Sticky feet

The day began tensely. I had a 10:50 am audition (the first of two), but as of late last night I still didn't have the script or breakdowns (for either one). Finally got them a half-hour before I was supposed to leave. (My favorite agent is off having a baby, so I think they're working through a few hitches there.)

It's an awesome opportunity -- partly because it's a fun script, partly because it's SAG, but mostly because it shoots in New Freakin' Zealand! How incredible would that be?

It was also a little odd. I'm accustomed to auditioning a little outside of the range stated in the character breakdown, but this one said "late 20s to mid 30s." I felt better when I saw everyone else there was about my age, and even older. One of the guys there, who was black, said he's auditioned for a number of parts where the breakdown said "caucasian" -- talk about a stretch.

It also said "decent shape -- not chubby or paunchy" and most of the guys there were a bit on the husky side. So who knows. Maybe the breakdown was just a relic from a much earlier version the script.

There was one thing that resonated, though: "sarcastic wit." Now THAT I can do (see Kevin Spacey type from a couple of days ago). So in the hour I had managed to get the scripts down and even think some about different approaches.

And that's always my big sticking point. Trying to anticipate the different directions they might want me to take it. So I thought about gently sarcastic wiseguy and more cutting, kinda dickish wiseguy, then very straight, deadpan guy and more of a kind, neighborly guy.

But in the room, of course, things come up that you don't plan for, and that's where improv skills come in handy. We tried a Bill Kurtis read, and that went pretty well. Then they said they saw a bit of Anderson Cooper in me (the grey hair, I assume) and they asked for more of that, which I did, but I didn't take it nearly, nearly far enough. I stuck too close to the script. It wasn't until I was out of the building that I realized how much more I could have done with it -- basically re-writing the script and scenario and not doing a guy with a bit of an Anderson Cooper vibe but actually going out and being Anderson Cooper. Duh.

They always say never to be afraid of going too far over the top. It's much easier to reel someone in than to try to pull more out of them. And I just didn't go far enough. At least in my mind. I've talked about this issue over and over and I need to find a way to DO it. Consistently, instantly, and without fear.

I think if I took improv classes now I would get so much more out of them that I did seven years ago. Just like people always say if they had a chance to go back and do college over again how much more focused and productive they'd be. It's like, once you see how things are applied in the real world, it makes the schooling so much less abstract and more meaningful.

Damn, I'd like to go to New Zealand!