The call came in from my commercial agency to read for a "live show" in Atlanta at the CapCom Convention, a computer gaming convention basically. "They want comedians," is what I was told. Well, fine, I still have a couple of stand-up routines in my bag of tricks. I have done a bit of hosting in my day. I can handle this.
Or not. I got there and took at look at the copy. The job is not for a "host" but for somebody to stand in their little booth at this convention for four days and spend the whole time yelling at the conventioneers to try to lure them over to play a video game at their booth. They basically wanted a carnival barker. I listened sadly to the poor gentleman who was in the room auditioning already and as he screamed out such things as, "Hey, do you want a free T-shirt?" and "C'mon over to our booth, don't worry about those other booths," I made the executive decision that I did not want to be in his position neither in that room nor Atlanta. And I left.