Monday, March 23, 2009

Poundin' 42nd Street...

I'm back from a long weekend of Leavenworth Auditions. It was much less grueling than last year - only three callbacks, and well spread out. I was called back for all the things I wanted to be seen for, and nothing I wasn't interested in.

Yesterday I auditioned for Maria in The Sound of Music, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and Lina Lamont in Singing in the Rain. I have some feelings about which way casting may have gone, but no certainty. One director in particular I have NOOOO clue what will happen.

I'm scheduling two more auditions for the next couple of weeks. This is the most freedom I've had to audition and audition and audition - not necessarily for parts, although it's weird to not be in a project right now - but to practice auditioning. It's my weakest area, but one I'm improving in each time. I wasn't cast for a short film last week, but the director emailed and said she was impressed with my audition. I had an audition on Thursday for a live script reading, and I read for her for 45 minutes. Didn't get that one either, but she said I'm a "great reader." (I should be after all the books I've done the voices for. Actually, funnily enough, reading for the girls has probably been my best audition practice all year. I've had to sit and make character and voice decisions one sentence ahead of where I'm reading. Great training for making quick choices in auditions settings).

I'm working double the hours of retail that I was at Christmas. Just in time, too, since I don't have any acting or costuming income for the moment. I should hear back from LST in a week, and know whether or not I'll be going out of town for the summer. Then I can decide whether a third job would be in order, or actually, I could be a summer nanny and not need to go schlepp anymore.

Today I had a great day at work. I went through a bad time in January where they were frustrated with me, and I was frustrated by not knowing enough to do my job, and I actually had to meet with a manager and beg to be kept on. But I was trained in all my weak areas, and I started making friends once a manager got on my headset and told me to stop whistling Sondheim, and now all is roses and puppies. And I signed two people up for our credit card today, which always makes everyone happy.

We're going to start reading Hatchet by Gary Paulson soon - as soon as my girl checks it out from the library. I offered, once again, to start a different book since we can't start that one until after library day next week, but she'd rather read her Owl Series in the meantime. We had the same discussion for A Wrinkle in Time, too.

Off to bed now.