December 8, 1999
Well, I guess I'm back. Auditioning. Once more unto the never-ending breech.
Two auditions today. Two auditions while we wait and see what the fate of Oh Grow Up is. We'll know that one week from today. But just in case, gotta have a back-up plan.
Back-up Plan Number One is this Tom Hanks 18-hour mimi-series, Band of Brothers. Mr. Hanks can't seem to let the World War II thing go, but that's good for me. This is the kind of job that I would always always dream about getting and I would never really have a shot at it. On one level it's because I'm not all that great at drama, but underlying that would be a glaring inexperience and lack of credits. There is only so much recognition guest spots on Unhappily Ever After and Sabrina the Teenage Witch can garner. But now, even though I may not have taken care of the talent issue, I have somewhat addressed the recognition factor. Having my own show, however tenuous its fate might be right now, does count for something. So that's good.
The audtion seemed to go well. The scene was between a fresh-faced West Point grad sent to the front lines and having to deal with the older battle-worn sargeant and I played it, at frist, that he was in control of the situation. Wrong. I was given notes and reread the scene as if he was quite uncomfortable with the situation. They seemed pleased with the adjustment, which is good. It's important to go in there and do well, but it can be equally important to adjust well when they give notes. That's an old stand-by rule of thumb for auditioning. Also, there was a second scene that she said we would not be readuing, but after we finished the first scene, she had me do the second scene, which is always a good sign. That's another little auditioning rule of thumb. They're all coming back to me now. Maybe I can return to this world. Or shall I say 'underworld?'
Needless to say, I would have preferred my triumphant return to
involve a little simpler material, something along the lines of a
sitcom perhaps. This just wasn't the kind of thing that I'm
traditionally best at. But I think I held my own and, who knows,
maybe the desire to get a 'name' for the part will, for the first
time ever, actually work in my favor.