For The Life Of Me....

...I can't figure this out.  So I had an audition, a big one, for one of the Chicago TV shows -- yay!  So happy to be called in, so happy to work on the scenes I was given.  Nervous, for sure.  The director is someone I've admired for many years, getting his start as an actor and being in a long-running and successful show himself before turning to directing.  And I walk in the room...and he looked at me like I was a big turd.  I don't really even know how else to describe it.  Like, "What the hell are you doing in my presence?"  The energy in the room was so frigid and he seemed so...over it and bored and irritated that he was even there.  Now, he used to be an actor!  He had to go on however many auditions he had to go on!  I can't for the life of me understand why he would make the audition as uncomfortable as he possibly could.  Does he forget what it was like when he auditioned for things?  We're all told that the auditors want us to succeed.  How is that a breeding ground for success?  The best folks I've auditioned for make you feel welcome, make you feel like you should be there, make you feel like they're excited to be there.  I just don't get it.  

Conversely, I had an audition a couple of days later for a pilot for a new TV show.  I walked in the room and the energy was palpable excitement.  Young, eager artists who were open and friendly and smiley and made me feel like a million bucks.  I had a great audition, partly because they couldn't have been more welcoming.  See?  That's how you run an audition.  They clearly wanted me to succeed.  And I booked it.   So there!  These jaded folks who have been in the business too long could certainly learn a few things from the eager up-and-comers who love the process and are all about creativity and good energy and making it all work.  I'm so excited to get to work on a set that's going to be fun and full of great energy and positive vibes.  That's the way I want to work.  Life's hard enough.  Why make it harder?