BSL 18

Behind The Spotlight Chapter 18

Lawrence entered the room and found four people accessing him. Lawrence was nervous... He couldn't help it. His t-shirt was sweaty, and even his underarms were sweating.

He looked at the four and realized that one of them was shaking his head in disappointment. Lawrence gulped and introduced himself.

"I'm Lawrence Terrence... I'm here for the male lead role."

Lawrence saw in the poster that the project was looking for an actor to do a lead role... Unfortunately, he had no idea what role it was. He didn't have a copy of the script.

He just showed up in the audition room without any knowledge regarding the role.

"Give us your resume."

"H- Here."

He gave them four copies. Most of the time, there was already a person outside the audition room who would take their resumes to present them to the Director, Casting Directors, Producer, and any people who were responsible for choosing the cast.

But it seemed that this project only had a few people at the moment and they didn't have anyone to do that.

A slightly chubby guy gave him a copy of the script.

"Turn to page 3, scene 15. We will give you ten minutes to prepare."

"Thank you so much."

Lawrence appreciated that they gave him a chance. He started reading the script and did his best to remember the lines.

While he was doing that, the four started reading his resumes. The guy who shook his head earlier clicked his tongue as he read Lawrence's credentials. Except for his theater acting experience in High School, his resume was practically blank. He didn't even have experience in acting as an extra or background character.

The guy was basically a newbie in the industry. Casting this kind of actor was not a good move.

The person who clicked his tongue was Gerald, the casting director.

Ten minutes passed and the performance started.

"I will be your partner for this audition." The chubby guy, Wyatt Bray, said.

"Thanks."

Lawrence forgot the nervousness as he started acting. He sat on the chair and acted like he was at a wedding.

"Man, if a genie gave me a wish, I would wish that every water becomes milk and everyone on this planet becomes lactose-intolerant."

"... You just sat down, what the fuck are you talking about?" Wyatt read Sam's line.

"Nothing. On the second note, why does pizza come in a square box and is made round but eaten in a triangular shape?" Jess(Lawrence) said.

"Dude, what are you on?"

"Paracetamol."

"Okay, cut!"

When the chubby guy announced that, Lawrence realized that the chubby guy was the director of this project. Only directors loved using that line.

Lawrence stood up and faced the four... He didn't know what they were thinking. He knew his weakness. He didn't have experience, he didn't have connections, and he also didn't know the role was applying for.

"I have a question."

The guy on the right side of the director raised his hand.

"You didn't put an agency in your resume, does it mean you're a freelancer?"

"Yes, that's right."

When he heard that question, Lawrence knew that this audition was over. Freelancers had weak power in Hollywood because they didn't have backers to protect them.

The casting director shook his head again.

Wyatt glanced at Collin, curious why he asked Lawrence about freelance status.

After that, the four started asking Lawrence some light questions and the actor answered the best he could. The last question was about salary.

"We are going to be honest. This is a small-budget movie. If we signed you for the lead role, are you okay with minimum wage?"

Wyatt was the one who asked that question.

"Sir, what I'm looking for is an opportunity to become famous. If this movie will give me that opportunity, I don't have a problem."

Exposure... A very used term for artists but it was also well defined.

Lawrence was sure that most of the actors who participated in the audition were looking for exposure.

Small-budget movies rarely achieve success at the box office. Still, the exposure it could bring to small actors was helpful in the long run.

Wyatt nodded.

"We will call you once you get the role."

"... Yes, sir."

Lawrence bitterly smiled. He realized that he failed the audition. They didn't have any intention of casting him as the sentence he heard was the most overused way to reject actors.