My Audition at Catholic University
Jul. 14th, 2006 01:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thehefnerSo yesterday I met up with Gary Sloan, head of Catholic University's graduate school for acting. He was an incredibly nice, personable guy, that much I could tell over the phone. Very much of the Dale Daigle mold of teachers, not in the least full of himself or pompous as many in the acting world tend to be.
Before we set up the audition, he wanted to make me aware of a couple things. First was that they only accept eight people for their graduate program. Apparently, the program is actually a troupe, eight actors, so it can be super-intensive and focused that way. Second, their new policy is only to accept new applications once every three years, and that this is the new year for that. Third, that the cut-off for application was in March, during which they turned down over 300 applications. And finally, while I was very, very late in applying for this semester, they do accept applications year-round just in case one of the eight students drops out and they need to fill in his or her place. Which was to be my position, if I still wanted to go ahead with this. I said yeah, let's do it.
Fueled on a meager meal of a Hot Pocket and a Powerbar, I braved both the weather and DC roads to get to Catholic on time, which I just barely did. Gary was just as nice as he seemed over the phone, and he gave me a quick tour of the theatre and rehearsal spaces... really, the whole treatment to anybody who would be applying. From the start, I noticed that he wasn't treating me like a lost cause or a pointless endeavor. Then he asked to see my audition, if I was ready.
I gave him the two monologues I had prepared. First I did the big one from GOOD, one of the best monologues I've ever done (but far too long for use at places like Leagues), and boy, was it great to be saying those lines again. I really do miss that role. Then he wanted to hear a Shakespeare, so I hit him with a classic King Lear speech which I memorized back in high school to whip out on any given occasion. He seemed impressed enough by both, in his way, remarking on the Shakespeare by saying that he liked how I "used the language to really illustrate the point."
But with a touch of concern, he asked, "Do you have any monologues that are age-appropriate?" And I realized, huh, y'know, I really don't. I'm deeply inexperienced at playing people my own age. And then I realized, wait, I may not have any monologues from any actual plays memorized... but I *do* have THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES. So as best as I could manage off the top of my head, with no preparation, I performed My Grandfather's Last Words.
He asked me about where that story came from, and I told him about the Hefner Monologues, how they were a sort of hobby of mine, and he remarked, "What an unusual and interesting hobby. There aren't many natural storytellers out there, but you just might be one." I apologized for the rustiness, saying I hadn't done it in awhile, and he said, "That was long, but you kept my attention the whole time. You could really hold the attention of an entire room with the way you tell a story."
Wow. To have a near total stranger, the head of Catholic U's graduate school for acting no less, tell me that was amazing.
After that, he proceeded to talk about the program, but y'know, it's funny, when you whip out the most intense monologue in GOOD, the most intense monologue in KING LEAR, and an entire Hefner Monologue, for some reason it kinda takes a lot outta you. So he's talking and I'm listening, taking notes, but I'm slowly fading, fading, sinking further and further into my chair.
One of the most interesting things he tells me is that I am trying to get into grad school WAY too early. He said that I was the only "young" actor he had there based on the people he actually accepted, and implied that the vast majority of graduate school students for acting are all aged 30 and older. He said that my inexperience counts against me, and unless I'm "the second coming of Tom Hanks," most people don't and shouldn't even *consider* grad school for at least five or seven years after college. At least. Furthermore, he said, grad school programs sometimes cut people out. He said it broke his heart to do so, but he cut a young woman out of the program because, quite simply, she just didn't have enough experience to really prepare her for how intense and huge this program was.
He looked at my resume and inquired as to how whether I played King John or Tartuffe straight, and I said, "God no, I got those roles because of my reputation as a huge ham. One professor called me a 'whore for the audience.'"
He said, "I must say, I didn't see any ham acting up there just now with those two monologues. Although I did see a bit of that in THE DAVID DANCE."
The color suddenly drained from my face and I said, "Oh GOD, you saw that?!?!"
"Yeah," he confessed, with a smile.
"Oh GOD!!!" I buried by head in his hands, utterly mortified. Exasperated, I explained the whole problem with the director giving me jack shit by way of direction, except to make my character wishy-washy and weak, just like David, as opposed to my instincts to make him stronger so he can anchor down David's character. If you have two people who are wishy-washy, that's BAD THEATRE, and I KNEW it!!! God, I could have killed myself right there.
"It was a good thing," Gary said. "Because it got you here. It made you realize that you need training, so it's a good experience that all actors need to go through." But he also warned me to be careful and picky which roles I choose in the future, saying that "not all exposure is good exposure" and just because it may be the director's fault, I'll be the one who'll come off looking bad. So thank GOD I didn't take that year-long job at that children's theatre.
So until the fall semester when we'd know if someone had dropped out or not, his advice to me was in three parts. First, to get training at places like Studio and Shakespeare Theatre. Second, to act and get experience, but he stressed the importance of being selective, not to take just any role I can find, and most importantly, to take roles for which I am age appropriate. Same goes for monologues at auditions, only do a monologue from something I'm age appropriate for, and he strongly suggested I do David Sedaris' "Christmas Elf" monologue... yet another time I'm likened to Sedaris. Unless there's some other "Christmas Mall Elf" monologue out there.
