I’m sure you’ve all been waiting with bated breath to find out how my audition went. (And if you haven’t, you should probably pretend. Actors are fragile. We need a lot of ego boosting)
It went about as well as I was expecting it to. As I mentioned before, I’m not feeling 100% comfortable with this monologue yet, but I wanted to try it out to see where it needed work. I didn’t get much of a reaction at all from the auditors, so I’m not actually sure what to fix performance wise. Allow me to rant for a second.
I’ve auditioned for this Theatre Company (which shall remain nameless) a few times since living in Chicago. They are a company with an ensemble, which means most of their casting comes from within their group. However, they are committed to holding open auditions once or twice a year to see what’s new in the talent pool. I think that is a great opportunity for people like me. BUT.
Whenever they hold these auditions, they are always running waaaayyyy behind. My audition was at 4:15. I didn’t get seen until 4:50. That is unacceptable to me. Also, there are often people who walk in and get seen right away, without having a pre-booked slot. These are not Equity auditions. They are not adhering to any sort of Equity rules. It’s a dog eat dog world when you’re Non-Eq and I don’t care if you know X, Y or Z at the Theatre Company. I say you have to wait.
Finally, the auditors always seem bored. Like they are just holding these auditions because someone back in the 70’s put these auditions in their mission statement so now they have to do it because it’s like this “law” but it doesn’t really matter because we’re just going to cast from our ensemble anyway. At least pretend you want to see me perform. Like I said, actors are fragile.
Dog. Eat. Dog.
Back to the monologue.
After I performed it, I felt a little down that I didn’t get the reaction I had hoped for. As I began to digest what I had performed, I think it’s because of the character choice I made. Simply put, I played “crazy”. WTF Kristi? That’s a TERRIBLE character choice!
Deb is not simply “crazy”. She’s stressed out. Overworked and under paid. Over qualified for what she’s currently doing, but not qualified enough to do what she wants to be doing. She’s going to grad school to get her degree and make herself qualified, but she’s dealing with a professor who is making that more than difficult. She’s living in a tiny apartment, with too many roommates, spending every penny just trying to get by and struggling to stay afloat. (Deb and I have a lot in common.)
She wants a sympathizer. In the course of this speech, she wants to appeal to your soft side. She wants you understand that she’s doing the best that she can, but her best isn’t good enough. She wants you to give her a solution. She’s begging you for a solution.
Ahh, much better character choice, Kristi.
So that’s where I am. I will continue to refine the actual lines and work on Deb as a character. I might put this one aside for a week or so and concentrate on a new one. Sometimes coming back to something with fresh eyes is just what you need.
-Kristi
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