When things get weird, it helps to make them weirder.

I'm preparing for an audition with the civic theater next week, and I really want this one! As I sat in B&N today for *six* hours trying to find the right monologue, I tried to keep my mind from drifting to thoughts of past auditions..........

(Cue dream sequence-y music)

The air was crisp and the skies clear; the day held almost palpable promise. She was new to the area, recently settled, and had heard the rumor with interest: the local theater was holding auditions for Alice in Wonderland! She caught the time & place, and showed up a bit late(in 'Katie-time, she was actually*early*), hoping they hadn't begun without her.
As she joined the chaotic, crowded room of auditionees, she was handed a form to fill out, which was just as suddenly taken from her by "In Charge-Looking Lady". She sat on the floor along with the others as the audition began with an intro from the director....
The instructions he gave were clear & commanding; the auditionees were to remain silent as others went...names would be called at random...step to the center of the room...after stating your name, briefly introduce your monologue.....MONOLOGUE??!!!!
Katie, surrounded by a sea of cross-legged actors, fought a wave of nausea as she repeated the word again in her mind: monologue. Katie had no monologue. Katie had only been to auditions that required improv or cold reads. One by one, smooth as clockwork, the actors performed their carefully prepared monologues for the director. Eyeing the door, Katie contemplated which would be worse - interrupting the process to step over the eighty-ish people between her & the exit? Or waiting, *waiting* in pure dread for her name to be called, then standing & saying " I am completely unprepared. I have no monologue. "......Indecision sometimes decides for us.
As Katie sat, wondering what to do, an idea began forming in her head....a *very* bad idea. And something else took hold: determination. She had considered her two escape routes, rejected them both, and devised another.
Her confidence renewed, she began planning her next move..... but something was nagging at her as she watched the other actors - they all seemed so .. young. *None* of the adult actors had auditioned yet. And each time one of the young performers would finish, a different pocket of adult actors would applaud crazily, as if they knew them. Close-knit group, she thought.
But.. if the performers were being called at random, how was it possible that all the kids were going.......FIRST?! It hit her like a flash of light - the adults weren't actors!! They were PARENTS!! She was at a Youth Theater audition!!!!!!!!!!
She didn't have time to adjust her plan , for at that very moment her name was called. Automatically, she went to the center of the room, introduced herself, & began making up her monologue. She spoke of the first thing, the only thing , that formed in her mind: the painful memories of the day she lost her uncle(Very appropriate for the particular audience). She poured out her words with genuine emotion, and didn't have time to think of what effect they would have, didn't consider the fact that *everyone* else's monologues were light & funny. When she finished, she looked around.
It was very quiet.
When she left, she felt a couple of things: adrenaline, and...satisfaction that she didn't run for the door. Later she would have plenty of time to put the facts together and allow the embarrassment to really sink in...
To Be continued..............................................................


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