SCREEN ACTING ENSEMBLE AUDITIONS 2017 Thank you for your interest in SCREEN ACTING ENSEMBLE. For the audition, you will need to prepare (learn & rehearse) ONE of the roles from ONE of the following short scenes. You will perform this to camera, in front of the other auditionees. Please wear comfortable clothing and bring a bottle of water. Once you have auditioned we will contact you the following week to let you know the outcome. If we are able to offer you a place in the course and you wish to accept it, you will need to arrange payment for the course prior to course commencement. If you have further questions regarding the audition process, please email us at open@nida.edu.au or call (02) 9697 7626. We look forward to seeing you at NIDA. 1
SCENES SCENE ONE ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN from NEWSROOM by Aaron Sorkin INT. OFFICE - DAY JIM: Did you know that Will McAvoy didn t know that you were hired as EP and he s at his agent s office right now? MACKENZIE: I didn t know that when the day began but I know it now. JIM: I quit my job for this Mack. And so did the three other people you told me to bring. MACKENZIE: Well the show was cancelled so we were out of work anyway. JIM: I was offered any other show I wanted at CNN! MACKENZIE: I know but I wasn t. JIM: That s not the point. MACKENZIE: Still, it s aggravating that you rise to a position... you know... a certain position of... JIM I put down first and last month s rent, do I have a job in New York? MACKENZIE: Yes, of course you do. JIM: You re sure. MACKENZIE: No. JIM: I m calling Tom Walton and begging for a job, I don t care, I ll cover hurricanes. Jim begins to leave before being stopped by Mackenzie. MACKENZIE: Jim, Jim, Jim, wait. JIM: What? And why didn t you tell me that there was some kind of problem with you and Will? MACKENZIE: Because that s personal. Do you see me asking personal questions? Now when was the last time you were in love with a woman? JIM: What? MACKENZIE: When was the last time you had a passionate relationship with a woman? Like Hollywood love? High school love? JIM: You know that the only reason I m still standing here is because I have no where else to go, right? MACKENZIE: I do know that. When was the last time? JIM: Never. That s never happened. 2
SCENE TWO TWO WOMEN from THE BOYS written by Stephen Sewell INT. SANDRA S BEDROOM SANDRA S HOUSE Sandra looks in the mirror, admiring a Japanese fan she holds. She hears a knock at the door and looks as Michelle enters quickly. SANDRA: Oh hello Michelle I was just looking at my fan... It was the only think he ever gave me. Funny, isn t it? They all left me; they said they loved me, but they left me. I don t think you should ever leave anything you love. Michelle sees a small, framed indistinct black-and-white photo of a man in his singlet. She shifts her gaze to an old portable television propped up on a chair by the bed. MICHELLE: I m worried Sandra SANDRA: That s why women were put here on this earth, Michelle: to worry MICHELLE: What s your problem, Sandra? Can t you see they re going to rip the place apart? SANDRA: Oh, stop being such a drama queen, Michelle: you know what they re like; what harm are they doing? Michelle is suddenly struck by an odd thought. MICHELLE: Are you frightened of them? Is that it? SANDRA: Frightened of them? Why should I be frightened of them? They re my sons. MICHELLE: [out of view] You are, aren t you? You re frightened of them. You re just as frightened as I am about what they might do. SANDRA: They re not going to do anything. What are they going to do? Are they going to let off a bomb? There s worse things in this world, Michelle, than my boys! MICHELLE: That s not what I m talking about! SANDRA: You try living here and keeping a lid on things! You try it! MICHELLE: Will you listen to me? SANDRA: [blurting out angrily] No you listen to me; it s alright for you to come marching in here telling me I gotta do something. MICHELLE: I m not SANDRA: You try living here with it. I m the one stuck with it, Michelle, not you! MICHELLE: Well they re yours, aren t they? SANDRA: Yes, they re mine! They re mine, Michelle and I love em! MICHELLE: Then chain them in, Sandra, because they re up to no good. SANDRA: I m not chaining anyone in; they re not dogs. She glances at Michelle. But I ll tell you one thing: as long as they re under my roof, they ll do as they re told. Michelle doesn t believe her. MICHELLE: Good luck SANDRA: I don t need good luck, because I know em