And finally... he said that I really, really need to do the HEFNER MONOLOGUES as a show.
Seriously. He said that would be really smart. Wow. Utterly fucking amazing.
It was a very interesting and productive meeting yesterday. I left feeling accomplished, in a way, but more than anything else I was utterly drained. That only got worse when I got completely lost in DC, just like Doctor Doom did a year ago, so I went to California Tortilla for dinner to relax. The guy there noticed I was looking down and wiped out, so he gave me a free refill of queso, which really did make the day.
So here's my plan. Since they only want to take really talented, experienced actors for their small, super-intensive programs, I'm gonna hold off on grad school for a few years, maybe even when I'm 30. It still might be good, especially since I am still jobless and teaching just might be a great long-term opportunity. For the immediate future, I'm gonna look into classes at Studio and Shakespeare Theatre and in the spring I'm gonna apply for Shakespeare Theatre's fellowship program, a year-long acting internship which would also give me equity.
And maybe, just maybe, it's time I seriously started to put together THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES. I can't do it alone, so I'll appeal to the Rudes for help when the time comes. Which may be very soon.
And in the meantime, I don't have to study for the GREs anymore!!! *HUGE HAPPY DANCE!* I'm still gonna take it, just to see what it's like, but for god's sake, what's the point in doing well? By the time I do apply for grad school, five or so years will have passed, and will they really want or care for a GRE score that's five years old? So no more studying, no more tutors, not for a few years, anyway! Thank GOD, I was so stressing out over all this.
Before we set up the audition, he wanted to make me aware of a couple things. First was that they only accept eight people for their graduate program. Apparently, the program is actually a troupe, eight actors, so it can be super-intensive and focused that way. Second, their new policy is only to accept new applications once every three years, and that this is the new year for that. Third, that the cut-off for application was in March, during which they turned down over 300 applications. And finally, while I was very, very late in applying for this semester, they do accept applications year-round just in case one of the eight students drops out and they need to fill in his or her place. Which was to be my position, if I still wanted to go ahead with this. I said yeah, let's do it.
Fueled on a meager meal of a Hot Pocket and a Powerbar, I braved both the weather and DC roads to get to Catholic on time, which I just barely did. Gary was just as nice as he seemed over the phone, and he gave me a quick tour of the theatre and rehearsal spaces... really, the whole treatment to anybody who would be applying. From the start, I noticed that he wasn't treating me like a lost cause or a pointless endeavor. Then he asked to see my audition, if I was ready.
I gave him the two monologues I had prepared. First I did the big one from GOOD, one of the best monologues I've ever done (but far too long for use at places like Leagues), and boy, was it great to be saying those lines again. I really do miss that role. Then he wanted to hear a Shakespeare, so I hit him with a classic King Lear speech which I memorized back in high school to whip out on any given occasion. He seemed impressed enough by both, in his way, remarking on the Shakespeare by saying that he liked how I "used the language to really illustrate the point."
But with a touch of concern, he asked, "Do you have any monologues that are age-appropriate?" And I realized, huh, y'know, I really don't. I'm deeply inexperienced at playing people my own age. And then I realized, wait, I may not have any monologues from any actual plays memorized... but I *do* have THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES. So as best as I could manage off the top of my head, with no preparation, I performed My Grandfather's Last Words.
He asked me about where that story came from, and I told him about the Hefner Monologues, how they were a sort of hobby of mine, and he remarked, "What an unusual and interesting hobby. There aren't many natural storytellers out there, but you just might be one." I apologized for the rustiness, saying I hadn't done it in awhile, and he said, "That was long, but you kept my attention the whole time. You could really hold the attention of an entire room with the way you tell a story."
Wow. To have a near total stranger, the head of Catholic U's graduate school for acting no less, tell me that was amazing.
After that, he proceeded to talk about the program, but y'know, it's funny, when you whip out the most intense monologue in GOOD, the most intense monologue in KING LEAR, and an entire Hefner Monologue, for some reason it kinda takes a lot outta you. So he's talking and I'm listening, taking notes, but I'm slowly fading, fading, sinking further and further into my chair.
One of the most interesting things he tells me is that I am trying to get into grad school WAY too early. He said that I was the only "young" actor he had there based on the people he actually accepted, and implied that the vast majority of graduate school students for acting are all aged 30 and older. He said that my inexperience counts against me, and unless I'm "the second coming of Tom Hanks," most people don't and shouldn't even *consider* grad school for at least five or seven years after college. At least. Furthermore, he said, grad school programs sometimes cut people out. He said it broke his heart to do so, but he cut a young woman out of the program because, quite simply, she just didn't have enough experience to really prepare her for how intense and huge this program was.
