Wow, so today was the day I went in to audition for possible speaking roles in two major motion pictures being filmed in New England. This is my second time auditioning for a major production; in late October I auditioned for a speaking role in the ShowTime original series called “Brotherhood”. There was a huge difference between the audition in October and the audition today. Let me explain…

At the “Brotherhood” audition this fall I completely bombed. I had real trouble following my own advice about not getting caught up in thinking of the audition as a high stakes event. I just could not seem to get the notion out of my head that this was a one time thing that blown would potentially ruin my one big chance. And I knew that it is best to trust that this is just the first of many, and that although it would be really cool to have a speaking role on a TV show, this audition should not be treated any different than an audition for a low budget independent film; the kind of audition I don’t get nervous about. But still I could not shake the nerves. When I went in and performed my monologue that day it did not come out how I wanted it too or how I rehearsed it. The nervous energy in my body caused me to do it too fast and stilted, and I event forgot a sentence which ended up making the whole thing sound disjointed and stupid. I was so bummed that day, but I did manage to forget about it and move on after a couple of days of morning the loss.

Today’s audition was a completely different story, and I guess I am a different person than I was five months ago. Before I went into the audition I decided to set two intentions for my self. One was to discover a new comfort with auditioning for big jobs, and the other was to remember the joy of what I am doing and not get caught up in the drama. Then after I set the intentions I just forgot about them and went in. The trick is not to try and make the intentions happen, but just to set them and forget them and hope your subconscious does the rest. I find this trick seems to work pretty well; I use it all the time before performances and auditions now. But I digress…. So after setting my intentions I went in to show my stuff. I was not very nervous at all this time because it has finally sunk into my thick skull that due to the film incentive bills passing in Mass and Rhode Island these kinds of auditions are going to happen more and more and that this is not my one and only shot. After a brief introduction I performed my monologue and I nailed it. It came out just how I wanted it to and the casting folks seem to enjoy it. We were all smiles afterwards and one of the casting folks said I did a great job. After that I gave my 2 minute elevator speech on what I have been doing lately in the acting world and that was it. I must have been in the room less than five or six minutes. I won’t know if I get a part for a while but the important thing for me today was that I did my best and did not let my nerves destroy my audition. I am a happy boy. The two movies I auditioned for are as follows. Underdog by Walt Disney pictures to be filmed in Rhode Island and Gone, Baby, Gone by Touchstone Pictures to be filmed in Boston. Both of them will be filming this spring and summer.

‘Tis all for now.

Tags: Underdog, Gone, Baby, Gone, Audition, Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, intention