Moving Pictures Excerpt #2
Magda and her cousin, Dolores, go to a casting audition for a big film
_Shortly after Del went back East there was a huge casting call for the Chronicle Film Company. Dolores had found out about it through some friends. That pioneering film company was casting for a picture with only women characters and extras. It was excellent news, for that meant there was a great chance that we could be picked.
The casting was to start at 11, so Dolores and I left for the line-up at 7 o’clock, an hour earlier than we usually left. Dolores’s eyes were heavy with sleep, but she was as determined as me. She had the great ability to be able to fall asleep anywhere, so I was sure she could catch up on her sleep the hours we were to wait in the line-up.
We wanted to be at the Chronicle studio lot early because we both knew that with a casting call such as this, the number of girls would be overwhelming. As we got off the streetcar and headed the remaining blocks to the studio, I felt that it was going to be a big day for us. Even though, when we turned the last corner, we saw that there were already at least 60 girls in line. It was not even 8 o’clock yet. The line was going to be huge.
Dolores hesitated at the sight of all the competition and held back for a second. I stopped too and looked at her. She set her jaw and said “Let’s get in line.”
Walking to the end of the line afforded me a good look at the competition. Many of the women were young, some were very, very old. There were more than a dozen that we passed who were dressed up so finely they could have sat down to dinner with the governor. I felt very small under the heavy stares of the bored, waiting women. Dolores appeared to take no notice.
It was a clear, sunny day and many of the girls, especially the heavily made-up ones, had resorted to sitting on the ground, shading themselves as best they could. Dolores had been one of the first to wilt. I fanned myself, leaning against the wall of a building. After waiting for what seemed much longer than three hours, I noticed a perceptible ripple of energy coming from the front of the line and like a wave gaining energy, the women in front of me began to stand up and straighten themselves up. I shook Dolores awake and pointed to the movement.
“Its starting.” Dolores stated as she stood and brushed herself off. “It won’t be long now.” I took a few steps away from the wall and looked towards the end of the line. There were probably another 100 women that I could see behind us, and it seemed more were lined up around the corner. Indeed, we had arrived early enough.
Dolores was digging through her handbag, “Did you bring the lipstick? I don’t think I have it in here.” I handed over my bag.
In a few minutes I could see three men moving quickly down the line, stopping every 3 or 4 girls, pointing and talking and then moving on. After they moved on, the girl they had spoke to went towards the entrance. When Dolores finished up powdering her face, she took a quick glance down the line and then turned to give me the make-up treatment. I was taken by surprise, Dolores didn’t usually fuss this much.
By the time the three men were twenty girls away, Dolores was finished with her fussing. She gave me a quick hug, held her chin up, put on a big smile and turned towards the approaching judges.
I followed Dolores’s example, although I feared I was blushing more than smiling. The leader of the trio was a stocky middle-aged man dressed in coat that was more fashionable than tasteful and wore a lot of pomade in his receding hair. Whenever he stopped, he looked a girl from toe to head and back again. As he got nearer, I heard him giving rough instructions to the girls he looked-over. “You, go in the gates and go straight to the big stage.”
As he drew near, Dolores’s smile did not fade, but I could tell that she was tense. I felt like a bag of nerves–embarrassed by my awkwardness, confused by what was going on, and scared of making a bad impression.
The man stopped two girls in front of Dolores and thumbed her towards the entrance. I held my breath then, hoping that I was still smiling. The little man only gave Dolores a cursory look and nearly walked by me. He stopped just on the other side of me and gave me the same head-to-toe inspection. The woman behind me did everything possible, except actually stepping in front of me, to gain the attention of the little man.
The man’s look made me feel like I was naked, he was so thorough. He paused at my face and looked me in the eye before his gaze again descended to my shoes. He barked the usual instructions to me and turned to go down the line.
