October 13, 1998
Fantasy Island. It sounds goofy, it sounds silly, it sounds corny. But it also sounds like a week or two in Hawaii. Yes, Fantasy Island shoots in Hawaii and so booking a guest star role on the show means a first-class flight to the islands, nice accommodations, and a paycheck to boot. Now all I have to do is convince them to hire me.
It's hard to describe the sensation, and it's impossible to tell where it comes from. Am I really reading something accurately from the face of a casting director? Or am I projecting my own analysis of the audition onto her as it's happening? Either way, as I was reading the scene for the casting director today, I felt like I could see the disappointment creep onto her face. We even did the first scene twice and it was during the second scene, which was not re-shot, that I just sensed her optimism disappearing. (She was also mouthing some of the words with me, which I find very disconcerting. )
I walked out of the office feeling pretty bad about it. It's frustrating and challenging to pull off a good dramatic audition. You never know what you're gonna get from the casting director, plus it's hard to create the appropriate atmosphere in the room without a fair amount of talent. Sometimes I have enough talent to pull it off, but I really haven't nailed a dramatic audition in a while. That gives me an uneasy feeling.
But as I reached the end of the hall and was waiting for the elevator, I noticed the office across from the elevator doors was for the Hubbard International School of Trade and Business. And as I peeked in the window, I saw a number of pamphlets set up on a card table for the "Super Marketing Success Seminar" they are trying to get their people to take, and realized that even when my job doesn't go so well, when you consider the other options, it's still a pretty cool place to be.