He looked at my resume and inquired as to how whether I played King John or Tartuffe straight, and I said, "God no, I got those roles because of my reputation as a huge ham. One professor called me a 'whore for the audience.'"
He said, "I must say, I didn't see any ham acting up there just now with those two monologues. Although I did see a bit of that in THE DAVID DANCE."
The color suddenly drained from my face and I said, "Oh GOD, you saw that?!?!"
"Yeah," he confessed, with a smile.
"Oh GOD!!!" I buried by head in his hands, utterly mortified. Exasperated, I explained the whole problem with the director giving me jack shit by way of direction, except to make my character wishy-washy and weak, just like David, as opposed to my instincts to make him stronger so he can anchor down David's character. If you have two people who are wishy-washy, that's BAD THEATRE, and I KNEW it!!! God, I could have killed myself right there.
"It was a good thing," Gary said. "Because it got you here. It made you realize that you need training, so it's a good experience that all actors need to go through." But he also warned me to be careful and picky which roles I choose in the future, saying that "not all exposure is good exposure" and just because it may be the director's fault, I'll be the one who'll come off looking bad. So thank GOD I didn't take that year-long job at that children's theatre.
So until the fall semester when we'd know if someone had dropped out or not, his advice to me was in three parts. First, to get training at places like Studio and Shakespeare Theatre. Second, to act and get experience, but he stressed the importance of being selective, not to take just any role I can find, and most importantly, to take roles for which I am age appropriate. Same goes for monologues at auditions, only do a monologue from something I'm age appropriate for, and he strongly suggested I do David Sedaris' "Christmas Elf" monologue... yet another time I'm likened to Sedaris. Unless there's some other "Christmas Mall Elf" monologue out there.
And finally... he said that I really, really need to do the HEFNER MONOLOGUES as a show.
Seriously. He said that would be really smart. Wow. Utterly fucking amazing.
It was a very interesting and productive meeting yesterday. I left feeling accomplished, in a way, but more than anything else I was utterly drained. That only got worse when I got completely lost in DC, just like Doctor Doom did a year ago, so I went to California Tortilla for dinner to relax. The guy there noticed I was looking down and wiped out, so he gave me a free refill of queso, which really did make the day.
So here's my plan. Since they only want to take really talented, experienced actors for their small, super-intensive programs, I'm gonna hold off on grad school for a few years, maybe even when I'm 30. It still might be good, especially since I am still jobless and teaching just might be a great long-term opportunity. For the immediate future, I'm gonna look into classes at Studio and Shakespeare Theatre and in the spring I'm gonna apply for Shakespeare Theatre's fellowship program, a year-long acting internship which would also give me equity.
And maybe, just maybe, it's time I seriously started to put together THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES. I can't do it alone, so I'll appeal to the Rudes for help when the time comes. Which may be very soon.
And in the meantime, I don't have to study for the GREs anymore!!! *HUGE HAPPY DANCE!* I'm still gonna take it, just to see what it's like, but for god's sake, what's the point in doing well? By the time I do apply for grad school, five or so years will have passed, and will they really want or care for a GRE score that's five years old? So no more studying, no more tutors, not for a few years, anyway! Thank GOD, I was so stressing out over all this.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 05:32 pm (UTC)That sounds like a huge positive helpful experience, even if you're not getting in the grad school. Clearly this guy gives a rat's ass and it was reallly great of him to take the time out for you. Congrats on getting some direction.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 06:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 05:59 pm (UTC)Damnit, man, get on that! (and as an aside, Sedaris' work is pretty similar to the Hefner Monologues, but I'd stay away from him while you were working on them so he wouldn't overly influence your own writing.)
*bosoms to the head!*
no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 06:11 pm (UTC)Yes, I must get on that! But I may need your help. I don't know what would make a good, complete show! I'm long-winded, so I have to be selective and choose, but I don't know what to choose! So yes, I will need help!
Yeah, I've actually totally avoided reading Sedaris' work purely for that reason! I know he's supposed to be delightful, I don't want to have my writing actually influenced by him if I can help it. For now, anyway. Still, that Christmas Elf monologue might just be what I'll need to memorize.
Mmm, bosoms. Thankee, sweetie!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 08:12 pm (UTC)Oh, the hell with it. I'm just being petty and jealous because you're getting bosoms to the head and I'm not. *pout*
no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 06:26 pm (UTC)www.theconservatory.org
no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 08:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 08:19 pm (UTC)We ARE the same weekend, btw ....
no subject
Date: 2006-07-14 08:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-15 12:49 am (UTC)sounds like he gave you some awesome advice AND encouragement.
take what he said and really think about it (as if you wouldnt!).
good stuff.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-16 08:29 pm (UTC)BEST. COMPLIMENT. EVER!!!
Seriously, congrats on a great interview. It sounds like you really got a lot out of the experience and that he really took the time to know who you are and where you're coming from. That's fantastic!
no subject
Date: 2006-07-17 06:31 pm (UTC)Now to just figure out what the hell to do with the Hefner Monologues...