Without even thinking I blurted out “But can’t she go too?” grabbing Dolores’s hand. The little man grumpily turned back, gave a quick look at Dolores. I was deflated when he turned to walk away. As he moved away he said “Take her.” Not hesitating for a second we hurried towards the entrance, not looking once at the disappointed girls already passed over and still waiting to get in.
Inside the gates, we went down a short walkway and came to a door with a sign that read: Auditions. Through the door, there was a huge stage set up on one end of a clearing and the other girls were arranging themselves in the front. The stage consisted of a platform raised about two feet off of the ground, three walls, and what looked like curtains for a roof. The fabric over the stage kept the direct sun off the platform, but lit up every corner so there were very few shadows.
Once on the platform we waited for the actual audition to begin. Waiting, always waiting. Once we entered the dim stage area we had to wait for another two hours. Mrs. Haelstrom had taken over Consuela’s place and I was always sure to ask her for a box lunch when I knew we were going to be gone all day. I was especially thankful for the bottle of cold tea she had packed that day. Dolores and I ate our lunch amongst the envious looks and snide comments about being too fat.
Somewhere around 1 o’clock, the small man came onto the stage clapping his hands for attention. Many of the women jostled to be in front. Many, like Dolores, took the high road and composed themselves by smiling brightly and lifting their heads. All and all, there were about 80 girls on the platform.
“I am Mr. Griply, the audition will be starting in just a few minutes and I need you girls to line up in rows of 10 facing me. No elbows ladies, this is a high-toned affair.” He read something off his assistant’s clipboard. “Now, everybody in a line? Great. What I need you to do is stay in your line and turn to the right so that you’re facing the front of the stage.”
There were some cries of outrage from a few of the girls who now would be in the back. There were eight rows altogether. Dolores and myself were in the third row at the far right. Turning towards the open area in front of the stage, we saw a small group of people assembling in front of us.
“Now, girls in the front row, show your gams. When I tell you to, you will turn to your left and walk off the stage. There my assistants will further direct you. The next row of girls will then take a step up and show your legs, etcetera etcetera. Got it? Great.” Mr. Griply finished with a shout.
I couldn’t see the people below us very clearly from the two rows of girls ahead of me. The ones in the first row kept moving from pose to pose, showing off their “gams” I suspect, so I just had to be patient until I got to the front.
A man’s voice called out, “Fourth from the left, step forward and turn in a full-circle.” I could just see the head of the girl who was called. She did as she was told and then returned to her place in line. After some whispering from amongst the people assembled below, Mr. Griply called for the first row to exit. The second row moved forward as if one body. The third row, mostly because I wasn’t paying proper attention, did not step forward so smoothly. The procedure was repeated the same as before, with two girls being called out to circle around.
“Row two exit, Row three up.” shouted Mr. Griply. Fumbling slightly as I moved up with the other girls. Now that I was at the front of the stage, I got a big dose of stage fright. I felt as if my muscles were loosening and that I would fall over any second in front of important people I didn’t know. I took a breath and smiled while lifting my skirts a bit. How awkward, I thought, showing one’s legs so obviously. I dared not look around to see how the other girls were bearing it. I knew that Dolores was looking bold and beautiful.
“Second from right, more leg and do the turn.” Unfortunately, I did not realize at first that the voice from below was barking at me. A discreet nudge from Dolores brought me to my senses. Without thinking another thought, mostly because I was too embarrassed to try, I hiked up my skirt nearly past my knees and stepped forward to showcase my whole body. The most ominous aspect of my ungraceful turn was the silence. I knew I had goofed by not understanding that I had been called, I knew that I had taken too many steps to swivel gracefully, but the stage was silent. None of the other women auditioning made the slightest acknowledgment of my inferiority.
More whispering ensued from the people sitting below. The fifth girl from the right got called out. Finally, and mercifully, Mr. Griply called row three off the stage. As soon as I had turned to exit the stage, I saw that the first two rows had been lined up behind the last row. Once all of the third row was off the stage, one of the young silent assistants pointed us in the direction of the stage.
