The Actor Says "Moo!"

Attending a 2pm open call in NYC today. Open Call is the official term. It's otherwise known as a "cattle call", where anyone and everyone is invited to attend. Plenty of actors, some students, some moms, and plenty of New York's unemployed masses, hoping to get some work. I'm told that this is a broad spectrum call, encompassing many different current and upcoming projects.

As of the start of this writing (1:50pm), I am about a block away from the entrance, in the back third of the line, which has just started to move (if you count walking four steps forward moving.) The last time I attended an open call, an accident held up traffic, getting me here with only 30 minutes to spare. Sadly, the fates were against me, as they cut off the line NINE PEOPLE in front of me. Hopefully I will fare better this time around.

2:05pm. We've moved about half a block, and I've gotten to see one of the more colorful residents of this fine city. A man, approximately 6'4" tall, dressed all in suede patchwork, wearing a fur hat, fur boots, feathers, sunglasses, and many many ornate chains around his neck. Some kind of eclectic fusion of a Viking, Mr. T., and that native American guy from The Village People. And, no - he wasn't part of this open call.

3:10pm. We've moved another half block, and then the truth is seen. We're entering on the next block over! We're no where near getting in yet, and this is supposed to be from 2-4pm. This doesn't bode well. I'm having flashbacks to my previous open call, and pray that I karma will work with me this time.

3:45pm. The gods are smiling upon me for a change. The line suddenly picked up speed, and I was inside by 3:30pm. A quick sit down to fill out paperwork, then handing in my somewhat outdated headshot (as I have my beard now - although I did attach a smaller photo of me with the beard), then they took two digital photos. I wore my black suit with dark blue shirt to try and look professional.

As I head towards the uptown subway station, I take a look, and notice that the line is almost TWICE as long as it was when I first got in line. Oy. Glad I got here when I did (although I tried to get here earlier). Now, I'm on my way back home. Hopefully, this will bear fruit, otherwise I'll have spent more coming to NY for the past month, than I'll have earned. Only time will tell...