The dinner invitation had been for me and my wife Glenda but, as an aspiring actress, she and a couple of friends were going for an audition tonight.
I taken them to several of these audition trips before and they were always downers. None of them ever got anything more than a walk-through in the background of local commercials. I was glad not to have to go through that this time.
I love my wife dearly, but she is not Oscar material when it comes to acting. The term, "fuzzy logic" must have been invented to describe the way her mind works. She's a wonderful person, just not one of the world's great thinkers. While I think she looks great, she just misses having that knockout figure you always see in the movies.
Everything said and done, she and her friends really enjoy doing the auditions, so I wished her luck as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door. They were going to dinner first and go through their audition routines one more time before going to the tryout.
Alan and I hadn't seen each other in years. He had wandered off to seek his fame and fortune and I had elected to stay here and just plug away at making a living. Now he was back in town on a job and had called just to touch base with some of the old group. I knew he had something to do with movies, but that was about all.
"Yeah, I've got a great job right now. I travel all over the country doing scouting for a couple of studios out west. I come into a town, rent studio space, place a couple of audition ads, and see what happens."
That caught my attention. Glenda and her friends were answering an audition ad tonight. I couldn't help but wonder...."Have you had much of a response here?"
"Actually, we have several young women coming over tonight -- we're looking for one to have a minor role in a movie and it really could lead to bigger things if we find the right girl. Most of the time, we're just looking for local extras when the film companies are on location. It ought to be a real kick."
Could my wife and her friends have finally lucked into something? "Why's that?"
"We have a full production set with video equipment and a couple of actors along with us. We're going to do screen tests of a seduction scene. Amateur talent is always a riot at these types of auditions."
A seduction scene?...alarms were ringing in my head! "Do they have to get undressed or anything?"
"Larry, you old dog! I thought you were happily married! You shouldn't be thinking about your little neighbors running around naked -- leave that to horny old me!" He laughed again, "Actually, that depends on them. The scene can be played either way. Sometimes, these little local gals get carried away and we get some really hot videos. Hey, I've got an idea. You said you're on your own tonight, why don't you come along. My guy in the recording booth is sick and you used to handle yourself pretty well. You could make a buck or two AND see if any of them get it going."
Yeah, right! I could go there and watch my innocent little wife turn beet red and leave. She would never go for something like this. On the other hand, some of the other gals just might and I wouldn't mind seeing that, "Sounds great! I'm in!"
An hour later, I was staring at four monitors above a control panel. My job for the evening was to take the feed from each camera and record it on videotape. One of the cameras was a boom remote and I had controls for it. Alan told me just to play around with it -- it was a backup unit.
Right on time, the girls came in and registered. Most of them, including my wife, used their "stage" names. Larry called them all over and handed out the script, "Please notice that this is a seduction scene and that you will be working with an actor. Nudity could be involved so, if that makes you uncomfortable, please leave now...however, for those of you who are considering a career in the movies, remember that most young women are required to do nude scenes somewhere along the line. We will do an initial reading and select three of you to do the actual screen test."
A couple of the women headed for the exit and my wife was turning to go when Larry continued, "If you are selected to do the test, you will receive $1000 tonight. If your test is good enough, you will have a guaranteed part in a movie. That part pays $10,000 minimum."
My wife and one of her friends stopped in their tracks. Neither of them had ever earned a dime as an actress and they were being tempted big time. I grinned as my wife started to walk away again -- I knew she wouldn't be able to do it! Now, I could settle back and enjoy the rest of the evening! I flipped on the mikes and got ready to work.
I hear her friends voice, "Oh, Glenda, don't go! I can't do it without somebody here." Her friend grabbed her arm and pulled my wife back to the stage.
Alan walked up to them, "I'm sorry, but only those who are actually going to try out can stay."
Again, my wife turned to leave. This time, she stopped when she heard Alan say, "It's really too bad you don't feel good about this -- I think you might really have a chance."
Part of me wanted to see Glenda hit the door running like she started to. Another part of me was very pleased that someone else liked the way my wife looked. Still another part was scared silly.
My heart stopped when I heard my wife softly say, "OK, I'll read for the part. Terry, don't you DARE tell my husband about this."
I nervously checked out the other girls and began to relax a bit. There were some real lookers in the batch so I knew Glenda would never really be picked.
Alan buzzed me on the headset; "you ready to roll up there?"
I did a quick sound check, "everything's fine and recording."
The first girl up ran through the lines perfectly and looked like a dream. I had already glanced over the crop and she was my #1 choice. Alan obviously liked her too.