Making the cut

Ian went on his very first real audition on Monday.  It was for a short film and the part he was auditioning for, was a blind, gay, Jewish boy who is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah.  And no, I am not kidding.

Ian heard about this opportunity from his theatre teacher who knew someone who knew someone who had a friend looking for local talent to cast in this movie.  They were planning to use union and non-union actors and the acting job is paid.  This is all so very exciting and each step Ian got closer to showing up in person for the audition had him (and all of us!) in awe and dreaming of what it would be like to have Ian starring in a movie at this young age.  And if you are going to dream, why not dream big?   Doesn't the role of a blind, gay, Jewish boy scream academy award nomination?  :)

The first step was to send in an email that he was interested in auditioning.  After hearing back from the point person, Ian had to send in a headshot and a very recent picture.  After successfully getting thru this step, Ian was sent information on sending in a taped audition using pages of the actual script.  About 2 weeks after that, Ian was asked to come in for an in-person audition.

Auditions were scheduled from 5:00pm to 8:00pm in Bethesda.  Ian was given the 6:50pm time slot.  When we arrived and took our seats, you can't help but notice all the moms and kids around you waiting for their audition too.  They called Ian back. I was not able to accompany him, but let me tell you, my heart started pumping wildly waiting for Ian to return.  I have no idea why I got as nervous as I did.  It was crazy.  Ian came back out about 10 minutes later and whispered to me that he thinks it went really well.  He was asked to stay longer.  So we wait it out for the next set of boys to go for their audition and then Ian is asked to read with one of the girls that were asked to stay too.  Meanwhile, Ian had a friend from school who was auditioning too and he was dismissed and told to go home.

After Ian had read with one of the 2 girls who has stayed behind, the girl comes out and says to her mom she can now go home.  Ian comes out a few minutes later and is told to stay even longer.  Seriously, can this get more exciting waiting to see what is going to happen?!?!

I asked Ian what happened when it was just him and they had sent the girl out before him, he said he heard them talking and asking if there was enough time for Ian to read with the boy they had cast Harry.

After a few more minutes, the point person stuck her head back in the hallway and said Ian can now go home too and they would be in touch.  Either they ran out of time to do all they wanted to do, or Ian was just cut.  The strange thing was, the woman who told Ian he could go, was about to say something else, but held her tongue.  She had all this energy about her and it was like she was tripping over herself to keep it in.

We are patiently waiting for an email to come letting us know what was decided.  In any event, Ian is very proud of the audition he gave and feels he did the best job he was capable of.  This was a great experience for him and will help prepare him for future auditions.