Once a man comes to the realization that he’s been seduced by a beautiful women, it feels like a painless kick to the head. But when it’s around a dozen stunning ladies… it’s freakin’ exhausting.
Cut to the auditions for After The Riots, a short film I wrote for Jacob Postmus. He was down a few crew members for the last day of casting, and I offered to lend a hand. I never foresaw how hard it would actually be.
The job Postmus gave me — reader. For anyone who doesn’t know what that entails, I’d have to read to the all the actresses who auditioned for the two parts. Unbeknownst to me, the majority wanted to try out for the role of “Ally.” With her sides, she plays a cat and mouse game while seducing the protagonist, me.
Priscilla Faia going for the kiss with Samuel B. Barnes in After The Riots.
What proceeded was hours of scheduled reads by women who gave it their all to win the part. Meaning, I had well over a dozen women act as if they were trying to seduce me, and folks, it confused me. I left Vancouver Film School, where the auditions were being held, like Neo after he’s unplugged from the matrix. It may not exist, but I perceived it to be real.
But it wasn’t. I was just splattered repeatedly by great acting from Vancouver’s finest. Unfortunately by the end, I was drenched.
The woman who scored the role was Priscilla Faia. I never did see her play Ally since she tried out for the part on one of the previous days of casting. I also wanted to watch some of the scenes during production, especially since the crew locked down a location at the airport. My schedule didn’t work out and I ended up being out of town during filming. I’ll be seeing After The Riots for the first time this Friday. I’m curious to see if Faia excells since all the others that auditioned emotionally drained me. I’m also anticipating seeing Postmus’ vision on screen. As a writer for hire, did I help him create compelling characters that keep us entranced for nine minutes?
I’ll find out Friday.
