Those of you who are also followers of my Facebook page will already know that tomorrow is- not to put too fine a point on it- one of the most important days of my life. At the grand old age of 48 I'm auditioning for drama school. After 30 odd years of treading the boards I guess I am probably just about as prepared as I can possibly be, and all that remains is for me to get a good night's sleep, stay cool, calm and collected, taking everything in my stride and simply enjoy the experience. There's no point caring about the outcome as I won't know for another 4 months if I'm successful. I simply plan to be myself and to answer their questions as honestly and as calmly as I can. At least I'm likely to know one, perhaps even two of the people sitting on the audition panel- Maggie Kinloch whom I've auditioned for once before (I seem to remember she offered me the job even though I ended up being too busy to do it) when she was Artistic Director at the Byre in St Andrews; or Hugh Hodgart who enjoyed my production of A Hard Heart two or three years ago and with whom I spoke at Howard Barker's lecture last year; and perhaps one of my good pals Bill Wright or Jill Ridderford.
Taking my new acting coach friend Mark Westbrook's advice I intend to do my audition pieces with Michael Chekhov's feeling of ease. Last night I performed my speeches for some of the cast of The House of Bernarda Alba who mostly know me only as a director of course, but they were falling about when I did my Teddy, and were in raptures afterwards over my Prospero speech. :-) That really boosted my self-confidence. I've been receiving many good luck messages this past week from friends, family and colleagues. Many have said I shouldn't be a student at the Academy but teaching there, but it's a moot point.
I know I have the chops.
I know I have the talent.
I know I have the experience.
I even bought a lovely new pink shirt...
What more could the bastards possibly require of me?
We'll just have to wait and see...
5 comments:
Same as a show mate. You've done the prep, so now chuck it out the window and let it be organic (and let that be the rule for the interview bit as well). It'll all still be there when you need it.
Good luck!
Oh, and, ego aside, always. Your ago has no part to play in this process, just you talent, your amazing humanist curiousity, and your honesty. Go for it.
Thanks for the advice, mate. I did my best to keep my ego out of the way and it seemed to work. Now I'll just have to wait and see. Keep checking in, Rick. I should know before the end of July. All the best, Mark
Hey Rick, I received a letter 3 days ago- a formal, unconditional offer from the Academy.
Thanks again for your advice. It seems to have worked!
Hope things are good with you. Mark x
Outstanding - never doubted you, and glad RSAMD agree!
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