February 27, 2023
Stumbling Block
By: N.L. Skjonsby
His phone rang, it was the theater. He took a deep breath “Hello”
“Yes, Mr. Clark?”
With a lump in his throat, he almost couldn’t speak. “This is Daniel, can I help you?”
“We would like you to come back and read for us, is tomorrow at 9:00AM okay?”
“Yes, that would be great! Thank you.”
The line went dead. Daniel just stared at the screen. Was this real? Did he just get his first call back? Was his room-mate playing a cruel joke?
No, he recognized the voice, it was the receptionist he had met earlier at the audition. She had a midwestern accent, and he immediately thought she must be from Fargo or Minnesota somewhere.
The audition was for a small part in a movie and he almost didn’t go. The part didn’t seem right for him but he thought maybe he would learn something or meet someone that could help with the next one.
Daniel Clark was forty-two and had started acting just eight-teen months earlier. His life was turned upside down by an unexpected divorce. After eleven years of marriage and another three years of dating before that, his wife announced she was done. No fighting, no sense that things were bad just, she was done. Except for the fact that he could not talk her out of it, the divorce went smooth.
A heartbreak wasn’t something Daniel had even thought about since he was in his teens. Now he was crushed. He wasn’t a drinker, a cheater, or a violent man, what it came down to was………… He was boring. After several month of depression and self-reflection, Daniel decided he was going to reinvent himself. He wasn’t sure how to do that or who he wanted to be so he decided on acting. He would learn to act and be able to try out different personalities and see what fit.
He moved from Bakersfield to Los Angeles and started taking acting lessons. He enjoyed them and actually had some natural acting abilities, so he started going on auditions. Most of the auditions were the same, too many people looking for their big break. He was no different. After nearly a year of auditioning, he finally got his first call back. Clearly, he was getting better. He wasn’t as nervous and didn’t care as much as he used too. He would just go in and watch what others were doing and see how he could get better.
Daniel entered the office at 8:50AM and took a seat in the front office as instructed by the receptionist. This time instead of forty to fifty people there were only three. They all looked similar and Daniel recognized one of them from a movie or TV show he had seen. He couldn’t remember exactly where he had seen him but was sure it was on the screen. The one Daniel recognized was the first one called in. He came out about five minutes later and left without speaking or even making eye contact. Daniel was called next. He was more nervous than he expected.
There were three people siting at a table and he recognized them all from the day before. They handed him a script and asked him to start on line eight of page two. He cleared his throat and did a quick silent read so he could get perspective. Ready!
He nailed it! In his head anyway. None of them reacted at all. Then the one how appeared to be in charge said. Line 22 on page six-teen. Daniel quickly thumbed through the script and found this part, another silent read and was ready. Again, he nailed it. Things were going great. Until they weren’t. The lady on the right said. “Do you sing?” Daniel knew the audition was over.
— N. L. Skjonsby
Stumbling Block
By: N.L. Skjonsby
His phone rang, it was the theater. He took a deep breath “Hello”
“Yes, Mr. Clark?”
With a lump in his throat, he almost couldn’t speak. “This is Daniel, can I help you?”
“We would like you to come back and read for us, is tomorrow at 9:00AM okay?”
“Yes, that would be great! Thank you.”
The line went dead. Daniel just stared at the screen. Was this real? Did he just get his first call back? Was his room-mate playing a cruel joke?
No, he recognized the voice, it was the receptionist he had met earlier at the audition. She had a midwestern accent, and he immediately thought she must be from Fargo or Minnesota somewhere.
The audition was for a small part in a movie and he almost didn’t go. The part didn’t seem right for him but he thought maybe he would learn something or meet someone that could help with the next one.
Daniel Clark was forty-two and had started acting just eight-teen months earlier. His life was turned upside down by an unexpected divorce. After eleven years of marriage and another three years of dating before that, his wife announced she was done. No fighting, no sense that things were bad just, she was done. Except for the fact that he could not talk her out of it, the divorce went smooth.
A heartbreak wasn’t something Daniel had even thought about since he was in his teens. Now he was crushed. He wasn’t a drinker, a cheater, or a violent man, what it came down to was………… He was boring. After several month of depression and self-reflection, Daniel decided he was going to reinvent himself. He wasn’t sure how to do that or who he wanted to be so he decided on acting. He would learn to act and be able to try out different personalities and see what fit.
He moved from Bakersfield to Los Angeles and started taking acting lessons. He enjoyed them and actually had some natural acting abilities, so he started going on auditions. Most of the auditions were the same, too many people looking for their big break. He was no different. After nearly a year of auditioning, he finally got his first call back. Clearly, he was getting better. He wasn’t as nervous and didn’t care as much as he used too. He would just go in and watch what others were doing and see how he could get better.
Daniel entered the office at 8:50AM and took a seat in the front office as instructed by the receptionist. This time instead of forty to fifty people there were only three. They all looked similar and Daniel recognized one of them from a movie or TV show he had seen. He couldn’t remember exactly where he had seen him but was sure it was on the screen. The one Daniel recognized was the first one called in. He came out about five minutes later and left without speaking or even making eye contact. Daniel was called next. He was more nervous than he expected.
There were three people siting at a table and he recognized them all from the day before. They handed him a script and asked him to start on line eight of page two. He cleared his throat and did a quick silent read so he could get perspective. Ready!
He nailed it! In his head anyway. None of them reacted at all. Then the one how appeared to be in charge said. Line 22 on page six-teen. Daniel quickly thumbed through the script and found this part, another silent read and was ready. Again, he nailed it. Things were going great. Until they weren’t. The lady on the right said. “Do you sing?” Daniel knew the audition was over.
— N. L. Skjonsby
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