Summer in October

Hi all,

Well, here comes October and I only had one post for September.  Oh darn.  There was a major heat wave from last Saturday through yesterday.  I have no air-conditioning so I had to escape to air-conditioned places.

Well, I auditioned for the PCPA Summer Season which was an Equity Principal call.  The audition was at UCLA and parking was expensive and it was so hot, I about passed out.  As I’ve explained before, or maybe not, at an Equity Principal call the Equity members get precedence to be seen followed by Equity Membership Candidates (EMC) and then Non-union people are seen when time permits.  It turns out they make Equity cards out of paper, not plastic, which is kinda funny as union memberships are pricey.  They could at least give them a card that holds up.

But anyway, I was seen eventually.  I had to wait from 9:10am until 2:15pm for an audition slot.  That’s typical, so if the call is on a week-day and you’re not Equity or EMC, you have to call in sick to work.  This was fortunately a Sunday, so it worked out fine.  I got to audition for Erik Stein, the casting director for the company and his assistant, Melissa.  He was so nice, very eager to see everyone there, and he loved my song, which was So Many People from Saturday Night.  I controlled my nerves well enough to really sing well, so I was very happy about that.  I felt that I put my best foot forward.

Next I’ll be auditioning for The Next Fairy Tale at Celebration Theatre.  I don’t have an appointment yet, but I submitted on Actors Access and called the theatre.  The artistic director told me the days and times of auditions, so it’s safe to go.  As is the case for many LA theatres, they are under an Equity 99-seat Contract, or Equity Waiver.  This means that you only get $5-10 a performance and no weekly salary or stipend beyond that.  I really need a gig that pays but if I work during the day, I should still have enough money.  But I have to state that only rarely will I consider an agreement like this.  The artistic director sounds nice, the theatre is well-regarded, and major casting director Jami Rudofsky is casting.

I don’t have any auditions set in stone beyond that for now.  I continue to work on the day job situation, network, send thank-you notes, do drop offs, etc.  I am working a concert for three days beginning Oct. 7 and then a trade show through Oct. 15.  I’m doing my best.