Cowan Palace: I’m Not In San Francisco Anymore, Toto

Somewhere over the rainbow in Connecticut, Ashley shares her first audition back.

Well, it’s been about six weeks since I moved to Connecticut and it’s been theatrical to say the least. But, in the middle of battling new-apartment woes resulting in a lack of hot water, electricity, and a working door, I decided to throw myself into the local audition scene. Because in times of rainbowed chaos, why not throw another color into the mix, right?

I was auditioning for the role of Sylvia the dog in A.R. Gurney’s play of the same name. I unpacked some makeup and found my Goodwill purple dress covered in patterned dogs to wear. Unfortunately, I was unable to find an iron to take out some of the wrinkles but that didn’t stop me!

The theater company was only a town over but in order to get to their space, I’d have to take a twenty-minute trek on the highway. Now, I get that this mundane task sounds easy to many of you. But for someone who hasn’t been driving in eleven years, it was a big deal to me. To add more fun, on the evening of my audition, we experienced a massive thunderstorm and I found myself having to do the commute in pouring rain and ill-timed foggy conditions. I also turned on the Into the Woods soundtrack a bit too loud to try and pump myself up and I managed to miss the audible directions provided by my phone so my journey took even longer and resulted in having to take a dreaded left-hand exit. YIKES BIKES, a moment in the woods, indeed.

But I made it! I walked in, filled out my audition form, tried to find the most comfortable chair, and read over the sides. It then started to hit me that I wasn’t in San Francisco anymore. Back in the Bay Area, I would have known at least five people in the waiting room and would have been trying to inappropriately gossip with all of them; I would have been familiar with the space in some capacity, either as an audience member or from working there before; I would have known more about the company, the production team, and their history than what I was able to quickly learn online. But here I was, the new girl in town, wearing a purple-patterned dog dress, quietly waiting her turn.

Don’t look at me like that, Dorothy. You would have worn the dog dress, too.

When they called me in, I had a moment to introduce myself as they found someone to read with me. Immediately, in my heightened nervous state, I did what I always do: ask as many questions as will fit in my mouth. I asked what show was currently in the space, if they were working on anything other than this, how long they had been doing theater with this company, and how auditions were going, in a record ten seconds. ZING! WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD, COWAN! Luckily for them, my scene partner soon walked in and we took a go at things.

After completing the first side, I was asked to do some physical improv exercises to show off my dog sensibilities. These are always fun but I never know how far to push the limit and if I should cut myself off at any particular moment. While I’m glad that I really committed to whatever action I was doing at the time, at one point, I chose to run up on a ramp, lie on it, and then slide down it as the audition panel asked each other, “is she allowed to use the set like that?” Whoops. Lesson learned, you probably don’t want to distract the people who may be interested in casting you by putting the stage in danger.

Once that was over, my small talk returned! Upon mentioning all I had learned from my own dog, I proceeded to say that I had adopted her the day after Obama had been elected President because I was young, new to San Francisco, and feeling extra hopeful and inspired about life. I cut myself off after I had a moment of, “you’re not in San Francisco anymore, Cowan” wondering if I should try to keep any political opinions, along with my dangerous physical ways, outside the casting room considering I was trying to make a good first impression based upon my acting abilities.

After reading one more scene, I sincerely thanked everyone for their time and went to find my car. When I got home, I literally high-fived myself because, sure, I was proud of myself for trying but honestly, I was so excited I had completed the journey by car alone. The next day, I was asked to come in for a callback and I felt like a fearless pro as I navigated the streets to the theater. I read a few of the sides from the evening before and found myself with the same question I always have at callbacks regardless of location: do I do the scene with what seemed to “work” last night and attempt to recreate some of those beats or do I try something totally new and fresh with the same sides to show them something different?

I ended up trying to do a little of both and I’m not totally sure it worked. Moving forward, gang, I would love to know what you think is the best way to handle a callback so that I can hopefully keep improving my ways. I didn’t end up getting the part but I did receive a truly kind and greatly-welcomed phone message letting me know and encouraging me to audition again. Which, yes, I absolutely will, if even simply to be able to write about the experience. Though I may need a new audition dress…

Well, until next time, friends! You’re always in my thoughts and heart. I hope the view over your San Francisco rainbow has been full of theatre beauty!

