A Compliment on My Audition

Last week I had an audition for an independent film. 

Which means you lock yourself in your bedroom and tape yourself on your iPhone, then you e-mail the video to your agent, never to hear about it again.

I know, I sound cynical, but auditioning used to be more fun when you went in-person and you at least got a reaction from the casting director.

Not anymore. Covid changed all that, and it never changed back.

Anyway, this time, I was auditioning for a boss. I never think I am right for any part, and this was no exception.

For the 24 hours before I tape any audition, I try to talk myself out of it, because I don’t want to put in the work and I am filled with self-doubt.

At dinner that night my 9-year-old daughter asked me: "Dad, what are you auditioning for?” I said it was for a boss.

She said: "You would be good at that Dad. You’re firm."

Even though I didn't see myself that way, it helped me decide to do the audition.

The next day, my daughter was home from school because she had the day off. She was in her room, which is next to my office, so she could hear me reading my lines into my phone.

I ran the scene a couple of times, and then I recorded it in one take — not because I am that good, but was because I was tired. Once I emailed it off to my agent, I got a phone call from an old friend. I was on the phone for about ten minutes when I kept seeing my door open a crack and then it would close. I realized my daughter was trying to see if it was okay to come in. 

I said, "What do you need, Betsy?

She said, “Dad, I just wanted to say I could hear your audition, and you did really good!”

I can't tell you how great that made me feel. My daughter has never given me a compliment on my acting. In fact, in that moment, I realized that getting her compliment was even better than getting the part, which I am not going to get anyway.

Want to learn how to let go of fear while you're acting or improvising? Don't miss Jimmy's workshop at Theatre Momentum in Chicago on Oct. 26!