Jason Stringer

It’s so hard to find the person that perfectly fits an idea you have embraced in your head. Someone who is willing to be opened up emotionally and exposed to an audience based on material that is locked away safe in your mind. How the hell do you find someone both willing and capable of doing that?

Auditions.

I have found auditions to be a tiresome process. Especially when the material — like my current short production That Year They Were Bridesmaids — is so close to home. There are lines of dialogue and certain beats within that screenplay that scream emotional truths to me. And to go through them every half hour over the period of several days starts to wear me down.

What makes it drag out worse is when the magical person I am looking for fails to emerge. Some look the part but can’t handle the material. Others can manage the material just fine but do not look the part (and seemed to have failed in reading the casting requirements, but booked a place anyway).

The film is being independently backed, and while I’m sending talent out the door with a polite handshake and a well-tempered “thanks for your time, we’ll be in touch…”, I’m continually turning to my Producer and getting reassurance that I’m not being too pedantic or picky. Because I really don’t want to settle. Not this time. Far too often I’ve ‘just settled’ on many varying aspects of my productions, and I have sworn that it is time to move forward properly and take it seriously. No longer do I want to say ‘that’ll do’.

There should be no reason why great planning of great ideas can’t deliver a great film. All of that can be tainted if you settle for second-hand options simply for the sake of progressing the film in increments that become incidental once you get the damn thing into post production. I need to remain honest with it. If I do that, I can do no wrong.

I always harboured a daydream that it would get easier. That, once was a paid gig was on offer (which Bridesmaids is) then the talent would come flooding through the door and it would be a struggle to choose who fits. Right now we’re a month from production, I need to start rehearsals in about a week and I still don’t have a main cast.

Wish me luck, won’t you?