On The Road Again. Later.

I know it's been a while since my last blog, and you're all dying to know how Christmas and New Year were, but that will have to wait for now.

Because something happened today. Something that affected me so much that I haven't been so happy in such a long time that I had to blog about it.

I had an audition.

Well of course that's not all, I have auditions every couple of weeks. This was a special audition. An audition for paid acting work with a national TIE touring company. But not only that, a closed audition.

For those that are confused as to the significance of this: an open audition is what you may have seen when Star Wars was looking for the Skywalker Jouniors. Crowds of people, instant dismissal, dreams don't even have chance to form before they're crushed, basically anyone can turn up and have their few seconds of supposed fame. A closed audition means a casting director invites you to meet them and participate, their are a limited number of places available, and if you're lucky you'll get the last one. Which is what happened to me.

I got a voicemail message while I was at work on Thursday. I called on Friday morning but she wasn't in her office. I left my number and a few seconds later I got a call back asking if I wad interested in coming to their London audition. I don't think I could have sounded more keen. Just after 9 this morning I was leaving my house, with an idea for a song in my head (part of the audition) and a bag full of other scripts on my back (I'm busy at the moment).

I found the venue (a dance and music centre) easily enough and was immediately glad to be there. No idea why, it just felt nice. Old building with that performing-arts-until-I'm-demolished feel. After initial introductions we were given two lists of short character speeches, and instructed to choose one from each list to perform for everyone. After embarrassing myself by mishearing someone else's name as my own somewhere in the middle of the group, my name was called (ironically last) and I got up.

And that's when it happened.

I'd decided my first speech would be The Mad Hatter explaining the concept of The Unbirthday, a short and simple speech which a couple of people had done before me. I had been sitting there trying to choose a voice, thinking about who to use from the 'audience', and looking at the lines. Then as soon as I got up I felt a strage sensation of what I can only describe as confidence, and I started to speak.

I cannot tell you what voice I used to perform in, nor the speech I gave, because I didn't look at the script once and the voice was not one I had thought about, but I did enough to earn smiles and applause afterwards. I moved on to my second speech (Gandalf) which was much more according to my previous plans (measured, deep voice, etc) and then sang the first half of Be Prepared which went swimmingly apart from my throat catching - luckily between notes, and as it was unaccompanied it was just a dramatic pause before the crescendo to my audience.

After that ordeal, we got the full explanation of the company and the job, what would be expected of us and what we could expect in return, and then individual interviews. Marie, who was in charge of the whole thing, took me up for my private interview and we chatted about my previous school work, theatre work, and availability. Unfortunately with my current commitments I wouldn't be able to start the tours, according to their plans, in February and because I don't have a full driver's license I wasn't eligible to do a tour starting in March who needed an extra driver. Marie seemed saddened by this, which in the acting world is usually a good sign, so I asked about dates for winter tours (Pantomime). Apparently they can run from as early as September all the way to February. I asked when I could register interest in that, and was told if I emailed her on Monday - after I'd thought about the commitments - along with everyone else for the summer tours, she'd keep me informed. Auditions begin in May but she dismissed my idea of auditioning again, "Oh no, I don't think there's any need for that." She said with a small smile. Another good sign for those of you unfamiliar to acting nuances.

So I got two very interesting points from today:

1. If there was ever any doubt that acting was a career I wanted to pursue, it is gone. Acting is organic to me. I don't even have to think about what I'm doing and people like me enough to laugh, applaud, and offer me work.

2. I have an offer of future work with a well-known and very successful touring TIE company. The excitment of this prospect is difficult to contain.

Now I just have to entertain myself until September, and hopefully find a job which won't mind my vanishing for the winter period.