Well I'll Be...

I got a call yesterday from the director of that Christmas play I auditioned for. I mean, the play for which I auditioned. Wait, that just sounds dumb. The friggin elf play. Yeah, that one. The lousy audition I recently came to terms with. Ahh… stupid prepositions!!! Anyway, turns out they want me in the show.

What?!

So apparently my audition was not as bad as I thought. Or maybe it was as good as I thought. That all depends on which thought we’re referencing. No, I’m not playing an elf. And it appears that they want an older evil troll [naturally]. But they liked my fire-building skills; apparently I was the only one who thought to be active when I was not part of the conversation. Props to me [and Second City]. The title of the part offered to me: Clown Mime.

I stifled a laugh and asked wtf that meant. Essentially I would start the play, get the crowd revved up, and mingle my way through the entire play. I think. There’s supposedly lots of physicality and much room for improvisation. I was still hesitant; I mean, the part is called Clown Mime for goodness sake!

The director sensed my apprehension as I mentioned the commute to Huntington Beach. She took the opportunity to alert me to the fact that if I did this show I would be put on the casting list for the playhouse, making me an attractive prospect for future shows. She also said she really liked my audition and really wanted me in the show. I decided to respond to her butter with my time commitments, and see where that went. Given teaching, Second City, a choir, and traveling for 7/8 weekends in Oct-Nov, I’m not the most available. I can do few things with this hectic fall schedule, so if she doesn’t mind, then this may be a good idea. She didn’t mind; I agreed to play the part.

My schedule just became borderline absurd. My car is gonna get some extra miles on it and festive traffic conditions. I’ll be going home later than I liked for Christmas. And my part is called the Clown Mime. But…

I’m actually in a show. I auditioned and was cast in a show in the LA area. It’s community theater for sure, but it’s the first bit of acting that isn’t my friends and I getting together. That gives it more of a semi-professional feel to it, at least for me. It’s something actually recognizable on my resume [well, the playhouse is]. And it will give me a chance to explore creative movement and hone my character behaviour skills. There’s a maximum of 20 rehearsals ahead of me with 3 performance days. Comparatively, that’s a pretty minor time commitment. The benefits, however, have much potential.

It seems I have found a ladder; we'll see how this rung turns out.