Theater Around The Bay: Bad Auditions (We’ve All Been There)

Guest blogger Megan Briggs has some tips on how to recover from an audition gone bad.

If you’ve been an actor for more than 5 minutes, you’ve probably survived at least one bad audition. The good news is that you are not alone. I’ve spoken to so many of my actor friends on this subject and they ALL have stories about an audition gone terribly wrong.

While a good audition can make you feel like you’re flying for the rest of the day, a bad one can make you curse the world and want to go home and crawl into bed. And that’s OK. Having been there myself, I’ve come up with my own way of dealing with a bad audition in three easy steps:

Step 1 – Hate the world… for a little bit

So you’ve just had a terrible audition/callback. Maybe you didn’t feel great about the way you read the part. Maybe the director kept trying to give you feedback about the scene but his accent was so thick you couldn’t understand him. Maybe your assigned audition scene partner kept interrupting your scene with lines he made up in an attempt to be more “spontaneous.” Maybe you met the pre-cast male lead and he’s 4 inches shorter than you. Yep, these are all things that have happened to me at auditions, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

So in the 24 hours after your bad audition, I give you permission to get mad. Call a friend and rant. Yell at inanimate objects (preferably not in public). Write out your frustration in your journal. Go have a few drinks with your friends. Curl up on the couch and watch stupid reality show marathons to feel better about your own life. Do whatever you need to do to express your frustration, anger and sadness over what has occurred.

Step 2 – An honest post mortem

After that 24-hour period is up and you’ve had a chance to get some distance from the situation, it’s time to take a look at what went wrong. Analyze you actions and your reactions to the situations you were given. What would you have done differently? What would you have done exactly the same? Is there some useful information to be gleaned from all of this? It’s good to be really honest with yourself, without beating yourself up too severely. I personally have gained some great knowledge from doing a terrible audition. Maybe you need to work your audition pieces more, take an improve class, or practice cold reading with a group of friends. You can really improve your audition by reviewing what happened and thinking how you can do better next time.

Step 3 – Go get another audition!

You may know the expression “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” Same thing goes for auditions! The best way to get over a bad one is to go out and have a good one! I find that signing up for another one as soon as possible is the best way to get out and feel like I’m being proactive. Just knowing I have another audition lined up (even if it doesn’t happen for a while) makes me feel better.

The waiting game

Finally there is the situation that every actor dreads.  You nailed the audition, the callback was even better, and the director seemed to like you for the part.  You cross your fingers that at any moment you will get the call offering you the role.   Except that call never comes.  In fact, you don’t even receive an email telling you that you haven’t been cast!
 
That waiting process can be agony, and it’s even worse when you hear absolutely nothing.  At some point, you have to take control and put an end to your own waiting game.  I personally give the director exactly 1 week from the date of the last audition/callback to give me notice on whether or not I’ve been cast.  If I don’t hear anything, I’m going to assume that I have not been cast and consider other options (right after I properly mourn the loss of the part – please see steps 1 thru 3).

Hello? Oh, it’s you Mother. I thought it was the director calling to offer me a part!

I wish that all theatre companies let us know the status of their casting decisions, but as Allison Page pointed out in her recent public service announcement, many companies and directors will never get back to you after an audition.  It’s frustrating, but it seems to be the way things sometimes work in the San Francisco theatre scene.   The one good thing I can tell you is that you are not alone.  It happens to all of us.  

The best advice I can give you is to not let a bad audition get you down for long. The truth is that this is an industry full of rejection and it’s probably always going to be that way. The good news is that actors are awesome people, and we are willing to share war stories with one another in an effort to create a sense of community. If you’re feeling down about an audition, one of the best things you can do is talk about it with another actor.  Chances are they’ve been there and can provide a sympathetic ear and help you feel better.

So get out there and audition with all you’ve got! That reality show marathon wasn’t all that interesting anyway.

Megan Briggs is an actor with a sympathetic ear and few war stories of her own. Starting May 16, you can see her perform (along with her awesome castmates) in The Crucible at Custom Made Theatre Company in SF. You can also check out her non-theatre related blog MacGIRLver: Tips and tricks from a gal who’s been there.