March 27, 2001
Well, the bad news is that I am not going on to the Network Test today.
The good news is that I am going on to the Network Test on Thursday. Apparently, one of the other possible BENNETTS could not make it this afternoon and they have chosen to wait for him.
Today's session was a marathon. We all got there at 10:30am. Five BENNETTS. Four NARDUCCIS. No one auditioned for anything until at least 11:30. Once they began, they began with me. I read the first two scenes with Debby. The toughest part of this audition material is that there are no jokes for the first page and a half. None. Then the first joke takes a big sell. So you've got a room full of people who are not laughing at you (because they're not supposed to yet) and then you gotta go balls-out on the first punchline, and if they don't laugh, if you can't at least get a titter out of them, it's going to be a long four minutes.
Well, the joke landed, the scene went well, as did the second one. I got a lot of laughs, in most of the places I had hoped.
Then more waiting. All four other BENNETTS read the first two scenes as well. In the meantime, I was looking over the third audition scene, the scene between BENNETT and DENISE, being played by Tiffani Thiessen. She was there and would be reading with all of us. I went third this time around and I thought that scene was fantastic. It was funny, interesting, lively, and I think there was a reasonable chemistry between us, the whole point of the "match-up" scene.
Then more waiting. They told four of the BENNETTS to wait until all of the NARDUCCIS had read and then they were going to do even more matching up with us. That plan fell apart at about 12:30 when they realized it was just getting too late. A phone call on the way home informed me that I would be going on to the Network Test, but that they had to move it to Thursday.
So more waiting. 48 extra hours, in fact. Two more tomorrows to creep in their petty pace until I can finish off this process. One more collection of folks to impress. At last I have broken through the curse of "You're not going any further" after a Studio Test and I will appear before the Network Brass at last. Just a little more waiting...
Go to Network Test.