The relief I had felt upon being released from the stage crumpled as I returned. Being in the far back, Dolores risked a smile in my direction. I smiled back and then felt guilty. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that Dolores hadn’t been called out. Although it wasn’t a bad thing. Heaven knows, I would have said something inappropriate. Poor Dolores, what if she didn’t get called? I resolved right there that if Dolores were not cast then I would decline. It would happen for both of us or for neither of us.
The stage once again became an arena of boredom while the last rows were made to step up. When finally the first row was again the front row, the girls waited. I could see movement among the half dozen people below. There was low talking and after 20 minutes the man who did all the talking boomed out again.
“If I call you, move to the front,” one of the man below said and then proceeded to call out about 25 girls. All of them pushed their way to the front, not taking the easy route by going around. It was much harder for them to make their way through the lines of girls, for the girls who were not-called were as immovable as statues. Once they were all in front, smiling smug smiles and looking down their noses, Mr. Griply ushered them all off stage.
I was deflated and didn’t worry about looking around now. I had felt so certain that today would be different. There were many other girls who must have shared my feelings because I caught the eye of many of them. But Dolores held firm. Her eyes still sparkling, she stared ahead. I, as I so often did in awkward situations, imitated her. After a brief silence and wait, those of us remaining were rewarded with some good news.
“The rest of you waiting will all be background actors. There are four of you who are up for additional roles. Those of you who are not called now, please follow Mr. Griply. The four called please stay on stage.” The voice from the anonymous man below paused before calling out the places of the four chosen girls. I barely listened, I was too ecstatic about being a background actress in a feature film! When the other girls started to leave I started to follow but was waylaid by a fierce hug from Dolores.
“I just knew that they couldn’t help but notice how pretty you are.” I stared blankly back. Had I been called? Dolores knew the expression on my face, “Didn’t you hear them? You are one of the four! Stay here and Wow them, okay? I’m off with the herd” Laughing, she ran off the stage after the other newly cast actresses.
I turned to face the shadows off the stage, feeling the panic well in my chest.
The casting was to start at 11, so Dolores and I left for the line-up at 7 o’clock, an hour earlier than we usually left. Dolores’s eyes were heavy with sleep, but she was as determined as me. She had the great ability to be able to fall asleep anywhere, so I was sure she could catch up on her sleep the hours we were to wait in the line-up.
We wanted to be at the Chronicle studio lot early because we both knew that with a casting call such as this, the number of girls would be overwhelming. As we got off the streetcar and headed the remaining blocks to the studio, I felt that it was going to be a big day for us. Even though, when we turned the last corner, we saw that there were already at least 60 girls in line. It was not even 8 o’clock yet. The line was going to be huge.
Dolores hesitated at the sight of all the competition and held back for a second. I stopped too and looked at her. She set her jaw and said “Let’s get in line.”
Walking to the end of the line afforded me a good look at the competition. Many of the women were young, some were very, very old. There were more than a dozen that we passed who were dressed up so finely they could have sat down to dinner with the governor. I felt very small under the heavy stares of the bored, waiting women. Dolores appeared to take no notice.
It was a clear, sunny day and many of the girls, especially the heavily made-up ones, had resorted to sitting on the ground, shading themselves as best they could. Dolores had been one of the first to wilt. I fanned myself, leaning against the wall of a building. After waiting for what seemed much longer than three hours, I noticed a perceptible ripple of energy coming from the front of the line and like a wave gaining energy, the women in front of me began to stand up and straighten themselves up. I shook Dolores awake and pointed to the movement.
“Its starting.” Dolores stated as she stood and brushed herself off. “It won’t be long now.” I took a few steps away from the wall and looked towards the end of the line. There were probably another 100 women that I could see behind us, and it seemed more were lined up around the corner. Indeed, we had arrived early enough.