SCENE THREE A MAN AND A WOMAN from LANTANA written by Andrew Bovell INT. BAR NIGHT A cop (Leon) cheats on his unhappy wife who, in secret, sees a psychiatrist whose own marriage is corroded by grief. The cop's lover, Jane, is recently separated from Pete. Her neighbour is a muscular unemployed man. Late one night, the psychiatrist skids off a back road, finds a call box, and tries in vain to reach her husband. She sees headlights and flags down the driver. Later that night, Jane sees her neighbour park his truck and throw something into the lantana in a vacant lot. It's a woman's shoe. Leon and Jane are sitting in a bar. Leon nurses a whiskey, Jane a white wine. LEON: Why d you and your husband split up? Do you mind me asking? She shakes her head. JANE: I grew up and realised I was living with a man I didn t love. LEON: Was it that simple? JANE: No. Jane laughs to cover the obvious pain of it. LEON: But you knew that much, at least? Jane nods. JANE: Perhaps my expectations were too high. She unconsciously twists the wedding band on her finger. LEON: You re a brave woman (She nods) You are, most people settle for less. She thinks maybe he is talking about himself, she is encouraged. JANE: I really like you Leon maybe a too much. But I m I m starting to wonder just where this might go. PAUSE LEON: I m still in love with my wife Jane. I m sorry. She is shocked. JANE: Then why have you been seeing me? LEON: I don t know it s it s not something that I planned. PAUSE LEON: Look, Jane, I I know this doesn t have to end badly. She holds up a hand to stop him talking. Leon doesn t move wanting to resolve it somehow. JANE: Just go. He gets up and hesitates, wanting it to be all right. JANE: Just go go! He leaves.
SCENE FOUR TWO MEN from American Beauty by Alan Ball INT. OFFICE BUILDING DAY LESTER sits at his work station, a beige cubicle surrounded by identical beige cubicles. He is staring at a computer monitor and talking on a headset phone. LESTER: Hello, this is Lester Burnham from Media Monthly Magazine, I m calling for Mr Tamblin, please?...well, we re all under a deadline here, uh, but you see, there is some basic information about the product launch that isn t even covered in your press release and I Yeah. Can I ask you a question? Who is Tamblin? Does he exist? Cause he doesn t ever seem to come in Yeah, ok, I ll leave my number BRAD, a dapper man in his thirties, approaches and observes Lester, who is unaware of his presence LESTER: It s 555 0199. Lester Burnham. Thank you! Lester disconnects the call, obviously irritated Brad: Hey Les. You got a minute? Lester turns around, smiling perfunctorily. LESTER: For you, Brad? I ve got five. INT. BRAD S OFFICE MOMENTS LATER Bra is seated behind his desk in his big corner office BRAD: I m sure you can understand our need to cut corners around here. Lester sits across from him, looking small and isolated LESTER: Oh, sure. Times are tight, and you gotta free up cash. Gotta spend money to make money. Right? BRAD: Exactly. So Brad stands, ready to usher Lester out. LESTER: (blurts) Like the time when Mr Flournoy used the company Mastercard to pay for that hooker, and then she used the card numbers and stayed at the St. Regis for, what was it, like, three months? BRAD: (startled) That s unsubstantiated gossip. LESTER: That s fifty thousand dollars. That s somebody s salary. That s somebody who s gonna get fired because Craig has to pay women to screw him! BRAD: Jesus. Calm down. Nobody s getting fired yet. That s why we re having everyone write out a job description, mapping out in detail how they contribute. That way management can assess who s valuable and
LESTER: Who s expendable. BRAD: It s just business LESTER: (angry) I ve been writing for this magazine for fourteen years Brad. You ve been here how long, a whole month? BRAD: I m one of the good guys, Les. I m trying to level with you. This is your one chance to save your job. Lester stares at him, powerless.