For example, my son had an audition for A Christmas Story, the Musical. He was told to have his song book and prepare a story or joke. I e-mailed his agent and asked if there would be any dance. He replied, “No, only singing and the joke/story.” Now I should know from experience that the lines of communication between casting directors (or clients) and agents are notoriously riddled with static. Someone is always getting the details wrong. So when I was packing Jamie’s bag and hesitated as I looked at his tap shoes in his closet, I should have grabbed them. But I figured I asked and was explicitly told no dance so why add more weight to his bag, which would be loaded up with homework and snacks for the train, plus his songbook and probably Ipad. So off we went sans tap shoes.

When we arrived at the audition, there sat a line of 10 boys, all wearing tap shoes. Panic set in. I explained to the person handling the list that we were told no dance. She was understanding and said Jamie could just tap in sneakers. Great. I called his agent and got the usual, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to them.” Jamie ended up singing, telling his story of how he fell in love with ballet while watching Swan Lake in Retiro Park in Madrid at the age of 3, and then he tapped and did a la seconde turns in sneakers (oh my, that could not have been pretty). He did not explain to the bigwigs at the table that his agent told him there would be no dance. Actors aren’t supposed to make excuses but just say sorry (if they are late, don’t have their lines memorized, are missing their tap shoes…). I’m sure he was teetering on the line between showing good effort despite the circumstances and appearing unprofessional. Good thing he’s 10. He got called back despite the sneaker shuffle ball changes.

The moral of the story: It’s always better to be over-prepared! If your agent says there will be a makeup artist on set, take your makeup kit anyway. If you aren’t told you will be posing in swimwear, don’t assume tan lines are ok and you don’t need to shave (read how I lost $2000 due to tan lines). If you’re told lines don’t need to be memorized, learn them if you have the time. If you are told to bring a few outfits for a background role, bring half your wardrobe.

Stay tuned for a fantastic, informative series of blog posts from Bicoastal Models and learn how to have a lucrative fit modeling career or break into commercial modeling, no size-2 six-foot body required!

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We knew who to call for advice…

Singer Michael Civisca

Jamie’s crooning uncle, Michael Civisca, came to the rescue with this remedy:

“Here is a gargle recipe that an ENT gave me when I was treated in NYC several years ago. It works to help with some the inflammation of the vocal cords.

4 -8 oz Warm to hot water (warm enough to melt the honey yet not too hot to burn).

1 Tbls Local honey.  Local raw honey contains pollen that is specific to your area and therefore can really help those local seasonal allergies.  Taking a spoonful of raw honey once or twice a day is a great help.

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

Stir the honey into water first to melt it.  Add the other items.  Then, over a sink perform a soft, silent gargle.  Not the noisy one you hear during mouthwash rituals.  The silent gargle helps to keep the cords loose.  The salt and baking soda help to draw moisture and the honey coats.  If cords are really sore, I also take a Tbls spoon of the honey three times a day… because I like honey.  Also it soothes.  I call that the Winnie The Pooh factor.

Sweet Tip: The Winnie the Pooh Factor

Vocalize each day for twenty minutes to keep things in order. With inflammation, you may get discouraged because you can’t execute as well as you are used to. I keep the warm ups to a compressed range and only go for range at the end.”

So Jamie dodged the bullet and got his voice in decent condition to sing at his “A Christmas Story” audition, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet. Stay tuned for my next post on why to always expect the unexpected at auditions!

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