No, Thank You

As a result of my mailing last Monday, I got a call two days later from an agency to come in for an audish. Awesome! Then they asked me to come in this week with a 2 minute monologue. Ohhhh right, you mean the 2 minute monologue that I should have prepared and ready to go at any time? Opps. I guess I got lucky with the VO agent- they just had me read copy. I must report the truth to my readers. Sometimes (all the time) I need a deadline to get my act together. So, now that I have learned my lesson I am passing it on to you. Get those monologues ready!

I set up a directing session with one of my talented friends, and that gave me an early deadline to meet. With her help, on Sunday we chose a piece and outlined the beats. I crammed for the next 48 hours and went into the agency on Tuesday during the one hour a week that they see new talent. To the best of my recollection, this is what occurred while I was in their office:

I managed to get there a few minutes early and while waiting I overheard the guy who was audishing before me. They were talking about his career and how he had been away from acting for awhile. When they came out of the room, the agent gave him more materials and a copy of their contract.

During this time I was sitting on a chair about 2 feet from them trying not to look like I was watching them. When he left, she turned to me and said "Come on in." After a pause, I introduced myself because she didn't introduce herself.

She asked for a headshot and I said yes, I brought 5 as instructed on the phone. She said she only needed one to start and if we move forward they need more (I could already feel the foreshadowing). We chatted for a few minutes and she asked if I was with any other agencies and I told her about my VO agency.

Then she asked for my monologue. Without butchering any lines, I did one of my better renditions… but she didn't laugh at all. When I was finished, she asked if I sang and had 16 bars prepared. I said no. And she said “OK, thank you.”

And then we stared at each other for a moment.

And then I realized that was it, so I got up and left.

I was pretty sure that she was not interested. The next day I got my SASE back with a form letter that said my category was full, but to resubmit in 6 months.

Overall, it was a tough but good audish experience. I felt that I represented myself the best that I could on that day. I wasn’t paralyzed by nerves and am now going to work more on my monologues. Also, I wore makeup to work so in the end- everybody wins.