The Audition Process, Part Three

This post ends the discussion of the audition process started here and continued here.  

The final step in auditioning can be the most harrowing, because as an actor it is completely out of your hands. This period may be as long as a week, or as short as a day.   

Some theaters will have a cast list posted electronically, or on a physical call board, or both.

Some directors will call or email you to offer you a part.

The Stress:

I've always found this period painful because while I can easily accept that I wasn't cast, I can never be 100% sure that I didn't simply make a mistake writing down my phone number or my email.

Maybe the director was trying to contact me, but couldn't for some reason.

Maybe this will all be my fault, and not only will I not get a role in this production, I won't ever be able to show my face in the theater again.

The fact is, I worry about everything- or maybe I mean anything.

I tend to obsess about one thing in particular, but what that one thing will be varies.  As soon as I convince myself that I have a way around a problem, a new one will crop up.

Every single issue, whatever the content, will seem to be life or death.  

If I wasn't ringing my hands over whether I'd left the right contact information, it would be the all-important question of whether I can get poison oak from my cat, or if I've been opening the second drawer on the right with my hand, or my sleeve (if it's the latter, I have to continue to do so, because even if it wasn't dirty before, it certainly is now that I've used my sleeve on it).

I understand that worries like how I should open the second drawer on the right are not deeply significant- in fact, they're a coping mechanism.

I can't control whether I impress the director, get called back, or get offered a role.

I can, however, control the condition of my drawer handle.  I can even go get a soapy rag and wash it off, settling the matter once and for all.  That is something I can deal with.

Being Cast:

Sooner or later, I do hear from the director, though.  I even get roles, more often than not.

For me, the audition process is one of the most frightening in theater.  Compared to that, performing the actual play is almost easy.

I say almost, because once you get cast in a play, there is still a lot of hard work and crazy tasks between you and the show itself.

What You Should Know:

Depending on your strengths, you may feel that you're out of the woods once the audition is over.  First, you're in for a long wait (it'll seem long even if it's less than twenty-four hours).  Hopefully, though, you'll also be in for an even bigger challenge.

You'll be putting on a play. 

Click here to go back to the Audition posts, Part One or Part Two.  Or move on to Surviving the First Read, Part One and Part Two.  Get ready for the ride of your life!