Things are always interesting around here. To me, anyway. I got a call from a casting agency, because one of my friends had recommended me and several other improvisers to audition for a new TV commercial. I personally have no aspirations to become an actor, but I thought this would be a fun and fascinating experience anyway. So, I whipped up a headshot for myself, using the handy-dandy photo studio that I live in. Then I headed off to the casting facility in Toronto this morning for the audition.

It did turn out to be quite interesting. I was paired up with a female actor, who was auditioning for the part of my wife. She was an experienced actor, and had been in lots of commercials before. She thought this might be a good one though, because there were actual lines, and even an opportunity to act a little. Before we went in to audition, the director explained what he wanted to see in terms of character and emotion. Then we were called in in pairs to read through the scripts. There were two different commercials, for which I’d received the scripts in advance. It seemed to go very, very fast, probably because I was feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing. But, it was fun, and everyone was very friendly and supportive.

I doubt very much that I’ll get this part, nor do I really want it. However, I think this was a very valuable experience for me. I want to be able to understand my photography clients as well as possible, so having gone through the process of having my headshots taken, getting them printed, learning the lines, and then auditioning got me a bit closer to that goal. It was also cool to get to see more of this giant industry of which I am just a tiny part.

It turns out that I didn’t need the headshots, since they’re probably most useful for actually getting the audition. But, I felt it was good to be prepared, and added to my experience anyway.