That Time I Auditioned For a TV Show

The lobby of the theater was cold despite being full of bodies in a line that snaked around on the concrete floors, trembling with anticipation almost in unison.

The open call for AMC’s traveling talent show started at 9 a.m. at the Gesa Power House Theatre in Walla Walla. By the time I was all checked in and getting in line – about 9:15 – I had a numbered wristband, 97, and the crowd was still growing behind me.

The camera crew seemed larger than life. A man wield- ing a massive and heavy camera glided comfortably through the anxious crowd of participants. The camera sports a bright headlight that flicked on for interviews, keeping competitors wide- eyed like a herd of deer.

A boom microphone was suspended precariously over our heads for each interview while the interviewer direct- ed the crew and participants around with a practiced air of management.

The first challenge was a command: don’t look into the lens. Each participant was interviewed before and after their audition. In our first interaction in front of the lens, we were given strict instructions to look at the interviewer, not the camera. See that big wide-angle lens glittering with a distorted refl ection of your face? Yeah, don’t look at that.

Of course, the biggest challenge of the day was the waiting. Waiting in line to audition. Waiting until 1:45 for the announcements. Waiting in the lobby of the Powerhouse Theater until 2:15 until the announcement will actually happen. Wait- ing until 2:30 because the announcement will be in just a minute, for real this time. Then finally, watching the hosts do a few takes before announcing the final four.

The funniest part of all of it for me was when a wom- an’s voice from somewhere behind us told us to not talk amongst ourselves for a minute and to stare straight forward with anticipation. You want me to face straight ahead and look stressed out? I can do that.

Even the most confident participants showed cracks in their facades, fault lines in the masks of cool collection we all clung to. But even though we all knew the people in every direction from us were the competition, something strange happened – we bonded.

And even though I didn’t get called up to the big stage, I was surprised to find I wasn’t disappointed. I took a shot at my dream and had a chance to peek behind the ticking face of a televi- sion show at the cogs that make it work. And best of all, I got to hang out with a woman who was facing her fears of being on stage, a guitarist with a silky baritone voice, the music education graduate who almost won a Shanghai-based singing competition and an actress with a dramatic monologue and a staycation contingency plan.

Everyone who turned out for the audition was there, more or less, for the same reason I was. We were all following a dream.

I just hope everyone left feeling as inspired as I did.