Hey friends!
It seems that, even given a great excuse, I cannot seem to blog faithfully! I apologize. Here's what happened on Thursday, and thank you for your prayers! I needed them. You'll see why...
I arrived early for my audition (RADA stands for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, for those of you wondering what that acronym stands for), which was perfect. I was taken next door and upstairs with the rest of my group (made up of nine people, myself included) into a room that was easily 100-150 years old, if not older (yes, OF COURSE I took note of that during this big audition!). The administrative coordinator turned to us and asked if we had brought any water, because of the intense physical exertion that this audition would require. Most of us had not, and there was no water fountain. Fortunately, she later brought us a few cups and a pitcher of water, so none of us passed out!
The audition started out normally; all of us warmed up, then stood in front of each other to deliver our monologues. We were all cut off during our second monologue so that we could continue it later on during the audition. At that point, the instructor in charge of physical performance took over. He had us remove our shoes and socks to make sure we didn't step on each other, then, with a sharp clap from him and the command to "RUN," we all took off running around the room (which was rather small, and there were nine of us).
"Let's say you are running at level five, speed up to level SIX *clap!*...SEVEN *clap!*...EIGHT *clap!*" etc.
When he finally allowed us to stop, he had us STOP mid-run (on a clap), then run in an extremely exaggerated form of slow motion, to force us to control ourselves. Then we ran again, until he had us do the slow motion run again. We were all dying at this point, but the point was to show control over our bodies. Fortunately, we had a bit of a break after this as he had us use what we were feeling the most at the moment (pain, panic, fear, exhaustion) and adopt a stance that exhibited this. Then he had us move around the room and go on a slow journey, motivated by that stance we had taken. So really, it was a great exercise! It was just extremely difficult. I love the way that particular school focuses on how one's body can dictate or motivate the way you deliver a line. He later had us go back to running, then stopping mid-run, then choosing a pose to hold until he clapped again, at which point we had one second to choose another, challenging stance. He clapped a lot, so we had to quickly shift positions, a lot. He also had us start running again, only this time he wanted us to jump and roll on the floor as well, without losing speed. He eventually had us all hold whatever position we were in, then singled us out to individually change our pose on his clap, refocus, then deliver a line of our monologue as motivated by our bodies. Again, it was hard, but it's a practice I would love to continue to work on and learn more about.
At one point, they did have us do an exercise that was extremely personal and uncomfortable, but we all agreed afterwards that--though it was the most insane request we had ever had in an audition--it freed us up a bit and brought us closer as a team. At the end of the audition we had a true team-building exercise when we were given a list of things to include in a presentation that we were to create in groups within fifteen minutes. Both of our teams did well, but it required a lot of improv, teamwork, stress, and confidence to complete our task. The task, which the instructor agreed was Mission Impossible, was really to showcase how we dealt with those things, so it was ultimately successful.
Needless to say, we were all thrown for a loop. It was the Hunger Games of auditions, hahaha. There was blood (not mine, but we all ended up with blisters), sweat (TONS), and tears (in context). Not to mention the copious amounts of running, challenging physical poses, sudden changes in our circumstances, a requirement in our final exercise to show our talents, etc. None of us had ever been to an audition like that before (it lasted three hours), but it was great! Extremely difficult, but it was a learning experience that we would all love to continue at that school.
After the audition, we all decided to go to a pub across the street. Most of us had non-alcoholic beverages, since we all had to go back to the school for our interviews later that afternoon. We all got along really well, and one of the girls (who works for a talent agency) wanted to offer me representation, but couldn't because they had JUST hired a young woman with my type. Ah well. It was fun to spend time with all of them before we parted ways for our interviews. I took the train back to the hotel and had twenty minutes to freshen up and order a taxi to take me back to the school. And here is where my anxiety began (I wasn't really nervous about the audition, believe it or not).
My driver had the address of the school typed into his GPS. This particular location of RADA was on Chenies Street, which people of Middle Eastern/Indian background pronounce "Chinese Street." But, since he had the address right in front of him and he began to use a similar route to the cab driver that I had before, I didn't question him.
--Until he took me to China Town and asked me which building I needed.
My interview was scheduled for 4:00. It was 4:00, and my driver was lost. He then asked ME to get out of the taxi and ask for directions! I told him to call his agency and get directions. I tried to help him by telling him that the school was located behind the British Museum, a major landmark.
"I don't know..."
"The British Museum. THE British Museum."
"I don't know..."
"YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE BRITISH MUSEUM IS?!"
"No, I don't--I know where that--I don't know..."
"Please call someone."
"Okay..."
He eventually got me there. I had left for my interview 30 minutes early. It should only have taken 10 minutes, tops, to get there. It had taken 45. I rushed in, apologizing profusely. The woman in charge of the interview came forward, in shock:
"MEECAH, where have you BEEN?!"
I tried to explain about the taxi situation.
"But what about the rest of you? There were seven others that were with you and none of them have shown up!"
"...NONE of them?"
At this point the receptionist came forward and showed me that I was on the schedule for 3:45, not 4:00.
"I was told to be here at 4:00, and then my driver--"
"Who told you to be here at four?"
I gave her the name.
"What about the others, none have showed up?"
"They were scheduled for 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00..."
Realization dawned. The woman who had made the interview schedule had scheduled us in half hour blocks, when the schedule that was provided for my program normally had us in fifteen minute blocks.
At that point, all was resolved.
"Don't apologize, don't apologize, no, don't apologize! It's not your fault! Not your fault at all! It's quite all right!"
They were very kind and understanding, and completely sympathetic to my cabbie woes. The man who interviewed me said that that was outrageous, since cab drivers in London are supposed to know how to get absolutely everywhere. My interview went very smoothly from there, and the others were called to come in early so that their interviews could be conducted after mine.
So! It was quite a day. It was very intense, but great. God really paved my way, and even if I don't get into that school, it was a learning experience that I will take with me. Thanks again for your prayers!
No comments:
Post a Comment