For the very first time in my life, I had to turn down a callback.
With two simultaneous rehearsals in different cities, I could manage my schedule. I could find a compromise between being in two places at once. But I can't do three places at once.
It is a shame, too, since the show I was called back for doesn't start rehearsals until after New Years, so after the auditions, I would not have any conflicts. Unfortunately, I had multiple conflicts with the night they were holding callbacks. It would have been fun. Heck, the initial audition was fun. The show is Measure for Measure. We were supposed to prepare one monologue and read one from the script. Given the choice out of the three monologues per gender, what female wouldn't pick Isabella or what male wouldn't pick Angelo? Given the chance to read one of the most duplicitous and oogy characters in Shakespeare's "comedies" was too good of a chance to pass up.
I found, while reading through the monologue, that Angelo wasn't as straightforwardly vile and hypocritical as I had always thought. Given the actual words in the monologue (the "O cunning enemy that, to catch a saint,/ With saints dost bait thy hook" speech) he is truly struggling with himself and, rather than seeking merely to justify his actions post-fact, he struggles with himself to reconcile the irreconcilable emotions he feels. Unfortunately, as we later see, the way in which he finally choses to work through this perceived religious/logical/emotional incongruity is not the most humane route. Leading to the villainous perception we all know and love to hate about Angelo. But before his sexual blackmail, there is a point where he is a pitiful creature arguing with his god and devil, confronting what he sees as irreligious temptation in himself. He even takes on the "sin" himself and excuses Isabella ("The tempter, or the tempted, who sins most?/ Ha! Not she, nor doth she tempt; but it is I"), before completely contradicting this thought with his actions of the rest of the play.
Anyway. That was the long way of saying that I had a really good audition this week, that I "wasted" when I had to turn down the callback.
Posted by silsby at September 24, 2004 08:27 AMBUT you had fun and gained valuable character insight. In the end, isn't that what matters?
Posted by mamajlo at September 28, 2004 01:51 PMTrue. While the fun and valuable character insight was a nice consolation prize and mattered, the situation wasn't a zero-sum game, so it wasn't all that mattered but part of something that mattered.
As I later discovered, when more than a few people did not go to one of the rehearsals that conflicted with the callback, the initial rehearsal was not a productive as I thought it was going to be.
Oh well.
This means I'll be open to audition for more things (and hopefully be called back for more things, too), right?
Posted by silsby at September 29, 2004 08:37 AM