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Of the three days of auditions for A Man of Two Minds/Lost Refuge, the very first thrill was reaching the building. Seriously, no kidding.

Film, yeah, okay we’ve done that before, but auditions for a theatrical production? Nope, first time, so this was a whole other experience.
The location was empty and it was a nice venue for a casting call besides, so the initial impression was along the lines of “Oooh, it’s all ours? Cool!”. Okay, and the room was called the “bad ass” studio. I mean, come on!
What can we say? The little things along the path of creation still excite us.

Our trusty staff photographer, Monte Shen, was on hand documenting auditionees, so we didn’t have to try to remember to snap pics with phones. Always appreciated. Readings were played against Sam and Blair with help supplied by Keith Beegan and Ryan Bower (who wrote the music and sound effects for the show).
Marina Pratt, who would become our Assistant Stage Manager, came to audition for a role. Due to her enthusiasm for stage management, we didn’t cast her. Okay, and maybe we, ah, convinced her otherwise, because it suited our nefarious purposes.

Instead of having her in the show, we put her obvious talents to our best advantage as ASM alongside Sam. Anyone who can keep pace next to Samantha’s considerable organisational skills, I give full props to. Can I say I’m glad Sam’s not my boss? You go, Marina!
Over the three days of auditions, multiple people who had confirmed ahead of time didn’t make an appearance which was a bit of a disappointment. On the plus side, despite a poor turnout on the third day, of those who came, that was when we found our “Rebecca” in Samantha Levine, ending the day on a positive note.
The highlight of the auditions? Hands down, that was zombie audition day. There’s nothing quite like making a bunch of grown-ups shuffle around a room moaning and growling. Fantastic! We ended up with eight highly talented individuals who have now become our zombie horde for “Lost Refuge”. Couldn’t see it happen to a nicer group. They’re a great bunch and I think we may see them make a reappearance once the performance wraps. Can’t let a good zombie horde go to waste. That would just be wrong.

With auditions now complete, we dive right into our first days of rehearsal. See you on the other side of those on September 11th for opening night of A Man of Two Minds and Lost Refuge at the Tranzac Club here in Toronto.
Peace!
JD