The best way to look at an open acting audition is to liken it to a mission from your favorite video game, like Freedom Fighter, or Grand Theft Auto. You have to brace yourself for a fierce battle, and sometimes your life is at stake. You must focus your mind on your mind on your mission, never forgetting the pitfalls. The open acting audition can be like a wily snake, coiled to strike at your dreams, or at least, your self-esteem. These days, that is.
Yes, gone are the glory days when jazz bands played, tea was smoked, champagne was sipped, and caviar was gulped back in a cavalier manner at your average open acting audition, where would-be starlets and handsome hopefuls would vie for star studded roles as matter of pastime. Doris Day was one such lucky reveler in these affairs of old Hollywood. "It was maarvelous, Darling.everyone was there". These were her words as we spoke with her earlier this afternoon. "To me, an open acting audition was, like a weekend in Rio..."
But today the open acting audition has lost it's star-studded gleam, and has evolved into more of a slightly one-sided business proposition mixed with not a bad gamble. You get yourself there with no guarantee of work, and even if you are given work, you still may not be paid for a while. You're lucky if you get a paper cup and a drinking fountain, nevermind the caviar and the champagne. But the bittersweet thing about the open acting audition is that there is a chance that you will be chosen for a part, and then there is a chance that something else can come out of doing that role, leading eventually into a respectable career.