Dolores was digging through her handbag, “Did you bring the lipstick? I don’t think I have it in here.” I handed over my bag.
In a few minutes I could see three men moving quickly down the line, stopping every 3 or 4 girls, pointing and talking and then moving on. After they moved on, the girl they had spoke to went towards the entrance. When Dolores finished up powdering her face, she took a quick glance down the line and then turned to give me the make-up treatment. I was taken by surprise, Dolores didn’t usually fuss this much.
By the time the three men were twenty girls away, Dolores was finished with her fussing. She gave me a quick hug, held her chin up, put on a big smile and turned towards the approaching judges.
I followed Dolores’s example, although I feared I was blushing more than smiling. The leader of the trio was a stocky middle-aged man dressed in coat that was more fashionable than tasteful and wore a lot of pomade in his receding hair. Whenever he stopped, he looked a girl from toe to head and back again. As he got nearer, I heard him giving rough instructions to the girls he looked-over. “You, go in the gates and go straight to the big stage.”
As he drew near, Dolores’s smile did not fade, but I could tell that she was tense. I felt like a bag of nerves–embarrassed by my awkwardness, confused by what was going on, and scared of making a bad impression.
The man stopped two girls in front of Dolores and thumbed her towards the entrance. I held my breath then, hoping that I was still smiling. The little man only gave Dolores a cursory look and nearly walked by me. He stopped just on the other side of me and gave me the same head-to-toe inspection. The woman behind me did everything possible, except actually stepping in front of me, to gain the attention of the little man.
The man’s look made me feel like I was naked, he was so thorough. He paused at my face and looked me in the eye before his gaze again descended to my shoes. He barked the usual instructions to me and turned to go down the line.
Without even thinking I blurted out “But can’t she go too?” grabbing Dolores’s hand. The little man grumpily turned back, gave a quick look at Dolores. I was deflated when he turned to walk away. As he moved away he said “Take her.” Not hesitating for a second we hurried towards the entrance, not looking once at the disappointed girls already passed over and still waiting to get in.
Inside the gates, we went down a short walkway and came to a door with a sign that read: Auditions. Through the door, there was a huge stage set up on one end of a clearing and the other girls were arranging themselves in the front. The stage consisted of a platform raised about two feet off of the ground, three walls, and what looked like curtains for a roof. The fabric over the stage kept the direct sun off the platform, but lit up every corner so there were very few shadows.
Once on the platform we waited for the actual audition to begin. Waiting, always waiting. Once we entered the dim stage area we had to wait for another two hours. Mrs. Haelstrom had taken over Consuela’s place and I was always sure to ask her for a box lunch when I knew we were going to be gone all day. I was especially thankful for the bottle of cold tea she had packed that day. Dolores and I ate our lunch amongst the envious looks and snide comments about being too fat.
Somewhere around 1 o’clock, the small man came onto the stage clapping his hands for attention. Many of the women jostled to be in front. Many, like Dolores, took the high road and composed themselves by smiling brightly and lifting their heads. All and all, there were about 80 girls on the platform.
“I am Mr. Griply, the audition will be starting in just a few minutes and I need you girls to line up in rows of 10 facing me. No elbows ladies, this is a high-toned affair.” He read something off his assistant’s clipboard. “Now, everybody in a line? Great. What I need you to do is stay in your line and turn to the right so that you’re facing the front of the stage.”
There were some cries of outrage from a few of the girls who now would be in the back. There were eight rows altogether. Dolores and myself were in the third row at the far right. Turning towards the open area in front of the stage, we saw a small group of people assembling in front of us.
“Now, girls in the front row, show your gams. When I tell you to, you will turn to your left and walk off the stage. There my assistants will further direct you. The next row of girls will then take a step up and show your legs, etcetera etcetera. Got it? Great.” Mr. Griply finished with a shout.
