Her hair was neatly pulled back with a lovely yet simple pin. She didn't wear a dress this time. She wore sleek black trousers with a soft flare, her most expensive heels, and a gentle blue button-down with a dark grey sweater over it. She might as well have been on The Apprentice. But, the callback was for a drama, and Cathy was doing her best not to be campy or musical-theatre-esque in any way. She totally did drama.
I totally don't do drama.
She walked into the room exactly 20 minutes early. Auditions were the only thing she ever showed up on time for, and it was always exactly 20 minutes early. 30 minutes is trying to hard, 10 is a bit lacking, but 20 is just right. Goldilocks principle. With her bottled-water and resume folder at her side, she took a seat. There were 3 girls already there. Surprisingly, they all looked around her age.
Good, so I'm not a geezer quite yet. Thank God I didn't wear that dress. Too much, honey. Ew, and they eye makeup – come on. She's only a few pounds lighter than me. Probably a dancer. Strung out, too. Definitely.
A few more young women entered – there were 12 total when three neatly dressed gentlemen came in and took their seats at a table in the front of the room. An assistant passed out scripts to all the women – they were given several scenes to look at, and about 30 minutes to go over the material.
Cathy always hated this part. Well, not just this part, she hated a whole lot of it, and not the part where you go over a script – that was actually fun, but the part where every single girl was muttering, practicing faces, trying to choose which obnoxious hand movements to use – that she hated. She read the scenes. She instantly knew the character. It was a good fit for her – a slightly neurotic woman who never went out with the same guy twice and ended up head over heels for an underling coworker.
It seemed like a trite storyline at first, but the writing was fresh and gave a nice twist to familiar situations that audiences would love. Her stomach began to rumble… she wanted the part. She was invested now – it wasn't going to be one of those east callbacks where you're instantly dismissed and can forget about it – this disappointment would linger… unless she did well.
Must kick ass. Must completely, utterly kick ass. Make a choice, Cathy – make a choice on the character and stick with it – that's what you have to do. Breathe. Oh my God this girl is horrible.
The woman reading was not the best.
Courtesy callback.
Cathy mentally reprimanded herself for thinking not-nice thoughts. Karma really could be a bitch. She brushed a piece of hair out of her face, casually trying to make sure her hair didn't look horrible. She took a sip of water.
The door to the room cracked, then opened fully.
"Thank you – yes, thank you, you may sit down please." One of the men sitting at the table spouted, putting the girl out of her misery and standing up to meet the person who had just entered the room. The other two men stood as well.
Sensing commotion, Cathy looked up from her daze.
Oh God
Her eyes widened, and she nearly choked and died on the spot.
Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse…
It was going to be an interminable afternoon.
