The Comfy Corner

Humans have the unique ability to share a common knowledge about certain feelings and situations without actually talking about it. These little pieces of trust and knowledge are called the unspoken rules. For instance, you never cut a line. No cutting! I learned that in elementary school when I got overzealous about pizza Friday. Lines make sense. The person who gets their first gets the first artichoke in the barrel (that's not a fraze... and that's not how you spell phrase... watcha gonna do about it?). But, for some reason, this unspoken knowledge seems to leave people baffled when it comes to auditioning situations.

In non-union land, us lowly third class passengers on board the actor Titanic have to arrive to the audition at the ass crack of dawn (without any real chance of getting a lifeboat). This often means that the line starts forming outside the building before the building even opens. Now that line makes logical sense when you are outside. It sprinkles down the block in perfect lineage. But once the building opens, and elevators come into play, all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, the people at the back of the line "forget" there was ever a line. Everyone gets "confused." The only people who are "definitely sure there was a line" are the people who were in the the front of it. So they plant themselves in a brand new line in the audition room while the stragglers come in and sit wherever not realizing that there is a sort-of line happening. Now, I make it seem as though everyone is asking questions and trying to sort this out. That's not the case. NO ONE SAYS ANYTHING. There is just an unspoken tension while people try to figure out for themselves how this is all going to play out when the monitor arrives.

Then the list goes up and the monitor is like "is there a line of some sort happening?" A hush falls over the crowd. It's the first time an official person has mentioned the tense situation that's been going on all morning. Usually, the person who got there at 6am shouts "YES" angrily (finally releasing that built up anxiety they felt every time someone ignored the faux line). That person will get the first slot and everyone else shuffles about in confusion. So I ask myself, isn't there a better way? Yes, there is. Get an agent and have appointments. Alas, if only I could just wake up early to get an agent. The fight continues, NYC, it does continue. Stay comfy, ya'll.