But, as my title says, God is funny. Why, you may ask? Well, just as one is deeply thinking of this profession; of screwed up auditions, of auditions in general, of wanting to book; of not booking; of attempting to make a living with this thang… God blesses that certain someone with: two auditions and a callback. All on Monday.

What?!? God, you’re funny.

But thanks!

Perhaps tomorrow will be different.

I was recently talking with my friend and mentioned that I have yet to audition for a certain two big casting directors (not English, I know) here in the Vancouver area. Well, that changed today. I was booked to audition for a film tomorrow. YAY!

I really want to book.

Pray for me.

Please God!

Perspective = I am blessed.

Thanks Johanna.

Let’s pray for my first TV booking!

Anyway, I am happy with the audition. It was fun. I knew the reader. She happened to be an old scene partner. And the casting director was really nice. So I did the scene and then I was supposed to sing. He asked me what I was going to sing. I said The Sound of Music. He said he loved that movie! Yay! So I sang, How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria. Off camera, he asked me to sing, Adelweiss. He said, “if you don’t cry during that song, you’re not human.” Everybody knows I rarely cry, so I said I was not human. But I sang it and he liked that too.

All in all, I am satisfied with this audition. It was fun.

Let’s see what comes from it.

Prayers work, so please do so.

Please and thank you.

I’m counting last week’s call back that led to my first gig. Yay!

And I have another one tomorrow.

For an Olympic commercial.

Pray for me again please.

Thank you.

How awesome is that?

And crazily enough, I JUST BOOKED A COMMERCIAL!!!

YAAAAY!

So weird that it happened so soon after I wrote this post.

But not so weird because God answers prayers!

Funny thing is, I had auditioned for the gig before I wrote that post. I then got a callback this last Tuesday. About an hour later, my agent texted me to say that the client liked me and to keep the dates open in case they book me. Yesterday they called to get my measurements, but told me that I was not formally booked yet.

TODAY, my agent called and said they booked me. Jesus, thanks Sir (said in the Igbo accent of my grandmother).

What is the commercial you ask?

It’s a soda commercial, so we know it’s a US production (hehe… as an American educated Canadian, I stubbornly still made sure I said “pop” whenever referring to the beverage).

It’s going to be shown worldwide I believe. And I play a sports fan.

Description of the callback.

It was pretty funny. It was about 40 minutes behind schedule. I saw a couple of friends of mine there. This one guy, had on a Boston Celtics shirt. He went in before me. When he came out, he gave me a quick run down: “They will ask you who your team is (you can pick any team) and they make you cheer individually for the camera.” Although I am an athletic individual, I am not an athletic-watching individual. I thought to myself, I don’t have a team… oh and I said it out loud too. I decided to go with the the Boston Celtics.

Three of us went in. We slated (said our name) and I went first. I screamed for the Celtics like my life depended on it. Then the guy at the table stopped me.

Guy: So, the Celtics are your team?

Me: Umm…. nope.

<<laughter from others in the back watching the monitor>>

Guy: Wow, you did a good job selling it then.

Me: The only person I know who played for the Boston Celtic was Larry Bird.

<<more laughter>>

Guy: Ok, so do you have a team then?

Me: Uhh…. no.

<<laughter again>>

Me: But sommmetimes, I watch university volleyball.

Guy: Ok, what’s your team?

Me: The Spartans [the team I played for in uni].

Guy: The Spartans?

Me: Yep.

Guy: Ok, cheer for the Spartans.

I did. And then the other two went and then we all left. And the rest is history.

My New Anthem

Ok, so people may know that I went to the Toby Mac Winter Wonder Slam concert last Friday. Believe me, this reference relates to this booked gig news.

Toby brought three other acts with him: Relient K, Stephanie Smith and B. Reith. My new anthem is a song by Mr. Reith. I had never heard of him before Friday. I wrote a status update about the concert on my facebook and my friend commented saying that B. Reith was going to be there. I quickly googled him so I could see what to expect.

Anyway, he KILLED IT at the concert.

My sister and I went home and Youtubed his music. And then I bought his Now is Not Forever album on iTunes (*gasp* cheap me bought something on iTunes)!!!!

It’s just that good.

So, fast forward to Tuesday, driving to the audition, I discovered a song called Old School. I soon put it on repeat.

Here are some of the lyrics (verse 2):

They said keep on doin’ what you do B
And maybe one day you’ll end up in the movies
Maybe I can play Shaggy in Scooby Doo 3 and co-star with Angelina Julie
Oops I meant Jolie okee-dokee
I didn’t come just to mess around and make jokes see
I got a mission an agenda and an antidote peep
A contradiction to the message of Oprah Winfrey
Oops, did I just say that out loud? Well there you go now it’s out
I won’t be in her magazine or on her t.v. show now
But I refused to be duped into believin’
The truth is whatever you choose to believe in
Oh boy here come the protesters
Get out your helmets and your bullet proof vests ’cause
They’re comin’ for you if you rock the boat
But I’m gonna go against the flow of the status quo ’cause I’m

Chorus:

So tired of trying to please everyone, a million different opinions
I’m just going to be myself whether they like it or not, I’m giving it all that I got

The song talks about being yourself. Keeping morals whether others like it or not. Sometimes that is hard, especially in the industry that he and I have chosen. It’s difficult, but doable. I have found that sometimes when auditioning or even in class, I try to perform or audition in the the way others might want to see it, instead of letting myself shine through. Listening to this song on repeat loosened me up and I felt a calm. I took myself into that audition, complete with answering the auditioner guy’s questions my way and not in the way I thought he would like to hear.

The client liked me. The real me.

It’s not to say that the song got me the audition, but needless to say, it is my new anthem.

Click here for the rest of the lyrics.

And here is the song.

You’re welcome.

And, you know, I am not actually at the point where I am depressed because I haven’t booked anything yet.

Actually, when I audition, and I do my best, I can let it go.

When I was younger, however, I would have killed myself, picking through every second or instance of the audition, wondering what I did wrong. I was always anxious about not being the best. And why things weren’t happening faster.

But I relinquished that. Well most of it. And I am left with just hoping to book. Even one small thing. Or even getting a callback.

I got a callback once for a Rosetta Stone commercial. It was actually my first audition with my agent.

Then they revoked the callback.

Sigh.

But I’m holding my head up high. Taking classes. Doing my best. And PRAYING that I will book something. Soon.

Pray for me too please.

Oh the life of an actor.