A View from the Other Side of the Table

We held auditions last night for SCOUT'S HONOR! and, wow.

Since I am primarily an actor, I've almost always only seen auditions from the actor's point of view: signing in, waiting in the hall with the "competition", going over lines and character choices to myself and fending off those nagging butterflies that set up camp in my belly. Luckily, I've had a lot of practice on the waiting part over the last few years doing voiceover auditions regularly, but the tension is rarely not present.

Last night, I sat (as actor and producer) in the audition room with Ed (playwright/producer) and Melanie (director) and served as the scene partner for each of the fifteen actors who auditioned.

In short, eye-opening.

Melanie, Ed and I each invited actors we know and love to audition. We have each worked with a number of different actors over the years and were excited to have each other see "our people".

I was absolutely floored by everyone who walked in the room. Friends, strangers... some whose work I had seen but had never met, others I knew personally but hadn't seen on stage. Everyone was unique and incredibly talented, and many presented takes on the roles that none of us had ever thought of before!

And that was the problem: fifteen actors reading for five parts. There are a number of different ways this thing can go.

It was one of the most fun yet most difficult evenings I've had. The official decisions have still not been made, but should be decided sooner than later.

I will post the cast list here as soon as I know.