Chapter eighteen

September 3, 2010

Today marks the day of my very first Disney audition. The audition was for Face Characters/Look-Alikes – think Alice, Wendy, Snow White, Prince Eric, etc – for the Disney Tokyo Resort.

I know what you’re thinking; it’s Disney. Working for them is essentially selling out artistically. But here’s the deal: the contract would is 13 months long. Disney would fly you out to Tokyo, put up in a private furnished studio apartment, pay you a handsome weekly salary, and pay you per diem. What starving artist wouldn’t want that?

Upon walking into the tiny studio, which had to have been filled with at least 100 hopefuls, my first impression was “oh crap…I’m not dressed appropriately.” Underneath my navy blue jumper I wore a blue leotard, tan jazz tights, and black Lululemon shorts. Change the color of the leotard and that’s exactly what I wore to the Royal Caribbean Cruise audition. All of the women in the room – save for your random t-shirt and jean wearing auditionee – wore a form-fitting, hourglass-showing dress with their perfectly hair curled.

I recently learned (through trial and error) the dress code for commercial dance/musical theater/cruise ship auditions. No one told me there was a different dress code for commercial Character portrayal auditions. Live and learn I guess.

Deciding it was better to leave my jumper on than be in a leotard, I made my way to the front. We learned a “dance” which consisted of waving as your character, walking around yourself, clutching your hands to your heart, and curtsying. Easy. Apparently I was too cheesy and/or too toothy for Alice or Wendy – character roles based on height – because I was cut…when they kept people who forgot the choreography. C’est la vie n’est pas?

The audition was fun and something I’d do again if I were in NYC, LA, or FL already but I probably wouldn’t fly out just to audition.

**Side note: I’ve noticed that men in NYC are less creepy than men in Chicago when they hit on you. Just a random observation for you.