OP4P auditions: "I've got stuff."

First round of Prime auditions were last night. I won't reveal too much about who was there or what I thought of them (because a. it's work product, b. it could potentially be mean, and c. it's Jenna's decision who we cast, not mine), but I will say this: it was very different than casting the CPT reading in '07.

When we auditioned for the reading, everyone was either 100% perfect for the show or 100% wrong for the show. There was nobody of whom I felt unsure. Last night, nearly everyone who read had me thinking maybe yes, maybe no, maybe this part, maybe that part. After tonight's auditions, we'll see what Jenna thinks. I'm guessing she'll need callbacks, because the kicker will be putting these potentials together in groups of 6 and figuring out who's the right ensemble.

Tonight (in addition to missing Idol, Top Chef and the Lost premiere), I will be missing Unethical rehearsal to be at Prime auditions, and beginning in Feb., the two schedules will start overlapping a lot. Of course, Unethical has priority right now, I'm only going to miss it for major Prime things like auditions, callbacks, first read-through. I'll start hanging around Prime full time when Unethical closes.

What I'm missing tonight at UnE is what I affectionately like to call a "breath mint rehearsal," or the first time two actors really work on a scene involving kissing or physical intimacy. Having been involved in breath mint rehearsals as both a director and actor, I can say it's probably for the best that my nosy playwright self is not there tonight. The less people, the better. Of course, all they have to do is "smoochy smoochy" a little, as Barry would say. Maybe in my next play, I'll write something more involved, creative and unusual requiring a breath mint rehearsal ...