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| Lights, camera, aaaaaaargh! |
Let me back track for a sec and give you some context;
firstly, I say ‘every time’ but I have only ever had 2 film auditions, both for
musicals. You see, I am so deeply
entrenched in the musical theatre casting bracket that I've never had an audition
for a TV series, Casualty or even Doctors (I know, anyone who even thinks about
being an actor has appeared in Doctors.)
So although auditioning for films may be an average day for some actors,
for me it is the ‘once in a blue moon’ exciting opportunity that makes me feel
unprepared for the unknown.
But both times I have had to follow the audition of this
West End starlet who is both highly successful and highly lovely. Both her height and her credentials dwarf me, so I can’t help but feel like the unknown support act coming on after the main
event. At normal auditions you see your peers at similar places in your
careers, but both times I have been at these film auditions I have been
surrounded by the West End elite and I am sure my presence is some kind of
admin error.
A first-round audition is fairly similar for both stage and
screen musicals, you sing at a panel of strangers. One difference is that for stage you often
have to bring your own material and in my ‘huge experience’ of movie castings
(yep, I totally say that in a L.A accent) you are given material from the
project. Oh, and there is a camera aimed
at your face.
My face fits nicely in the theatrical world; I can never
disguise what I am thinking and my eyebrows have a life of their own. My expressions are large, animated and can be
read “from the gods!” But what works in
a West End chorus line translates on screen as somebody “gurn-ing” and probably
on some kind of amphetamine.
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| I am ready for my close-up......what do ya mean you don't want it? |
In my audition for the Les Miserables movie, Tom Hooper asked for the “Lovely Ladies” section but trimmed right back to just show the intention in our eyes. For those of you who’ve seen the show, you will know that the lovely ladies are highly grotesque and animated. We are told to be like broken dolls with loads of arm movements to create spiky pictures. So I needed some kind of theatrical strait-jacket for the audition as my muscle memory kicked in and my arms wanted to repeatedly leap forwards in grand gestures!
My audition this week was for an upcoming musical film
adaptation and again I was called in for a grotesque and larger than life
character. (Yes, I have noticed the
theme here and I am fully aware that my 'pretty juvenile lead' days are over,
sob!) Anyway, this was my challenge; did
I go in and give a naturalistic performance suggesting my mean-ness from my
eyes? Or should I go for it, knowing
that even on screen this character would have to be fairly grotesque. Or a non-committal blend of the two - mean
eyes and the odd arm flap? I have no
idea what I actually did because I was in and out quicker than a Donmar Warehouse season
sells out. Suddenly I was back in the
waiting room wondering what on earth just happened!
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| My barbie's legs fell off when I attempted the box splits, it ain't right! |
And while I’m talking about the waiting room - just a quick final
thought; – why oh why do casting directors insist on making mere mortal actors
audition in dance studios? Auditioning
after the starlet is demoralising enough but to be surrounded by leotard-clad
dancers who are nonchalantly chatting whilst sitting in the box splits, makes
you want to leap out of the nearest window.
As if auditions aren’t traumatic enough!
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