Disappointment?!?

Question

ok so i was at an audition the other day with my voice teacher who happens to be the director of the play she told me i would be a lead in the play and i was extremely excited but then the cast list came out and i was two characters but htey are very minimal to the plot im extremely disappointed and how do i get over this? please help me

Answer 1

It's bad enough when you don't get a part you expect and you have to handle rejection, which is the name of the game in acting and you must get used to it.

It sounds to me like you were betrayed by someone close to you. That's quite a bit harder to recover from. I know, something similar happened to my family in the not so distant past. Here's what you do:

The first step you need to take is to sever your ties with the betrayer as much as possible. If she lied to you about this, what else has she lied about? Your voice is too precious of an instrument to trust to someone unethical. Look for someone with integrity to give your time and money to (check references). As far as the play, you can stay or go but you must limit your time spent with her. We stayed and made good friends with all the other cast/crew so that the director would look bad if she retaliated against us. She didn't.

The second thing you must do is reach out to others for comfort and support on your loss and pain. Congratulations, it seems you have already begun this step with your posting here! Try a few other sites too. Ignore the trolls and naysayers.

The third thing you must do is get revenge in one way and one way only...live well! Pursue other avenues with other people. Work hard with your new voice teacher and soar to new heights. If you keep the small parts, do them so well that you get many compliments and comments of surprise that you weren't cast in a bigger part (also happened to us...feels great!). Work hard to land leads in other shows and give a bang up performance there.

Your goal is to look like the bigger person in all of this. So be the bigger person (on the outside, your private revenge fantasies are yours alone). For us, in the end, we were heavily complimented on the way we handled the puzzlingly crummy treatment by our director, received comments from many perplexed people wondering why my son didn't get a bigger role, and made a whole new set of supportive friends.

Best of all, after the show, the director even complimented him and admitted that her prejudgments were wrong. She raved about his talent and urged him to try out for future shows with her. I would never be so stupid as to make that mistake again, we've learned our lesson about her. It just felt really good that she learned her lesson too.

Answer 2

I'll let you in on a little secret: Cast lists change.

Yep, they do. Perhaps not as much in professional productions as in amateur or community theatre but they do.

When I was in Dubai I auditioned for a panto to be staged by the Dubai Drama Group. I was already a known actor in Pune and boy! Was it disappointing when I was cast as a minor Prince with about four lines of dialogue!

But in retrospect, I'm glad I was.

I attended every rehearsal, whether I was required to be there or not. I learned tons about staging amateur performances with a professional approach.

Then came the next play, about four months later. Again, I was cast in a very minor role, even lesser than the Prince in the panto. Two lines of dialogue.

By this time I was fascinated by the whole staging process so I attended every rehearsal again so I could learn more. I began to fill in for those who couldn't make it to the rehearsals. I was doing it because I just loved taking on different characters. So I read the parts of a truck driver, a teacher, a shopkeeper, even female parts if required.

And then the magic happened.

The person cast as a major character, the teacher, had to leave for the UK and therefore would not be able to play the part.

The director took a radical decision and cast me as the teacher.

It was radical on several counts. For one, I, an Asian, would be playing a German. For another, I stand just 5'5" tall and look far younger than I am. I was 30 and the character was 60+. I learned later that several senior actors tried to dissuade the director from sticking to his apparently madcap decision but he stuck to his guns.

I went on to win the "Best Male Newcomer" award for that role.

Most of all, I learned so much about theatre that I was then able to return to Pune, India, and write, direct and stage my own plays.

Sometimes a disappointment is just an opportunity in disguise.

My advice is to take the roles, then extend yourself beyond what is required. Attend every rehearsal, stand in for those who are absent, be a prompter at the rehearsals, volunteer to help with set creation if required, all with the intention of enjoying the experience of theatre and learning all you can about it through hands on experience.

Leave alone becoming a lead actor, you'll become a leading theatre person. And the media will love you.

All the best.

Answer 3

As Al Pacino says go into each audition as if that was your performance. Give it all you got and don't worry what comes next. If you get it, it's all gravy. If not, go for the next one. I'm submitting to about 10 projects a day. I get maybe 1-2 auditions a week. If I get close to each role BEFORE I get it, I'm not going to last long in this industry. I've seen a lot of actors drop out after the 2 year mark - mainly due to this reason. I've been at it for 6 years now.

Another thing I would say is to start writing. You can write yourself the most killer role and it's free - it only takes time and skill to learn how to write. However, writing takes longer to master than acting. So, after ten years of getting bit part roles a lot of actors start writing and wish they had started 10 years before.

Answer 4

that's one person. my voice teacher did the same thing to me a few years ago. someone must have walked into the audition that she didn't expect! that doesn't mean you're not a good actress it just means that the specific part you had your heart set on wasn't the right one at that time! my voice teacher told me about an instructor of hers who told her she could never make it in opera or musical theatre or anything that involved singing. she is now teaching private voice lessons (and has taught current broadway stars) and is in many many shows. you just have to get past that one person. i'm sure there are many people out there who will love you! break a leg in life! :)

Answer 5

Do better next time. If your teacher sadi that you may get a part. there must have been other talednted people there. Buy the way. Is your teacher still taking your money for lessons while getting yourthese auditions?

Answer 6

You are young and this is only the first of many episodes of rejection and disappointment in your career to come. It's part of the game. You have to develop thick skin. Do like the other guy said...Al Pacino...give your best performance each and every time you audition, but don't act! Be! There's a difference!

I wrote an article on my blog recently and it's called Time Wasters! http://www.actingcareerstartup.com/acting-career-blog.html

One of the 5 Time Wasters I wrote about, that rob us of our time is wasting our energy on things that we have no control over. Use that energy, that time to make yourself better! It's done. Over with. Move on. If you can, learn why you were not chosen. Analyze yourself. Get to know your strengths and weaknesses as an actor and work to become better.

Finally, I had read a great book about a year ago called Live Your Dreams, by a guy named Les Brown. I'm a member of a an on-line network marketing company that, aside from helping you make money each month, they send its members dvds and audio cds of the worlds top motivational speakers and teachers of success. Les is one of them and I finally had a chance to see him speak. Incredibly inspiring! One of the things he said, was something he learned from one of his teachers. It was a quote from one of Frank Sinatra's songs:

"Don't get even, just become massively successful!"

This made me think of your situation. Don't worry about it, just go out now and work harder so that the next time, you will be so good and so prepared, that it will be impossibile for them not to give you the lead!!!

Keep your head up!!

Good luck!

Tony
http://www.actingcareerstartup.com

Answer 7

audition for another play with a director who appreciates your talent more.

as dissapointing as it is, it's not the end of the world; there'll be other plays.

Answer 8

your voice teacher should give your money back.