Chapter 3 - A window closes, but the door opens.

I have heard from many different interviews that others have done in the industry, that no two people will follow the same path when it comes to the arts. I have found this to be true in the world of graphic design and art creation, so it was not that big of a leap of faith to believe I would have a similar sort of ride in approaching this shot at doing voice over for Hallmark's in house studio.

I do seem to remember that it was either a fifteen minute or thirty minute audition. As I sat outside the studio on floor nine, I did all I could to keep my mind off of the fact that I was about to get on a microphone in a few moments and attempt to impress people with whatever I thought I was capable of doing that had some semblance to voice over.

Arriving something like twenty minutes early, I ran across another person who was also going to be doing some recording. We spoke a bit about the audition process for a little bit, which did not help calm my nerves too much, but it was nice to have someone wish me luck there in person.

So there I sat in a very modern looking and uncomfortable sofa chair right outside the studio, for what seemed like two hours to my over reactive brain. There's only so many rounds of Plants vs. Zombies one can play on a phone with a dying battery while attempting to act casual. But when the chips are down, or things are getting tense, I always remember some great words uttered by RDJ...

Right about that time, the lady I had been speaking to prior, came out of the studio. We spoke briefly, she thought it went well, hoped for the best for me, and I walked in. Come hell or high water, I was going to give it my all.

I would not let nerves get to me.

I would unleash my creative maelstrom of proclivity and tenacity in verbal form with razor sharp wit.

I would at the very least be charming, prompt, attentive, and in the zone.

I would be closing that window of fear and regret, and opening the door to a new me.

I would be lying if I told you any of the above happened...

A quick round of introductions happened, who I met, the names, faces, all were a blur. The studio had a warmly lit, carpeted, free form sort of feel filled with people who had a lot of things on their plates and a lot less time to do them all in. It's not hard to read a crowd, you do enough crowd control and it's something you can feel instantaneously.

I stepped into the soundbooth, which was a robustly built, insulated wall, low ceiling affair with a music sheet stand, a window over to the side (that I hope someone someday will place a sign just outside of saying "do not feed the actors"), and this microphone setup. Some people might find that claustrophobic, I loved it.

"We meet again..." I uttered to the indifferent microphones, quickly realizing that one of the mics was probably on.

What happened after that, is much of a blur to me. I do recall going into this, I call it a free form zone, it's something that is close to what I've tried more recently with method acting, where you draw all you can from inside and almost let it come out in-cohesively, and letting your gut reaction to the words you utter weave into something you own. Somehow, I packed my fears and feelings of worthlessness away and shipped them to Mongolia evidently, or I had a hidden reserve of tenacity that I was completely unaware of, because as I finished the last few lines of script in front of me, I turned to look out the little booth window to see some people smiling, a few laughing, and no one frowning.

If I could seal that moment in a photo for my desk at work, hell for carrying around in my pocket, I would.

Was my performance perfect? No. Did I have moments of technical difficulty? Of course. Would I do it again? That. That was the question. Not because I didn't want to do it again, but I kept reminding myself that this had just been a blind audition of sorts. That's why I snapped that photo of the microphones. I really didn't know where this was going to go, if I'd be back, and honestly, I was a bit reluctant to let go of my tiny victory at that moment.

It would be a few weeks before I heard one way or another about the reactions and results of what the powers that be, thought of my performance. But for that time, I felt pretty good about myself.

- Mario

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