I couldn’t see the people below us very clearly from the two rows of girls ahead of me. The ones in the first row kept moving from pose to pose, showing off their “gams” I suspect, so I just had to be patient until I got to the front.
A man’s voice called out, “Fourth from the left, step forward and turn in a full-circle.” I could just see the head of the girl who was called. She did as she was told and then returned to her place in line. After some whispering from amongst the people assembled below, Mr. Griply called for the first row to exit. The second row moved forward as if one body. The third row, mostly because I wasn’t paying proper attention, did not step forward so smoothly. The procedure was repeated the same as before, with two girls being called out to circle around.
“Row two exit, Row three up.” shouted Mr. Griply. Fumbling slightly as I moved up with the other girls. Now that I was at the front of the stage, I got a big dose of stage fright. I felt as if my muscles were loosening and that I would fall over any second in front of important people I didn’t know. I took a breath and smiled while lifting my skirts a bit. How awkward, I thought, showing one’s legs so obviously. I dared not look around to see how the other girls were bearing it. I knew that Dolores was looking bold and beautiful.
“Second from right, more leg and do the turn.” Unfortunately, I did not realize at first that the voice from below was barking at me. A discreet nudge from Dolores brought me to my senses. Without thinking another thought, mostly because I was too embarrassed to try, I hiked up my skirt nearly past my knees and stepped forward to showcase my whole body. The most ominous aspect of my ungraceful turn was the silence. I knew I had goofed by not understanding that I had been called, I knew that I had taken too many steps to swivel gracefully, but the stage was silent. None of the other women auditioning made the slightest acknowledgment of my inferiority.
More whispering ensued from the people sitting below. The fifth girl from the right got called out. Finally, and mercifully, Mr. Griply called row three off the stage. As soon as I had turned to exit the stage, I saw that the first two rows had been lined up behind the last row. Once all of the third row was off the stage, one of the young silent assistants pointed us in the direction of the stage.
The relief I had felt upon being released from the stage crumpled as I returned. Being in the far back, Dolores risked a smile in my direction. I smiled back and then felt guilty. I hadn’t even thought about the fact that Dolores hadn’t been called out. Although it wasn’t a bad thing. Heaven knows, I would have said something inappropriate. Poor Dolores, what if she didn’t get called? I resolved right there that if Dolores were not cast then I would decline. It would happen for both of us or for neither of us.
The stage once again became an arena of boredom while the last rows were made to step up. When finally the first row was again the front row, the girls waited. I could see movement among the half dozen people below. There was low talking and after 20 minutes the man who did all the talking boomed out again.
“If I call you, move to the front,” one of the man below said and then proceeded to call out about 25 girls. All of them pushed their way to the front, not taking the easy route by going around. It was much harder for them to make their way through the lines of girls, for the girls who were not-called were as immovable as statues. Once they were all in front, smiling smug smiles and looking down their noses, Mr. Griply ushered them all off stage.
I was deflated and didn’t worry about looking around now. I had felt so certain that today would be different. There were many other girls who must have shared my feelings because I caught the eye of many of them. But Dolores held firm. Her eyes still sparkling, she stared ahead. I, as I so often did in awkward situations, imitated her. After a brief silence and wait, those of us remaining were rewarded with some good news.
“The rest of you waiting will all be background actors. There are four of you who are up for additional roles. Those of you who are not called now, please follow Mr. Griply. The four called please stay on stage.” The voice from the anonymous man below paused before calling out the places of the four chosen girls. I barely listened, I was too ecstatic about being a background actress in a feature film! When the other girls started to leave I started to follow but was waylaid by a fierce hug from Dolores.
“I just knew that they couldn’t help but notice how pretty you are.” I stared blankly back. Had I been called? Dolores knew the expression on my face, “Didn’t you hear them? You are one of the four! Stay here and Wow them, okay? I’m off with the herd” Laughing, she ran off the stage after the other newly cast actresses.
I turned to face the shadows off the stage, feeling the panic well in my chest.