Becoming Ready

Chapter 13 - The Audition

After their dinner, Charlie saw Cassius occasionally around school, but she never gave him more than a friendly wave. She would still get a small surprise each time she saw him, but she was proud to report she felt pretty okay otherwise.

For her first scene in Film Acting 101, Charlie partnered with Jen, the girl she sat next to on the first day. Jen was a pretty girl, with shoulder length bouncy brown hair and aristocratic features. She looked like an actress, and she was outgoing and extroverted.

They got along right away. Charlie discovered that Jen was really sweet and collaborative. Professor Davids, or rather Kirk, gave them a list of scenes to choose from, all from popular movies. His suggestion was to not watch the movie with the scene you picked, lest you copied the actor who originally played the role.

Charlie and Jen decided to do a scene from a movie called The Women. It was the part where a middle-aged wife sees her husband's mistress in the dressing room of an upscale department store, trying on lingerie. The dynamic was really interesting between the two women, so there was a lot to work with.

Charlie wanted to play the part of the wife. Jen double checked with her to make sure she wasn't just being nice, but Charlie actually thought the wife was far more interesting than the mistress.

"Remember, when acting on camera, subtlety is key. The camera will pick up so much more than you realize. Even just using your eyes can be enough, if you do it right," Kirk explained.

School had been in session for about four weeks, so Kirk had gone over method acting with the class. Charlie found it fascinating, everything from the teachings of Stanislavsky to Strasberg. She discovered it was pretty easy to access her emotions when she was using what Kirk called "sense memory."

After class was over, Jen and Charlie exited Stage A, chatting excitedly about their scene. They noticed a large mass of people in front of a bulletin board in the cavernous lobby. Wondering what all the interest was about, Charlie wandered over to join the crowd.

Everyone was photographing a flyer. When she got closer, Charlie saw it was a casting call.

"Excuse me," she asked the girl standing next to her. "Do you know what the audition is for?"

"Student film. Every year Professor Roth recruits and casts students to work on a new script he's written," the girl explained. "He always says he's going to submit it to festivals, but in the three years I've been here, he never has."

"Got it," Charlie nodded. "Can anyone audition?"

"Anyone who goes to the Art Institute, yeah," she answered. "He usually only casts Seniors, though. But if you're looking for a place on the crew, I'm sure there's something you can do."

Charlie wasn't sure if she should be offended or not. She decided the girl was just trying to help her manage her expectations, not insult her.

"Thanks," she smiled. She took a picture of the flyer and walked away.

The casting call was being held two days later, in the early evening. Thankfully, Charlie was able to get her shift at the coffee shop covered. She also asked Courtney to take a couple polaroid pictures of her. Charlie didn't have anything close to resembling a headshot, so one of these would have to do. She wrote her name and contact information on the white margin at the bottom.

When she arrived at the audition, she told the students who were organizing it that she wanted to try out for the main character, but was also open to any other female roles in the film. She was given something called "sides." They were basically just a couple pages from the script, with the characters' lines highlighted. She stuck to her plan and focused on the part of Sarah, who was the main character. Charlie figured if you shot for the stars, you landed on the moon, or whatever that saying was.

Finally, they called her name. She walked into the mostly empty room and saw a tripod camera, a student cameraman, and two other students sitting at a table with Professor Roth. Or at least, Charlie assumed it was him. She hadn't met the man, but she knew that as writer and director of the film, he was bound to want to watch the auditions in person.

He surveyed her critically as she approached him. He was a middle-aged man with thinning dark hair and tan skin. He had eyes that reminded her of a hawk, or some other bird of prey. She handed him the polaroid picture with her information on it.

"Charlie Jackson, Freshman, auditioning for the role of Sarah," she said in a clear, strong voice.

"What is this?" he asked, looking at her picture.

"It's my headshot," she said evenly.

He looked at it with disdain. "Do you know what a headshot is supposed to look like?"

"I do," she admitted. "But I was a little short on time and resources, so I figured, better to show up with this than empty handed." By resources, she meant money to pay a professional photographer.

"How... thrifty of you," he smirked.

"I do what I can," she shot back, returning his sarcastic smile.

He was trying his best to intimidate her. It was working, she was indeed intimidated, but she would be damned if she let him know it. She had met enough bullies in her life to know not to back down.

One of the students sitting with Professor Roth got ready to do a cold read with her, which meant Charlie was allowed to use her script. She had already stared at the sides for thirty minutes while she waited, so she hardly needed it at all.

When she started, Professor Roth didn't look up from his phone. Charlie chose to ignore that, pushing forward through the scene. As she went on, however, he did look up. She could see the surprise on his face when he realized she wasn't reading, but she had in fact memorized the lines.

She walked out of the audition feeling satisfied. Even she didn't get a part, she was still proud of herself. Despite his efforts, Professor Roth had failed to make her crack. And it was within the realm of possibility that he was actually... impressed. 

***Any predictions about the outcome of this audition?