Sunday, March 30, 2014

Typecasting? Never... (watch video before reading post)


Great video! My favorite moment is near the end when the blonde female yells out, "Ahhhh! I am booking EVERYTHING!!!" I recently went to two auditions that mirrored what the three actors go through this video. One was for a regional production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a show known for having a multi-cultural cast. But as the guys ahead of me were walking out of the room, I could tell who was staying for the dance call and who was not.  Yes, most if not all, were Caucasian. Not just Caucasian, but the young romantic lead type Caucasian male. Character actors? Out the door. Over 29 years old? Out the door. It was like they were casting all Joseph types for the brothers.

The other was for a combined audition for two regional productions of Les Miserables, pretty much the same story. But in their defense, they did put that they were looking for 20s (I can still pass for 29, right?) tenor/baritone males for the double cast role of Montparnasse/Jean Prouvaire. But as the guys ahead of me exited the room, the ones that were giving high-fives to each other indicating that they were coming back for the callback later that day were....drum roll please...Caucasian males in the 20s, young romantic lead types! You look over 30? There's the door. Character man? And don't let it hit you on the way out.

There were a handful of non-Caucasian males in their 20s, but they only quietly packed up their belongings and headed out the door after singing their 16 bars of music and followed me to the elevator for our Ride of Rejection. I just wanted to ask the guy behind the table, "Couldn't you have put it in the notice that you only wanted Caucasians at this call? So, I didn't have to get out of bed early this morning...on a Saturday, warm up (and wake up my roommate in the process), drink tons of water the night before AND the morning of, and hope and pray all the way there that I could squeak out my high note at 10am after getting my voice cold from walking out on this cold day to get here. Oh, and can I have my headshot back? But hold off, I need to go to the bathroom again."

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