Casting Calls Pt. 2

Sawyer is still MIA.
He has tags and ID, so we figure that no news is probably good news.

Unless he has surreptitiously been 'adopted' by someone. He is a pretty cool cat. Did I mention he's a ninja?

I suppose the bright spot in all of this is that I've only had to remove one partially-mauled lizard from the living room floor in the past week. In other news, the bird mortality rate has lowered drastically in our immediate vicinity. So, there's that...

Made it through my callback Sunday for 'Noises Off'. It didn't suck, but it wasn't stellar. Honestly, because it has been so long since I've auditioned for Matthew, I was happy to be upright, palsy-free and not peeing myself. It's the little victories.


I think my first read went better than the second. I wasn't prepped as well for the second character, and so that was the predominant theme in my head as I gave a STELLAR callback...

...in my car on the way home.

But that's always how it is for me. After any audition and even after most rehearsals... I spend a quiet car ride home (usually turning down the radio at some point while I rehash lines to myself) tweaking what I did, analyzing what I should or shouldn't have done, and which 'bad habits' snuck into my audition. Oy vey.

Obsess much?
Yeah. I do.

But I don't think I'm the only one. I figure any and every actor does that in their head... at least if they want to improve on what they just did for 'next time'. I have a tendency to obsess while its fresh in my head and then go home and stew in it for a while before I finally allow myself to be distracted once again by 'real life'.

So between rehearsals this week for an event on Saturday, a callback on Wednesday, another general on Tuesday, two photo shoots, and an old high school friend coming into town, I'm hoping I won't have too much extra time on my hands to obsess. Especially since I don't expect word on casting until well into mid/late June.

I joked with my mom on the phone that every summer is my 'annual job search'. It's considered the 'off-season' for theatre in the Valley. The snowbirds and heat intolerant move to cooler climates until after the late monsoons have come and gone. Which means a good portion of our loyal audiences are absent.

Several theatres run workshops and classes over the summer (PT's 'Summer of Dance' anyone?) but they're also announcing the following season and beginning the process of casting. By the end of the summer, I usually have a good idea how much theatre work I'll have for the following year. It's akin to the report on the orange crop forecasts from 'Trading Spaces'. At times I really hate it... the instability of this industry and not ever really feeling like I could ever be financially 'secure' with JUST theatre and performance-related gigs. But on the other hand, I've learned to finesse the art of living within my means and have no credit card debt or outstanding loans. So, it has established some good financial habits... even if only in theory. And I do like having a bit of extra time to spend with the kids while they're on summer vacation. That's always a huge plus.

I'm also finding that fewer women are pregnant in Arizona in the summer. Shocker. So, there has been a bit of a lull in my belly-casting, but I'm hoping that will pick up soon when I finally get my pamphlet stocks all printed and distributed. Oh... and did I mention going back to school? Yeah... Like Doc says, "When it rains, it pours."

Priority #1: Kicking the last of this cold so I have the slightest chance of being a bit more productive. I would much rather be at my mom's, sipping some fruity drink by the pool, lazing in the sunshine... but instead, I'm dutifully consuming my fluids and cold medicine between napping, doing dishes, and changing over laundry.

Happy Birthday to my dad... who is, like, 102 today. Just kidding. He's 55. Old fart. :)

And as it is Memorial Day, thoughts and prayers to friends and family of the fallen and a heartfelt salute to survivors and veterans for their service and sacrifice.

Onward... and forward.