I encountered a few bumps in the road. Some of
my experiences have been disappointing, but I’m not ready to give up just yet.
I’ll be in touch
A few months ago I had an audition that was
almost two hours away. I burned rubber straight after work trying to get there
on time. I was going to be about five minutes late, so I called the casting
director to let him know. This is when I was informed that the audition had
been canceled. There were some red flags I overlooked – getting the sides
around midnight the night before and the casting director being rude and
arrogant in previous emails. But this casting director, who was also the
writer, cranked out movies regularly, showed at film festivals, and won a few
local awards. I just had to work with him. For my trouble, he promised to send
me a copy of his latest script for me to play a small part. I never heard from
him again. Either the project fell through or he had already found an actress
he liked better.
The check isn’t in the mail
Since there isn’t a lot of acting work in
Greensboro, I usually have to make the drive to Charlotte, Raleigh, or
Wilmington. I spend a lot of money on gas, but it is worth it if I’m
compensated. I booked a paid job – it was low pay but a nice credit for my
resume. After shooting, I was told “You should get paid the end of this week.”
I never saw a dime. After sending several messages, I gave up on getting the
money.
Can you be more black?
I auditioned for a role recently where the woman was supposed
to be angry and combative. I guess I wasn’t giving enough attitude and
fierceness so the casting director suggested that I “act more black and ghetto.”
I tried improvising but was told I came off too articulate. I wished I would
have known I would have to be so ignorant and embarrassing. I was so offended I
didn’t care if I booked the role or not. I didn’t.
