The Haunted Mansion
So last tuesday Avalon calls me with an audition for "The Haunted Mansion" on,"appropriately enough", he says, Friday the 13th. He includes the breakdown with the email.
The breakdown says that it's Disney, it's for a "Black Widow Bride" and it's categorized as an "Industrial" - which is usually an in-house film - a company training film would be a good example of that. So of course we are speculating like mad here at Chez Nous. Is Disney doing some new orientation film? Are they updating their sexual harassment training videos? Or... could it be.. FOR THE RIDE IN DISNEYLAND!??!!?
Okay, let me just tell you that at a recent trip to Universal Studios, we found ourselves in the line for REVENGE OF THE MUMMY: THE RIDE - and in one section of the long, long wait, we found ourselves watching a film over and over where we were told that we were CURSED by IMHOTEP: OUR SOULS BELONGED TO HIM!! And scary-pretty ghosts would raise their heads and hiss over and over: IIIIMMMMHHHHHHOOOOTTTTEEEEPPP
Which you know, of course, I would not stop imitating, and will still do apropos of nothing on occasion while watching TV, or you know - leaving a message for someone.
ANYWAY, the point is that I said to Vinny while we were standing in that line - Why don't I ever get calls for jobs like THAT?? (and then hissed IIIIMMMMHHHOOOTTEEEP a few times so he could see how good I would be at it) and so just the thought that this could be for THE RIDE was too much to hope.
So I get to the "Imagineering" building and wait my turn. We have been instructed to wear our hair out of our faces and in ponytails or buns, and wear a low cut white top that shows our neck. We all look like priestesses of The Oracle or something, sitting there in the waiting room.
So I am led back through tons of animation panels to a room with 4 people in it (Imagineers all, I would guess). They introduce themselves and tell me that the project is for their Haunted Mansion ride down in Disneyland. And if you read this blog at all - you know I am a SPAZZ - so I yelp "OMG I WAS TOTALLY HOPING AND HOPING THAT WAS WHAT THIS WAS FOR!!!" which startles them all and then makes them laugh.
They explain that they are spiffing up the bride - the sweet bride who has many dead husbands - and making her more lifelike -- they give me four lines and tell me I need to say all of them very very sweet so you can see why someone would want to marry her - but the last word had to turn into a menacing evil something or other since when they marry her - they are DEAD (there are other details here but I am a little nervous about saying what they are, since the project is in nascent stages). They put a veil on me (FUCKING YESSSS!) and hand me an ... implement... and have me stand in front of the camera.
Oh! Did I forget to tell you? There's just ONE hitch. I cannot move my head. I am to act as if my head is in a vice. I can move my face as much as I want to express myself - but my head must remain absolutely still so that animators can match it up.
Good LORD, this is FUCKING HARD. It's hard not to tilt slightly or shift the angle of your head ever so slightly to project menace after sweetness. And it's TOTALLY hard to say ONLY the last word with pure evil. Also please recall, again, that I am a spaz.
The first time through is an absolute disaster. I move my head slightly when it comes to the menacing part and then I of course yell OMG I TOTALLY MOVED MY HEAD SORRY!!! And then I did one where, they pointed out, I didn't move my head AND face. I laughed and said "It's like when you lose your voice and other people whisper to you!!". They were really lovely about it- it's such an unnatural way to act that they let me "work through it" several times. I guess I did the 4 lines 4 times through.
I feel like I didn't do the greatest job - in a way, I am perfect for this gig on so many levels, but I spent the majority of my ride home thinking of a MILLION other expressions I could have done. I wonder what people next to me at red lights thought of me making faces in my rear view mirror?
Honestly, my hope in this one is that personality and enthusiasm goes a long way towards booking the job. How cool would it be to be the BRIDE in THE HAUNTED MANSION???
The breakdown says that it's Disney, it's for a "Black Widow Bride" and it's categorized as an "Industrial" - which is usually an in-house film - a company training film would be a good example of that. So of course we are speculating like mad here at Chez Nous. Is Disney doing some new orientation film? Are they updating their sexual harassment training videos? Or... could it be.. FOR THE RIDE IN DISNEYLAND!??!!?
