Acting Out [Student/Teacher, GxG]

We Could Just Pretend

One of the two women behind the table eyed me up, smiling in approval. "You here for Amma? What's your name, sweetie? Who's your agent?" She had a subtle accent that didn't quite sound Southern, but definitely similar. 

"Ah, no." I stammered, "I'm Rowan, um, Harris. I don't have an agent." I frantically swept my hair out of my eyes, my palms already clammy. "Claire said she talked to Grace about letting me read for Betty?"

"Harris as in Harris Company, Harris?" She prodded, her interest clearly piqued.

"Only by blood, ma'am." I smiled sheepishly.

The woman turned to her partner, giving her a shrug. "Well that's the spirit now, ain't it?" She redirected her attention to me. "Grace would be me. So, Rowan Harris-by-blood, let's see what you've got. Do you know how to slate?"

I shook my head.

"Just look into the camera, give us your name, age, and agent, the part you're reading for, and you can get right into it. In your case, 'currently unrepresented' is fine."

"Right now?" I clarified, way more nervous than I had any business being. This was a secondary role; not a day-player, but far from main cast.

She laughed, "Any time." She turned to look back at the camera operator, "All good, John?"

The man gave her the okay and she nodded, giving me my cue. I took a deep breath.

"My name is Rowan Harris, I'm eighteen years old, and I'm currently unrepresented. I'll be reading for the part of Betty."

She gave me a thumbs up, and I continued, trying my best not to look down at the sides in my shaking hands. I stumbled through the lines at first, gaining my footing about half way through. When the scene was finally through, I wished they'd let me do it again because all I could think about were the things I could've done differently. I didn't envy actors if this was what they had to do every day.

"Well that's a damn waste, don't you think?" My face fell. "Those big green eyes, the hair, down to the timbre of her voice. She's Amma, through and through."

"You know Production wants a big name for Amma." Her partner replied.

"Production wants what I want. Harris isn't a big enough name in this city?"

The older woman paused, her eyes scrutinizing me. "If you say so. She's definitely got the look down to a T."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude, but what exactly are you saying?" I ventured, chewing on my bottom lip.

"Gosh, I'm sorry. That was rude." The woman, Grace, seemed to remember my presence and rubbed at the back of her neck awkwardly. "I haven't had my coffee this morning so I'm in a bit of a state."

"She's always in a bit of a state." Her partner joked, giving me a warm smile. "We want you to read for a bigger part. If it doesn't work out, I'm pretty sure we all agree," She gestured to the table of what I assumed were producers behind them, "that Betty's yours, but it's worth a shot. How are you with cold reads?"

"Great, I'm sure, if I knew what a cold read was." I blushed and looked down at my feet.

"Oh my, she's too cute." Grace laughed, holding out a stack of papers. I took them, anxiously flipping through them. "We'll give you a few minutes to look over the new sides, then you can come back in and take a go at it. Try not to look down the whole time, but we're not expecting much more than reading it right off the page. Don't beat yourself up over it either way, Betty's a solid role, and it'll definitely get your name out there if that's what you're hoping for. Sound good?"