I pride myself on being pretty up-front when it comes to this blog. So I’ll begin with the ending of this story: I had an audition last week for a TV pilot called “The Law” – a cop sitcom starring Cedric the Entertainer and Donald Faison. I didn’t get the role.For the next few days, I’ll break down the audition to both enlighten non-actors about the process, and maybe help new actors learn a thing or three.
It all began with an email from my agent that I had an audition the next day, and could download the sides from a website called Showfax. “Sides” are industry slang for the audition scenes. It’s an old term from the 1930s, short for “your side of the story.”
The pic above is the scene. It’s only one line, in which Cedric’s female cop partner flirts with my character in traffic. It seems apparent that the joke is that her gaydar is out of whack because my character isn’t straight, but I did a very wise thing to confirm this: I downloaded all the sides available for all the characters in the pilot. Because I did that, I saw that just before this scene, Cedric flirted with some women, so the joke was also about the contrast of his female partner’s flirting backfiring. I was set.
The next morning, I put on a t-shirt a size or two too tight (gay guys, forgive me for assuming this is your uniform), allowed enough time to drive to Burbank for the audition, signed in and waited in a lobby full of competitors.
Before I ramble any more than I already have, I’ll pull out prematurely and save part two for tomorrow. You people who work for a living really should get back to it. Enjoy.
