New Experience

Children are a necessity in TV, film, commercials and such. I had thought that you have to use twins or triplets, but maybe that's not true. My only firsthand knowledge is in auditions. I have been in a few where there were a lot of kids hanging around, and you have to be wary. You never know when one is going to bump into you or overhear you cursing. The presence of kids also means that the waiting area is clogged with at least one parent per kid. It's a nuisance.

I never had to deal personally with kids. It was always the case that the minors auditioned separately from the adults, or that the kids were auditioning for a different commercial entirely. That was fine by me, although I don't have a problem with kids. I like them fine, but I don't really know how to deal with them. I can't think of how to interact with them except to do what I would do with someone grown-up. I have put my hand out to shake with multiple babies. They all left me hanging.

The other day I had my first audition with a kid. I had thought they might do it separately, but they were pairing people up. It was a novel experience. The lobby was bedlam, of course. There were people with musical instruments all over the place in addition to the kids, their parents and those who were out for the role that I was. I think the thing went fairly well. I think I did well enough working off the kid.

The experience will serve me well, I hope, but the audition is now in the past. Like all the other ones, it's a thing I had on my mind for a little while before I went and did it, and now it's over. There is just the peculiar experience of having an exchange with a kid for what was not just the first time in an audition but also the first time at all in a good while. Kids are just not much a part of my life, but who can say what the future holds?