When my agent called about the audition, all I knew was that the spot was called "TBS Promo," and that they were looking for QUIRKY, FUNNY, CUTE. SHOULD HAVE GREAT IMPROV BACKGROUND.
I attend classes at Upright Citizens Brigade, an improv/sketch theatre. Below are pictures from my Level 201 graduate show. I suppose that's a "great" improv background, no?
It's a strange experience going into an audition for a quirky female, because suddenly you're asking yourself why you're not as weird, more outgoing or more talkative as everyone else. ("She's insane, but maybe that's what they're looking for?") I remember being in the hallway when all the girls had a seriously detailed discussion of who should audition in which order - until one girl whipped out her iPhone and showed a picture of the check-in lineup that she snapped when she arrived. Handy. The audition was 1 or all 4 of the following spots:
Spot 1: A girl finally finishes packing her jillionth moving box. She breathes a sigh of relief. Suddenly, she hears a cat's 'meow' and realizes she packed her cat. Somewhere.
Spot 2: A girl sneaks into the back of the freezer, into the duck-taped box of peas, and pulls out Reeses peanut butter cups to enjoy, alone, for herself.
Spot 3: A girl answers the door and notices her blind date is two inches shorter than her. She takes off her heels and changes to flats. Cute.
Spot 4: A girl in a bumblebee outfit answers the door and finds her new date also in a bumblebee outfit. She giggles that they're the same - true love. Adorable.
As I was leaving, having auditioned for all of the spots, I hear, "Hey, you in front of me!" I keep checking my phone, not sure why any stranger would--- "Oh, you must be on your phone, huh?!" I turn and see a quirky, outgoing, obviously talkative girl heading for me. "Did you do all the spots? I did all of them. I really liked them. They're funny because it's actually like what humans really do. I mean I do them. I really hope I get the bee spot..."
Well, well, well...
I guess that's a... buzzkill... for her?
I BOOKED MY FIRST NETWORK COMMERCIAL!!!!!!!
A TBS PROMO!!!! YAY!!!!
And today was filming day! I arrived on set at 8am. I ate some free breakfast, and met Nick Armstrong, who's a fantastic person, hilarious actor, and a regular performer at the iOWest in Hollywood (UCB competition!). I spend an hour and a half in hair and makeup, which consisted of them using 50 pins to keep all my hair up and under that bonnet. Once we got the full bee outfits on, pretty much "You look so cute" became the catch phrase we got all day. Fine by me!
Here's how the filming world breaks down: You don't know anything about what you're going to be doing, where you're going to be doing it, or how you're going to be doing it. I didn't even know I had gotten the bee spot until I went in for the fitting a few days earlier. When on set, we honestly weren't even sure what the spot was even about, exactly. The crew kept asking "What's your story?" and Nick and I would make up something different every time. And then there's "The Client": representatives from TBS. Then there's the director, Rob Meltzer (Who was so fantastic! A great director, fun to be around during shooting, and just a friendly person in general), and Rob has to both make sure we actors know what we're doing but at the same time cater to The Client's needs. If Client no likie, then Client talkie straight to Director, never Actor. It was quite the moment when The Client wanted Nick to smile bigger, and took a moment from his comfy chair to show Rob how to do that, and Rob simply says, "He can't smile any bigger; that's just his face." The Client walked away, saying "Well, whatever, just BIGGER for him." And the entire time, Nick was standing. Right. There.
We high-fived a lot of watching children and took photos with a lot of PAs, the director, etc.
We also came up with a million ways that being a bee would be hilarious in everyday situations. Riding the metro while doing Sudoku. Being a police officer, perhaps undercover. Guest starring on a talk show. Testifying in court. Walking into AppleBees and asking for honey.
Other Wonderful Puns From Today:
"Just wing it."- a PA
"You look beeautiful!" - a hairdresser
"Are you buzzed?" - Nick
"Just bee yourself!" - Director
(We also sang "I'm a be, I'ma I'ma I'ma be"...)
Anyway, I could not have possibly had a better experience. Now that I've had a taste of the honeycomb, I'm hungry for more! Watch for my "LIFE IS GOOD" promo on TBS!!!
Buzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!
Buzzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!!!!
