Chapter 9 Casting Audition
The principal introduced the composition of the Performing Arts High School, which is divided into three departments: performance, music, and dance. This is a public high school with enrollment throughout New York State. As long as you pass the entrance interview in one of the three directions, you can enter high school.
This gives children from lower-class families with artistic talent a chance to stand out. Without this performing arts college, children from poor families would have no choice but to compete for art scholarships from private schools like Meg Tilly.
Then their ascending channel will be much narrower.
Director Alan Parker mainly introduced the plot of the movie "Hot Lunch", "This is a film that reflects the students of a public arts high school. Eight students with different personalities, backgrounds, and majors have their experiences growing up in the performing arts college."
"We hope to conduct a large-scale audition at the Academy of Performing Arts. The eight protagonists, 16 minor characters, and 600 extras in the film will all be selected at your school."
"Our Performing Arts High School is the largest and most comprehensive public art high school in New York. It is exactly where a movie like this should come. I am still a fan of your last movie 'Midnight Train,'" the principal said.
"We also hope to film in your school. In addition, there are scenes between teachers and principals in the movie. We also hope that teachers from your school and you can appear in the movie."
The principal smiled even wider.
Several parties have reached an agreement. On weekends, large auditions for performing arts colleges are held.
Auditions will be held in the school auditorium. Two casting companies, each with three casting directors, selected eight candidates for the leading roles. Students they think are suitable will be recommended to the director's classroom for a second round of interviews.
Ronald's job is to take audition photos of each selected student in the second-round interview classroom, then develop and print two copies, and file them with two casting companies.
After inspecting the venue, Ronald had an idea and was about to leave when producer Da Silva approached him again.
"Are you familiar with the script?"
Ronald nodded.
“What is the background of student Doris?”
"Jewish, good at singing, average looking, younger version of Barbra Streisand."
"Very good, keep it up." Da Silva pointed to his ear, indicating that there would be any situation to report immediately.
"If possible, can I ask why you are doing this?" Ronald asked, seeing that Silva was in a good mood. It's very uncomfortable to be caught between the producer and the director like this.
David da Silva stopped and looked at Ronald:
"You know, Allen is a very good director, but he's English. He doesn't understand our American mentality, which is that we are born to win. In our movies, the hero always wins over the villain in the end. , hug the beauty back home."
Not either? Our Jimmy Generals admitted on television that America no longer had the moral superiority needed to lead the allies.
But maybe most people still think so. Ronald knew that many people hated the idea of a great commander.
"Remember if there is any change, please notify me as soon as possible." Producer Da Silva left first.
Ronald returned to the conference room and waited to send the director back to the casting studio.
Alan Parker was still chattering away, discussing his script with the acting teachers.
"My philosophy is to truly reflect social reality issues. For example, racial issues and class issues, so I set up the character Leroy. He comes from Harlem, has a gang background, is illiterate, but has extremely good dancing skills. talent."
"The issue of minor pregnancy on high school campuses is a hot topic worthy of discussion. A white female student is pregnant with a black child. What should she do..."
"The bullying problem on campus, the gang problem,..."
The teacher in the performance department is also a black man. He wears black-rimmed glasses and nods frequently. He was very satisfied with the plot that director Alan Parker set about black people and poor people, and he felt the same way.
"But won't this cause everyone to misunderstand the Academy of Performing Arts? Most of our students are still mainstream good students. If they are all set up in this kind of role, our school will look like a very dark place."
another white female teacher muttered.
Ronald felt that something would happen if we continued talking. He stepped forward and interrupted the chat, dragging Director Parker to the casting studio, where the actors selected yesterday were auditioning.
When they arrived at the casting studio, there were already dozens of boys and girls waiting at the front desk with their agents. Ronald saw the cat-like Michelle also waiting in the queue.
"Okay, we can start" producer Da Silva ordered to start the audition.
One by one, the actors were called into the audition room. Ronald was responsible for taking a Polaroid snapshot of them, recording and archiving the director's comments.
The director then gives each actor a two-page script to perform live.
That’s the benefit of operating through a casting agency. Casting studios are very familiar with actors and can quickly filter out suitable candidates. If there is no casting director and you can only audition, a lot of time will be wasted.
The script given by the director first showed Hillary doing a series of ballet movements in the practice room, and then there was a dialogue scene.
Ronald takes the call. The actress will first change into ballet practice clothes and do a few simple rotations and positioning movements.
Then the casting director, Howard Fehr, would make a cameo and have a few lines of dialogue with Hillary.
Ronald didn't quite understand why it was set up like this.
He wrote down the director's comments and took the opportunity to ask Margery from the casting studio.
Margery told him that this audition invitation specified that for the role of Hillary, she must be able to dance ballet, and she must be at least quasi-professional.
However, many actors often lie about having the required skills in order to get audition opportunities, and then practice unexpectedly after being selected. This link is set up today to filter out those who lie about being able to perform ballet.
Sure enough, with a few simple movements, an actress who couldn't do ballet was screened out. She couldn't even do a simple stand on one leg and fell to the ground. Margaery was so angry that she wrote "Lie" on her resume.
Ronald helped her out and called the next number.
"Michelle...Michelle Puff..., that's not right; Buff..., that's not right either."
After all, Ronald came from a different time and was not very good at pronouncing this German-style spelling of two consonants together.
"It's Michelle Pfeiffer, the P is silent." The cat-like girl was amused by him and laughed.
"Sorry," Ronald also smiled, "Michelle, this is you, please go to the locker room and change into your training clothes, and then come in."
Michelle changed into a lavender practice uniform, white ballet stockings, and pale pink dance shoes. The long blond hair that was originally hanging on both sides of her face was tied up and pulled into a loose bun behind her head. This accentuated her cat-like face shape.
Ronald took a Polaroid snapshot of her and posted it on the audition form. It said Michelle Pfeiffer, blue eyes, 5 feet 7 (1.70 meters), 21 years old this year.
Her face looked very childish, and her voice was still high-pitched. If he didn't look at her resume, Ronald would have thought that she was under 18 and that there would be no problem playing a high school student.
"Get ready, start, rotate your legs, one turn, two turns, Arabesque." Margaery pressed the play button on the recorder and started shouting commands at the same time.
"Okay, that's it."
