January 25, 1999
Ahhhh... redemption.
As you might expect, I was very surprised to hear from The Guide again. Given my experiences with them in December, it is a testament to ABC's influence with the studios and producing teams that I would even be allowed to walk in their production office without them thinking they were in for Amateur Open Mike Night 2. But I was back.
This time it was for a new character they are adding to the show. They didn't have any sides written for him yet, so we read the sides for one of the other characters. My take on the sides was that they were cute but without any big jokes. Mostly the jokes were on him as opposed to by him. So I prepared the scene in almost a non-sitcom style, trying to focus on the beats and intentions of this serious character.
That all seemed like a good idea until I was two people away from auditioning and we could overhear the audition going on in the office. They were absolutely rolling with hysterics. Three seperate times in the scene they broke into fanatical laughter. I could barely find an inkling of even one. I started pouring through the script, trying desperately to find the places it could be made funny. What was he doing in there? Was he juggling fire while he said the lines? What am I going to do?
When I got in there, I got a note from the director that the character is supposed to be as businesslike as possible. That was not at all how I had been rehearsing him because I was trying to make him sympathetic, but I figured I knew the scene well enough to make the adjustment in the room. That's when it started happening. Lines that were sweet and sympathetic before now became hollow and empty and, yes, funny. They did laugh at the scene when I did it, too. Not the uproars that had filled the room five minutes prior, but appreciative laughter nonetheless. And I don't think I went as far in the "businesslike" direction as they wanted. I imagine Mr. Laughy-Pants did and that's why they got such a hoot out of him. But still, I don't think they resented having to call me in again. They were pleased, just not overwhelmed.
Go back to the Audition.