"The Men From The Boys"

Yesterday didn't all go according to plan, but it wasn't a complete disaster, either.

I woke-up and got all "Hipstered-up" for my "Samurai Girl" pre-screen. I didn't allot a lot of time to get there, having to take two SkyTrains, but I lucked-out and by the time I got to the studio I was ten minutes early which is a little later than I'd want to be, but not late enough to be considered late.

My agent called me, en route.
"Well isn't that nice," he boasts in his usual non-greetular manner, "A call back."
"For ... what?" For a brief moment, I blanked. I knew about the "Caprica" call back, but I didn't have time to search my mind in the 0.08 seconds for anything I've auditioned for recently for which I could have been called back.
"For 'Caprica' ... don't tell me you forgot, you're not sleeping are you?" I guess he forgot I got a new job that let me sleep at night.

I do the routine check-in with the security guard at the gate of the studio, and - he's surprised to see me there.
"News to me," he said after I told him my pre-screen time. He scooted his wheelie chair to check the names and times of the talent.
"What time did you say again?"
"Uh, 11:20."
"What I got here says 4:50."
Oh, God.
"Really? That's odd ... I'm gonna call my agent" (I've always wanted to say that, but not like this, never like this.)

I called him up, and wouldn't-cha-know-it, I WAS supposed to be there at 4:50.
"Yeah, for some reason that went to my deleted box," the agent explains, "they got you in for 4:50."

Hoo, boy. I'm not happy. Now I have to boot it from the 3:25 audition in North Vancouver, to this 4:50 audition in Burnaby. Not to mention I came out at 11:20 for nothing. Well, it wasn't for nothing, because I had to drop-off a void cheque to Paladin because my bank account information had changed, and they were just one more SkyTrain Station over. But still, I'd have to pre-screen in my "Caprica" costume, and although my Hipster get-up wasn't all that, the "Caprica" costume wasn't close to what they were looking for.

I was further thrown after meeting the "Caprica" Director. When I showed-up to the casting office I found it just as I like it: empty. The assistant asked if I wanted to go in early (I was there at 3:00), but then the other actor showed-up, and I went in the room at my scheduled time.

The room set-up had the two Casting Directors to my immediate right, then on the couch where I saw Diablo Cody three months prior sat the Director, and some woman I didn't recognize, likely an exec. of some sort. It was a few tense seconds before one of the Casting Directors said "Hi."
"Hey, how you doin', man?" asked the director who looked like a combination of George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and those hippies from that "Simpsons" episode.
"Uh, it's going good, goin' good," I said, which was kind of a lie given what happened that morning.
"Why?" He asked.
"Uh, wha'?" I wasn't really expecting that.
"Why is it good, man?"
I made-up some stuff about it being good because I was going out for things during this "very dry period", and hoped that would be a sufficient answer. It turned out to be sufficient, and he proceeded to give me the low-down on the character, and after that, I went to work. I did the two scenes, and the Director gave the requisite "good, man."
"You think so?" Don't know why I asked it.
"Yeah, I enjoyed that, man," which was about all I could ask for.

I called my agent after, and told him I was a tad thrown by the Director.
"They try any little ploy to throw you, it's how they separate the men from the boys." Not sure if the Director saw me as the former or the latter.

I hopped the two buses from North Van. to Burnaby, arriving for my new 4:50 pre-screen with plenty of time to spare. These pre-screens took place at a big studio, so they were casting in a trailer. Trailers: is there anything they can't do? The trailer waiting room was full of Hipsters, none of them drunk yet, but that would change as soon walk into the casting room. This one went as well as I hoped: short, sweet and no major screw-ups.

So that was the day: 70% in transit, 17% waiting, 10% playing Pokemon Puzzle League, 2% acting and 1% getting thrown off my game by a hippie.

Double-Header

The first is a pre-screen, which my agent doesn't understand, because I've auditioned for these Casting Directors before. In fact, they were my FIRST real audition (my first EVER was "Altitude", but that too was a pre-screen) for Startgate: Atlantis back in February. I guess two-line auditions are pretty forgettable.

This pre-screen is for a show called "Samurai Girl". It's about the adopted daughter of a powerful Japanese millionaire, who reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage. However, there is no happily ever after, as armed assassins invade her sacred ceremony, killing her brother and making her their next target. To avenge her brother's death, she has her good friend instruct her in the martial arts, and lo and behold, she catches-on quick. It's a wholesome, family-friendly series for ABC Family.

The role is a short one, a drunk Hipster who hits on the title character, only to have her training run wild on his arm joints. A classmate of mine went for the same role on Friday, making this the fourth (I think) role I've gone out for in direct competition with a fellow VFS alum. In life I'm not a "Hipster" at all, and the type of clothes their looking for I: a) don't have, and b) can't get before tomorrow. Oh well, I can come-up with something, though I doubt I could lose the requisite 40 pounds in one night.

I've been called back for "Caprica", that Battlestar Gallactica prequel series that I auditioned for last Thursday. Looks like that "fair interpretation" was a good choice. This will be for the Director, and I'm pretty pumped.

My canceled-day check for "I Love You, Beth Cooper" is at my agent's office, ready for me to pick it up and drop it down to the bank. Free money's nothing to sneeze at; unless there's something in the ink that you're allergic to.

A pre-screen, an audition, and a check all in one day. I just need a home-run, and I'll be hitting for the cycle.

I need to stop watching MLB highlights at the gym.