Freaking Love Handles

Previously I mentioned that I went to a casting call for a runway show. It was so not what I was expecting. In college I was in the Black and Gold Show run by the Black Student Union. Super fun times. Those auditions required you to walk down a catwalk and show off your movement to some great music.

So not what I did this time.

I show up and in the small room there is a "runway" the length of one and half ping pong tables. We are instructed to walk to it, step up, and pose showing our back, each side, front and then get off. No real walking. Just standing. Clearly, they were checking out the goods. Not awkward at all.

After we do this a few times the designer finally shows up and the fun begins. The casting director is this woman and she has an assistant who follows her around it is almost as if he can't survive more than 4 feet away from her. We are explained that they will start with dressing their three favorites and then move through the rest of us as they feel they need to. She also stressed that everyone is beautiful and that if you are not chosen that does not mean you aren't, it just means that you are not the look they are looking for. I couldn't even tell you the number of times I was personally or collectively told I was a beautiful woman. It really boosts you up.

No big surprise, I was not one of the top three. But I also was not one of the girls asked to leave right away, so Go Me! So I did have to sit around for a little bit.

Here I want to stress that we were in one small room and used a utility closet as a changing room. The casting director would talk about us to her assistant as if we couldn't hear her. Maybe the others chose to ignore it, but I was engrossed. It was wonderfully catty and blunt. The best was when they kept referring to one girl as "Sarah Jessica Parker" and not in a good way.

Anyway, I was called over to try on a few pieces. There was not much left as they had already done a call the week before and were just trying to fill out the show with a few more looks. The first wasn't so great. The second was awesome. Well, ok let me be honest, it was simple but it was one of a kind so it was awesome. The top looked fantastic - it was the bottoms that were issue. For the record they were smaller than what I normally wear, but I was assured that other girls had been able to fit in them so I "should be fine".

This is what was discussed when the director looked me over...

"You don't have camel toe, nor do you look like a sausage. But there is a difference between fit and tight and you are walking a fine line." She then poked a small part of my side and said, "This right here is what concerns me". I apologized for my hips, and she assured me that I looked fine, and reiterated that it was just that they had so little to work with and they were hoping to use me but it wasn't looking to promising...

Before I left, she asked for me to tell her assistant my name so they could mark my sheet and keep my stuff on file. The designer saw me leaving and yelled over asking why I was leaving and not trying other looks. The director explained that there wasn't anything left. So I guess he thought I was a keeper too.

It was a pretty neat experience, but I am not holding my breath that they are going to actually call me. I may try another one in a few weeks if I see something. If I something does happen, I'll let you know, but until then I will be eating deep friend cupcakes =)