Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2025—the year we work, folks. We’re hustling, we’re booking, we’re creating art. Doesn’t that sound dreamy? Living the life, no more bartending till three a.m. and driving home like the crypt keeper. No more questionable comments from red-faced regulars making me rethink my “flexible job” choice.
With the new year upon us, it’s time for a little reflection—a year of auditions, callbacks, and roles I wanted so bad. Alexandra tells me this is “good data.” Sure, let’s call it that, instead of my hopes and dreams crushed into a bitter shot of “meh” stats. But hey, it’s all part of the grind, right? Every number is a stepping stone, or so they say.
In the past three hundred sixty-five days, I’ve received forty-four auditions all from my agent, Susan, I opened forty-four emails, each a tiny flicker of hope, forty-four chances to shift my career, and forty-four new characters to meet. I promise I am grateful for every single one no matter the outcome!
Out of those, twenty-eight were commercial auditions, most of them from Charlotte. Were they thrilling? Not exactly. But hey, work is work. Commercials might not get my pulse racing like film or TV, but they’re still a win. After all, Flo from Progressive turned it into a whole career. Commercials are designed for the channel-flipping crowd, so the roles are usually not exactly Shakespearean. But, I’m here for it, one audition at a time. Oh, and in case you’re wondering—didn’t book a single one. Your loss, Home Depot!
I had fourteen TV auditions, mostly for shows filming in Wilmington. The Summer I Turned Pretty and Outer Banks have seen my face a few times. I haven’t landed the right role yet, but the fun’s in the trying. Whether it’s a one-liner like, “Oh no! Someone help him!” or a potential recurring character, every audition is a new adventure.
The one worry with auditioning for these shows is that if I land a tiny role, it might lock me out of future, juicier roles on the same show. If it’s just the first season, who’s to say there aren’t three more seasons to come with tons of roles to now miss out on? I want any role. I want the tiny role, but if I don’t book it, maybe it’s because there’s a bigger opportunity waiting. The thrill of possibility~
I had a grand total of two film auditions. (Sigh) Yep, you read that right. It’s not the norm, but this year was heavy on TV in Wilmington. The few films that did roll in had barely any auditions for me. Still, I did get two, and they were memorable.
First up, Claimed by the CEO. I couldn’t find much about it online (yes, I Googled obsessively). From what I gathered, it’s a dramatic, campy romance, and my character was in a wild love triangle/kidnapping scenario. Cringe? Absolutely. Fun? You bet.
Then, there was the werewolf movie. Scene opens mid-transformation and also pregnant ?? I had to convulse and scream “WHYYY PLEASE GOD NO” while also being more characteristically …wolf-ish. It was a stretch, but hey, turning into a werewolf isn’t easy—just ask Teen Wolf. It pushed me outside of my comfort zone for sure and made me really think about what each part of my body was doing. How does one figure out what their body does during a wolf transformation? Let me know if you figure it out or know a werewolf personally.
Out of all these auditions, I was sent to producers seven times, had two Zoom callbacks for commercials, and landed... drumroll... one. Yep, one special, loved, close to my heart booking. Not counting local gigs with friends that don’t have much money associated with them —this was a big role on a big network. I’m proud of that one win, and I’ll spill all the details in a future post. (;
Overall, I’m content with my audition haul. Each one pushed me to grow, make bold choices, and ask, “Who am I? What do I want? Why am I here?”. I had so much fun doing it and that’s what we need to remember. This is a fun job and when you stop playing you stop really being present. I’m still trying by best to play and for this, I am thankful. And so, as we step into 2025, I ask one final question:
Who will I be this year?
Laina
