This is a story of how being a space cadet with confidence can pay off.
About a month ago I went on my first open casting call.
An open casting call audition, for those of you living under a rock, is one where the producers list a casting notice on several websites and who ever shows up auditions. Usually hundreds and hundreds, sometimes thousands will show up to such an event.
(Picture from the New Moon Casting Call in Vancouver)
Recently, in addition to the old fashion open call that I went to, there have been online ones. Example: the one currently going on for "Glee" over on Myspace. Here’s the best audition:
Back to the story starring me:
The open casting call was for some low budget teen flick. You know, the kind about quirky seniors finally doing the thing they’ve always wanted to do. I didn’t read the whole script but I can only assume at some point virginities are lost, under aged drinking is involved, and some dweeby guy gets a hot chick.
(Insert picture from your personal favorite teen movie from the 90's here)
It was for a legitimate casting director, though so everybody was there, from people like me, to conservatory students, to high school students with over involved parents, to obviously 30 year old union members to people with representation. I even saw three people I’ve met from three different places there.
The auditions were going from 9 a. m. until 6pm. I knew it was going to be busy so I tried to get there before 9. I got there a few minutes after. By just getting there a few minutes after meant that I would have to join the second group of people. They wouldn't get to go in until 11:30 since the first group of 250 people had all gotten there before.
I didn’t know this.
I saw a boy I knew standing outside, I stopped and chatted him up for a few minutes and then I went on ahead indoors. He was about to warn me that I was going to have to give my name to one of the people and come back in 2 hours when I just passed him by and went in doors, completely oblivious to his attempt.
Once inside I spotted another friend and went past all of the people working there. I asked second guy where he signed in and he pointed to a man sitting quietly by a table organizing some papers.
Now if I had stepped back and though clearly I would have realized something was up. The gentleman sitting at the sign in counter was not signing anybody in and there were only 250 people in the huge warehouse space. If I had thought logically I would have realized that if they weren’t controlling the crowd somehow it would look like Macy’s on Christmas, with the sign-in man playing the part of Santa Clause.
This is where the space cadet confidence comes in. I didn’t think, I just walked up to the man gave him a big old “Good morning!” when he just looked up and stared at me with the look of “what the hell are you doing here?! I’m don’t signing people in for at least 3 hours” I just gave him a chipper smile and gave him my head shot and resume.
He was so perplexed by the situation he assumed that he was in the wrong and changed his face to a smile and quickly gave me an audition slot with the first group.
I suppose the man thought I was a friendly diva?
(the resemblance is striking)
I didn’t realize the error of my ways until the second group was marched in at 11 and I hear them all talking about how they had past the time the former two hours. By that point it didn’t matter; sign-in guy hadn’t told anybody about my faux pas. When I left at 11:20 there was another group of a few hundred waiting outside the building waiting to audition around 2.
I got to spend the rest of that beautiful day outdoors.
God Joel really does have a thing for blondes.
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