me if I had signed in yet. I said no, where do you do that, she pointed to a desk and told me to pick up the sides, the what I asked, and she took me by the hand and helped me through the routine.
I looked over the material and it seemed pretty simple and straightforward, a guy trying to pick up a girl in a bar. After about an hour, I was called into audition for the director. I had played a lot of baseball in my time and the feeling of nervousness and focus , getting up to bat was similar to going in to audition.
I went into the room and there were just 2 people, the director, a young guy and a women who read the scene with me. When I read, the director laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. This was not a polite laugh or forced, this was something that came deep from his gut, by someone who was totally surprised by what he saw. When I walked out of the room, I felt like I was high, Theresa, who had already auditioned was gone. Because it was in the middle of the day, I took the subway there but I was so full of energy I walked over the 59th Street bridge all the way home.
When I finally got home and checked for messages, there was a message from the stage manager giving me an appointment for a callback. When I told some of my classmates at the school that I went on an audition and have a call back, their reaction was mixed and I did detect some jealousy.
When I mentioned it to Doris, I thought I saw pain in her big, beautiful brown eyes. I wanted to comfort her. I felt if I asked her to marry me right then, in her moment of weakness she would have said yes . But then I thought, as I was holding her in my arms and telling her not to worry, she would want me to give up this crazy idea about acting because she wouldn't go down that road with me. So, I gave up an opportunity to be happy with this beautiful woman and have a family, instead I chose to chase a dream.
I got there early and there were already about 10 people waiting in the lobby of the theater, which was above a bar on Lexington Avenue. They were all sitting and studying a few pages in their hand.I looked around and I must have looked bewildered because this young actress Theresa, who by the way was already an experience actress at 18 years old.,asked me if I had signed in yet. I said no, where do you do that, she pointed to a desk and told me to pick up the sides, the what I asked, and she took me by the hand and helped me through the routine.
I looked over the material and it seemed pretty simple and straightforward, a guy trying to pick up a girl in a bar. After about an hour, I was called into audition for the director. I had played a lot of baseball in my time and the feeling of nervousness and focus , getting up to bat was similar to going in to audition.
I went into the room and there were just 2 people, the director, a young guy and a women who read the scene with me. When I read, the director laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. This was not a polite laugh or forced, this was something that came deep from his gut, by someone who was totally surprised by what he saw. When I walked out of the room, I felt like I was high, Theresa, who had already auditioned was gone. Because it was in the middle of the day, I took the subway there but I was so full of energy I walked over the 59th Street bridge all the way home.
When I finally got home and checked for messages, there was a message from the stage manager giving me an appointment for a callback. When I told some of my classmates at the school that I went on an audition and have a call back, their reaction was mixed and I did detect some jealousy.
When I mentioned it to Doris, I thought I saw pain in her big, beautiful brown eyes. I wanted to comfort her. I felt if I asked her to marry me right then, in her moment of weakness she would have said yes . But then I thought, as I was holding her in my arms and telling her not to worry, she would want me to give up this crazy idea about acting because she wouldn't go down that road with me. So, I gave up an opportunity to be happy with this beautiful woman and have a family, instead I chose to chase a dream.
No comments:
Post a Comment