Inside the Reality TV Actor's Studio--Part I

I know this is about 6 months late, but I wanted to give all of you a flavor of what it was like living through the experience of auditioning for, and then being a part of The Second City's Next Comedy Legend.

The craziness began back in March, when I went up to Toronto for a weekend.  I had been planning a trip up there for many months because I wanted to really check out the city and its comedy scene.  I ended up going that particular weekend in early March because my friend Stephanie (who is Canadian, but lives in El Salvador--but then again, who hasn't?) was flying up to Toronto to celebrate her engagement there because her fiancé was in Canada, as were most of their friends and family.  One of the many really cool people I met during the course of that weekend was Stephanie's sister, Heather.  (Evidently, Heather, is a big fan of the 'mos, and we're big fans of her too!)  

One of the things I mentioned several times while I was up there was that I was very interested in taking classes at the Second City theater and, perhaps one day, auditioning for them.  It was all about "putting it out there," just like they say you're supposed to in The Secret. 

A few days later, after I had returned to New York, I received an e-mail from Heather.  She was forwarding me a link to an article about a new reality show being co-produced by the Second City and the CBC.   (For my non-Canadian readers, that's the "Canadian Broadcasting Corporation," which is just like regular TV, only Canadian.)   The show was sort of a cross between "American Idol" and "SCTV"  (but with a smaller budget, and no Martin Short).  They were holding open auditions in four different cities across Canada--Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Halifax--and you had to prepare 3 "original" characters for the first round of the audition.

I thought, "That is so me!"  After all, I love doing characters, and voices, and accents.  Plus I'm Canadian.  And I have been obsessed with the Second City since I was about 14!  (Which is a long, long time ago.)  It seemed almost as if the whole thing had been tailored-made just for me.  (Was I being a tad self-absorbed?  Well, cut me some slack; I am one of them queers, after all.  We're supposed to be self-absorbed.) 

But then I thought, what are the chances of making it through the auditions?  There were probably going to be hundreds and hundreds of people showing up.  What was I going to do, fly up to Nova Scotia on a wing and prayer, charm their (thermally-insulated) pants off, and then take the prize?  The whole thing seemed a little insane.

I looked at the audition dates for the 4 cities; Toronto, which would have been my first choice, was happening on a date when I just couldn't get away.  Meanwhile, Vancouver and Calgary were just too far and expensive to go for only 48 hours.  That left Halifax.  It turned out I could get out of work on the Halifax audition day, it was only an hour and a half away by plane, and I even managed to find a flight for around $300. 

I called my dad for advice.  The first thing he said was, "Well, I hope you know, you're not gonna' get picked!"  (Way to support me there, Dad!  My father really knows how to keep it real.  Word.)  So I said, "Well, I suppose you're right--the probabilities of my getting picked are very slim.  But do you think it's worth just doing it anyway, you know, for the experience?"  He paused; then he asked what I had to lose.  I said just the cost of flying up there and staying at a hotel for one or two nights.  He asked if I could afford it; I said that it was a considerable sum to plunk down, but that it wouldn't cause me to be homeless, or anything.  Then he said, "Well, then, I would just do it if I were you."  And so I did.

Here's a pic of the hotel where I stayed.  (It was also a train station and a comedy club.  Very efficient.)



And here is a pic of the harbor view from right behind my hotel.



Check back soon for a video log of my first 24 hours in Halifax.  (Still trying to figure out how to use Windows Movie Maker properly.  It's a real bitch.)