I recently submitted to perform a scene from How I Learned to Drive. As you may know/remember/not care, I did a production of Paula Vogel's challenging play a couple months back. The scene was for a USC directing class and I submitted for it because I have great respect for the material and already know the character of Uncle Peck. There was also the added enticement to be able to get some footage that I would be able to use for my reel. I have a recording of the full play but it's not something that I can really use on a professional demo reel.

So, I submitted for it and got called in. Since the material requires a great level of trust between the two actors in the scene, I asked the director if he would like me to ask the actress (Andrea) whom I played opposite if she'd be interested in auditioning as well. The director liked the idea, especially since he had only one night to rehearse before presenting (rehearsing) the scene in front of his class. I contacted Andrea and asked if she was interested. She was.

So last night, we drove down and met with the director and auditioned. We read it through once and it was nice to revisit the material. It was obvious though that we were far more familiar with the play than the director. That's no slight on him. There were things that I was still discovering after having worked with the piece for 6 weeks. He had just picked up the script a week earlier.

After our first read-through, we all talked and he struggled to find some ideas for new direction. We tried reading it a different way but it was obvious that it didn't fit the material. Peck isn't a suave and cool guy any more than Lil' Bit is an innocent or willing victim. We talked some more, explaining motivations and why certain pieces of the script were so important and that was basically it.

I came home and later got an email from the director that said that he decided to go with a couple that auditioned the night before. He was totally impressed with us but honestly felt intimidated that we knew the material so much better than he did. Though disappointed, I could understand that.

Interestingly, in the email, he pledged to look beyond the creepy, easy answers and to be respectful of the material. I thought that was rather nice of him to say and obviously not necessary. Apparently we helped him understand the piece better and to have a greater respect for the material and characters. Though Andrea and I won't have the opportunity to perform the scene again or get it down on film, that's a nice consolation.