"Cut!"
Kiera fought the urge to just melt into a puddle right where she stood. That short scene has taken all her energy.
She quickly wiped away her tears and let out a smile at everyone in the room and gave a nod at her acting partner, who smiled and tipped back his baseball cap at her. That sudden smile made her pause for a moment then she immediately shifted her attention back to everyone else in the room and tried not to focus on how handsome he was.
She barely remembered what happened next. She had just enough energy to smile and nod at what she thought were the right moments. Then another employee ushered her out the taping room.
"You can wait at the dressing rooms you were in or anywhere within the floor while the rest of the audition proceeds. Don't change as of yet, there might be further requests for additional scenes. We have a little pantry down the hall, with some tea and coffee and some pastries. Feel free to help yourself."
She was glad she was able to find her way back to their group of cubicles and into the one she had thought was hers. She was thankful she had enough presence of mind to put on her outer clothes and bring her tote with her.
As she slumped into the table and try to breathe. She let the murmur and discussions of several women in the room wash over her. Listening to them discussing how they thought their audition went and what they thought was next was calming.
When her head was clearer, she proceeded to lightly thump her head into the table. 'Kiera, you are an idiot. An idiot.' She didn't want to imagine what would have happened if her acting partner didn't flow with her. 'You took risks. Unnecessary risks that could have cost you this chance to change your life.'
She let out a mental scream, then took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. 'It's done, I can't change it. I acted on impulse and I will reflect on that. But it turned out well, I think. So that risk was a good one all around.'
She took a bottle of water from her tote and chugged it down. 'Now all I can do is wait and pray.'
---
Amanda had just finished assisting several other associates with laying out the face shots of auditionees over a large conference table. They were on their way out when their bosses came into the room.
Laurent led the pack and looked over the photos then snatched one off the table. He turned to the others who came in after him and announced, "I want her for my next project."
Sophia let out a snort as she sat on one of the executive chairs, "She has auditioned to be an actress, Laurent, not a model." My actress was left unsaid.
Laurent turned to Ava who was seated at the head of the table, "You promised I could get who I want for my next project. It will be brilliant! There's a rawness in her that will be amazing in photographs! It will be a hit!"
Eduard raised a hand to stop Laurent from going more off the rails, "As Sophia mentioned, she'll most probably enter the agency as an actress and there won't be time between her training and everything else to be part of your project."
Laurent seemed to puff up and pointed at his head, "I have everything in my head and I've been waiting for the right person to come in. It would be wonderful! She would be famous!"
Eduard fought the urge to sigh, "And that will be the problem, we can't have a fledgling actress gain fame through your art, Laurent. It will be a devastating start of any career. It will haunt her forever. How often have famous models move past the great works that defined them?" He stared Laurent down, "Not often at all, and we're talking about a new actress here. If she's going to be part of our agency then it will not be in her best interest to work with you."
That deflated Laurent to the point he looked like somebody kicked his puppy.
"We're not saying it can never happen, Laurent. Give her some time to get her bearings and see if she can gain a foothold then you can do this project you want with her." Sophia advised gently.
"But others would want her then!"
Sophia rolled her eyes at his theatrics.
Ava looked at them from her vantage point, "So is it a yes to having her proceed to the next stage of the audition?"
Sophia shook her head, "Not much use of getting her into the second trial. Waste of everyone's time. She has the camera sense already, some basic foundation, though quite shaky is at least there. It would have been the things we'll be looking for improvements on during the second trial. I say move her right along to contract signing so my team and I can start the intense trainings."
Sophia suddenly turned mischievous, "Besides, she did make her acting partner break his character to go with her change in script. She flipped her situation around to the point where that scenario was not in the planned responses. Quite a masterful way to show she can change the flow based on her character understanding."
They all turned to the mentioned acting partner who had taken off his baseball cap and let out a wry smile and a shrug, "I wanted to see where it was going."
"She had enough presence to sweep up in her flow someone as experienced as Alec here. I say we get her now and make her sign that contract."