Crazy Castings #ActressLife

Have you ever looked back at your career and really, no I mean really thought about some of the auditions and casting moments you have been faced with??

There have been some weird and wonderful requests and experiences during my career as actress... One that comes to mind was an audition for a soap where I had to portray a completely psychologically disturbed women in a hospital, who shoots her love interest during the scene, locks herself in the bathroom and threatens suicide. Which wouldn't be strange on the actual set but in the casting room with only one other person and absolutely no props or actors reading opposite you - it can get a little interesting!

Or you end up auditioning with a poker-faced monotonous 'actor' reading in the lines (often they're the wrong sex for the character). I once had to actually eat the actual (dry) cereal in the casting room with a spoon which all the other auditionees had already used, oh... and then deliver a line afterwards. I've had to pretend to speak to imaginary digital characters, fall in love with a mannequin, get pretend hi-jacked and dance like nobody's watching. I have had to do a full on made-up-on-the-spot yoga routine, pretend my finger snaps bring imaginary items to life, pretend I'm surfing and pretend I'm playing tennis (well)! I've had to moonwalk to work, dance like a robot, a drunk party animal, a cheerleader and a ballerina. I have had to imagine a horrific crime scene and become emotional over it, have had to memorise pages and pages of script for one character - by the next day and speak in several different accents, sometimes even other languages. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

What a crazy wonderful job, never quite the same and certainly never ever dull. Even once you get booked for the job, there is a large amount of the set and warderobe that isn't actually physically there (often added in post) which must be created by the actors' imagination and ability to put themselves into that possible reality. And sometimes your co-actor can not be part of a take due to space, availability or a type of camera angle for the shot. Think of a bedroom scene where the lens is filming the POV (point of view) of the person lying at the bottom, or a POV during a fight, a telephone call etc... There are many such instances where the actor doesn't have the luxury of playing off of another actor's lines or reactions.
Personally I have found that working as an improv actor has greatly improved my skill with these situations and auditions.

I hope you enjoy some of the mad pics of castings I've been to over the last while...

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeext!!!!

Bye for now!