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Fluffy Clouds
Heidi-Liz Johnson

The Morality Play: "Competition" Between Actors


The acting world, by its nature, is competitive. There are only so many shows, so many roles to fill, and countless actors hoping for one of the few casting offers. On the outside looking in, it is considered a dog-eat-dog industry, and that's certainly how it feels, being engrossed in the NYC community, right?


Actually, no.


In my experience thus far, across all kinds of holding rooms -- from non-equity Off-Broadway to currently-running equity Broadway calls -- I have never seen or felt any ill-will between actors. In fact, I've experienced exactly the opposite: these holding rooms are some of the most peer supportive audition experiences I've ever had. It really does feel like everyone is rooting for each other, celebrating each other's successes, and lightheartedly commiserating over the day-to-day follies.

I have gathered dozens of stories of actors bolstering other actors -- their "competition" -- over the last couple months, and witnessing (and sometimes participating in!) every instance has been a joy I did not know I would find here.


Of course, there are the little things that add up to a lot. Like someone offering their personal stapler they brought from home in case anyone doesn't have their headshot and resumé prepared. Or someone else ready with directions to the nearest Office Max or Walgreens if a fellow actor forgot to print their materials before arriving. Or someone else letting everyone know how another audition across town is going so we all can gauge what other auditions we can try to make. Or someone else giving genuine advice when an auditioner is unsure of what they should sing or what cutting best suits the day's request. Or someone else never failing to say "break a leg" or "congratulations" to every group that gets put on line.


On countless occasions, I've seen veteran auditioners taking the time to answer every single question a first-timer has about the process or what to expect. It happens all the time because there is almost always a handful of new faces every week. I was on line to get into the room just the other day, and a young guy in line behind me told the girl next to him that it was his first time auditioning in New York. The entire line-up cheered for him, asking him all kinds of questions about how he was feeling, how long he'd been preparing for this, how long he'd had this dream. And that's always how it goes: the veterans know that feeling of being "fresh off the boat" all too well, and I have yet to see a single exchange that hasn't been filled with compassion, understanding, and patience.


A friend of mine once transposed the whole non-equity list of over one hundred names at a Broadway equity call when protocol suggested we were to scrap the morning list and force the non-equity group to resign-up for the afternoon's audition following the lunch break. With permission from the monitor, she addressed the room and asked if anyone would be opposed to copying the list over exactly as it was so that no one would lose their place. Everyone was in agreement, and she spent her lunch break copying everyone's names over to ensure we didn't have to worry. The room was a very unified one following the break.


But probably my favorite story (and the inspiration for this post) is one that I got to be a part of. I attended an audition once that spanned three full days -- and yes, I sat in the holding room all day, all three days. It was exceedingly well-attended, by both equity and non-equity folks, so while a good number of non-equity people were seen each day, an even bigger number were sent home at the end of the night empty-handed. Partway through the second day, when no non-equity had been seen yet and we were all getting anxious and a little frustrated, a girl across the aisle from me spilled an entire cup of hot coffee on herself and her laptop when she picked it up by the lid and it popped open.


As if choreographed, a handful of attendees and I jumped out of our seats to help. Multiple people ran to the cafe to gather napkins, someone stayed to ensure the laptop was saved and immediately wiped up, another person took all of her things away from the splash zone to ensure the coffee wouldn't seep into anything while mopping up, someone alerted the monitor so they we could get help cleaning up, a group of people checked in with her frequently to make sure she was okay, and another girl and I spent a good bit of the afternoon helping the poor thing put herself back together. We had her change out of her coffee-covered sweater and skirt (both cream-colored, to make matters worse!) so we could hand wash them in the sink and blow dry underneath the hand dryers. I honestly don't know how we got them so clean (I swear, you could hardly tell anything had happened), but we were able to clean her up enough that she was confident to stay the afternoon and hope to be seen.


I think it's important to add to this story the fact that after all three days, while I can't speak to who else of the group that ran to her aid, only one of the three of us cleaning up in the bathroom got seen to audition. But while it wasn't a "happy ending" for me by industry standards, I will never forget that audition because of the friends I made and the beautiful display of empathy shown.

There are soooooo many more stories like this, and they happen every day. These experiences have taught me that actors in the NYC holding rooms really aren't competing with each other to land roles; if anything, they're competing with each other to see who can show the most kindness. Not to sound too cheesy, but if that's the goal, then not being seen on any given day doesn't equate to a loss. And I am really quite proud to be a part of a community like that in the heart of this "dog-eat-dog" business.


So the next time you're in the holding room and want to make your experience even sweeter? Find a way to help someone around you. What goes around comes around, and this world could use every smidgen of kindness it can get.


Thanks for reading, #DreamTeamHLJ, and make love, not war. 💖

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