The TRU Combined Audition Event: A Golden Opportunity

"Treat the actors like gold" may not be something you hear everyday, but at the annual TRU Audition Event this weekend, it was more than just an ideal -- it was a mission. And as one of the hundreds who auditioned, I must say: Mission accomplished.

The event was run like most combined audition events throughout the country, except this one had the unique advantage of being a New York native. About 270 aspiring and established actors each earned two-minute audition slots to pull out all the stops for a theater full of nearly 60 industry professionals, producers, casting directors, and agents from the New York City area. But what made this combined audition different from all the others out there? They "treat the actors like gold."

According to Bob Ost, co-founder and president of TRU, the organization's mission statement makes the difference. The event was run by actors, for actors, with nearly 50 volunteers/actors helping throughout the weekend. From the first moment when I signed in, it was clear I was among fellow actors who not only understood me, but were rooting for me. As Gail Reiser, headshot coordinator and an actor/volunteer, said, "I'm an actor. I want to treat the actors the way I would want to be treated."

Theater Resourses Unlimited is an organization of self-producing artists that strives to nurture producers and emerging theater companies. For nearly a decade, TRU has organized the TRU Combined Audition Event, which took place this past weekend, March 27 and 28. This was as much as I knew about TRU before arriving for my audition Sunday evening, so while actor-Annie was nervously awaiting her audition, Blog Stage reporter-Annie was soaking up the atmosphere.

While actors could only arrive 15 minutes before their call time, that gave us a chance to visit the sponsors' tables to sign up for classes, learn about new resources, or even get a free headshot consultation. Sponsors included Back Stage, Actors Access, Actors Connection, Bluface Photography, The Network, The Players Theatre, Samuel French, Weist-Barron Studios, Shakespeare Mailing Service, Roy Arias Studios and Theatres, and Precision Photos. And not only could actors get information, we could win free classes, free subscriptions, and even free tickets to a show! A complimentary raffle entry was granted to each actor, giving them a chance to win anything from a Back Stage subscription to a $100 gift certificate to Bluface Photography.

Every 30 minutes, a new group of nine actors would fill up the lobby, headshots in hand, muttering their monologues to themselves one last time. My audition slot (along with eight other actors) was at 5:30 pm, so when the 5 pm group was ushered into the theater to audition, we were led into the holding room to get the "shpiel" about what to expect in the next hour. After the longest half hour of our lives, we were brought into the theater for the shortest. We sat backstage, directly behind a thin black curtain separating us from our two minutes in the spotlight, listening to the others actors audition and sliding one seat closer to destiny after each "Thank you."

Okay, that's a little dramatic. In fact, for such a daunting task, it was seamlessly organized. There was a person ready to lead us baffled actors from one step to the next, and even a man ready to "catch us" and put us in a chair when we walked off the stage after auditioning. The only thing we had to worry about was impressing those casting directors and agents.

After my own two-minute audition, I walked offstage smiling and satisfied. All the actors I talked to agreed that the audition room had been warm and inviting. With such a kind and organized team, it was a relief to have no distractions and to be able to focus on what we were there to do -- audition. Plus, the auditors only kept the headshots they were interested in, so we got back all of our headshots that would have been trashed! And I can tell you, actors are infinitely thankful anytime their headshots are used (everyone was curiously calculating how many they didn't get back after their audition), but we are just as thankful when they do not get wasted.

I had the unique opportunity of flashing my backstage badge and attending the afterparty, where I got to talk to the people behind the scenes, including Bob Ost and Gary Hughes, co-founders of TRU, and the Event Producer, Jaye Maynard. After two days, 50 volunteers, over 60 auditors, and 269 auditioners, Maynard deserved a glass of wine; she managed over 550 people throughout the weekend, and somehow found time to audition herself.

Gail Reiser, the volunteer headshot coordinator, shared with me some funny-after-the-fact stories about the auditions, and suggested that anyone going to a combined audition -- or any audition for that matter -- follow some general rules to ensure making a good impression: be nice, be early, and be prepared. And for goodness sake, if the monitor calls time, stop. Auditors want your monologue short and sweet, not harmoniously mixed with a chorus of "Time...over-time...over-over-time!"

Sandra Nordgren, Producing Artistic Director of the 13th Street Repertory Company, said to Ost after the event, "You do such an important service for the theater community." After all, how often to actors get to feel worth their weight in gold?

--Annie  Lutz