Okay, let me just tell you that at a recent trip to Universal Studios, we found ourselves in the line for REVENGE OF THE MUMMY: THE RIDE - and in one section of the long, long wait, we found ourselves watching a film over and over where we were told that we were CURSED by IMHOTEP: OUR SOULS BELONGED TO HIM!! And scary-pretty ghosts would raise their heads and hiss over and over: IIIIMMMMHHHHHHOOOOTTTTEEEEPPP
Which you know, of course, I would not stop imitating, and will still do apropos of nothing on occasion while watching TV, or you know - leaving a message for someone.
ANYWAY, the point is that I said to Vinny while we were standing in that line - Why don't I ever get calls for jobs like THAT?? (and then hissed IIIIMMMMHHHOOOTTEEEP a few times so he could see how good I would be at it) and so just the thought that this could be for THE RIDE was too much to hope.
So I get to the "Imagineering" building and wait my turn. We have been instructed to wear our hair out of our faces and in ponytails or buns, and wear a low cut white top that shows our neck. We all look like priestesses of The Oracle or something, sitting there in the waiting room.
So I am led back through tons of animation panels to a room with 4 people in it (Imagineers all, I would guess). They introduce themselves and tell me that the project is for their Haunted Mansion ride down in Disneyland. And if you read this blog at all - you know I am a SPAZZ - so I yelp "OMG I WAS TOTALLY HOPING AND HOPING THAT WAS WHAT THIS WAS FOR!!!" which startles them all and then makes them laugh.
They explain that they are spiffing up the bride - the sweet bride who has many dead husbands - and making her more lifelike -- they give me four lines and tell me I need to say all of them very very sweet so you can see why someone would want to marry her - but the last word had to turn into a menacing evil something or other since when they marry her - they are DEAD (there are other details here but I am a little nervous about saying what they are, since the project is in nascent stages). They put a veil on me (FUCKING YESSSS!) and hand me an ... implement... and have me stand in front of the camera.
Oh! Did I forget to tell you? There's just ONE hitch. I cannot move my head. I am to act as if my head is in a vice. I can move my face as much as I want to express myself - but my head must remain absolutely still so that animators can match it up.
Good LORD, this is FUCKING HARD. It's hard not to tilt slightly or shift the angle of your head ever so slightly to project menace after sweetness. And it's TOTALLY hard to say ONLY the last word with pure evil. Also please recall, again, that I am a spaz.
The first time through is an absolute disaster. I move my head slightly when it comes to the menacing part and then I of course yell OMG I TOTALLY MOVED MY HEAD SORRY!!! And then I did one where, they pointed out, I didn't move my head AND face. I laughed and said "It's like when you lose your voice and other people whisper to you!!". They were really lovely about it- it's such an unnatural way to act that they let me "work through it" several times. I guess I did the 4 lines 4 times through.
I feel like I didn't do the greatest job - in a way, I am perfect for this gig on so many levels, but I spent the majority of my ride home thinking of a MILLION other expressions I could have done. I wonder what people next to me at red lights thought of me making faces in my rear view mirror?
Honestly, my hope in this one is that personality and enthusiasm goes a long way towards booking the job. How cool would it be to be the BRIDE in THE HAUNTED MANSION???
posted by The Dancing Kids at 5:43 PM
7 Comments:
Sweeeeeet.
Yeah the whole not-moving-head thing sounds *really* hard. o_o
I'm sure you did fine though! :)
hey, long time no chat :) I'm excited for you though, definitely sounds like a fun job... if only to scare people on a regular basis :P. Your voice alone still sends shivers when you're serious, hehe
I'm sitting here, holding my hands over my mouth, trying not to wake my wife up (two rooms away) with my laughter.
(This is in reference to both spaz posts)
You are awesome! And now, I get to tell people that I read the blog of someone who sat next to Mirina Sirtis at an audition! ;)
Wow. Cool.
good luck!
Such a great story! Thanks for giving us a look behind the curtain. Even though the role went to someone else, I've really enjoyed your telling of the audition adventure. Wow.
apparently i was living under a rock when you posted this! seriously, wtf is wrong with me?
i commented about it on my LJ
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