[Open to All Auditioners] Casting Call for Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap

[howmanylives]

After the Island's latest prank on Halloween, Jamie was, admittedly, concerned that not enough people would show up for auditions. He'd considered postponing the casting call for a later date, but had, ultimately, decided against it. The snowstorm was such a vital component to the play's plot that the idea of performing it in tropical weather didn'

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[wishesandsmoke]

It had been some time since Eden had auditioned for anything - since there had been anything to audition for - and while she was just a touch nervous, in that way these things always made her, she was mostly just excited. With Daisy gone and Gideon not working and this long lull between Geoffrey's projects, she hadn't been sure anything would happen again here.

She strode out to the center and gave a little wave. "Hi," she said. "Eden McCain. I've done a little bit of everything here: bit parts on Hollywood Embassy, that radio show? And in Romeo and Juliet. I understudied Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream earlier this year, I was Nessarose in a production of Wicked a couple years back and I had a lead role in The Island Job, Gideon Sparks' film, last year." None of it was especially big or impressive, aside from the fact of a film having been made here at all, but she'd had fun with all of it; that was the important thing.

[howmanylives]

"You have radio experience?" he said, and though he sounded pleased with that information, it was clear enough it was a rhetorical question, as he looked back down at his notebook right away instead of waiting for an answer, scribbling down her name and the interesting parts of her resumé. That she was yet another face he recognized from elsewhere, in this case, the first -- and only good -- season of Heroes he didn't bother noting.

Nodding to himself, he gestured with his free hand that she ought to continue. "What'll you be performing for me today, Miss McCain?"

[wishesandsmoke]

"Harper's closing monologue from Angels in America," Eden answered. It was a long one, but one she'd loved for quite a while now. Her instinct was to be a little self-deprecating, to say it had probably been done a million times, maybe even once already for these auditions, but she curbed that. Tried to, at least. She drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes a moment, rolled her shoulders back; a kind of calm, or appearance thereof, washed over her. When she opened her eyes again, it was a little wider, trying to affect that distant, measured wondered that had drawn her to the speech when she'd read it.

"Night flight to San Francisco," she said with a smile, gaze tracking past him and out a window that wasn't there, cheated just a little to give a fuller view of her expression. "Chase the moon across America... God, it's been years since I was on a plane. When we hit thirty-five thousand feet, we'll have reached the tropopause. The great belt of calm air - as close as I'll ever get to the ozone. I dreamed we were there." She paused,

[howmanylives]

She was good -- better, frankly, than he'd expected -- and he nodded his approval once she finished, a smile touching the corner of his mouth as he jotted down a few of his immediate impressions, not wanting to forget them when the next audition rolled around. When he was done, he returned his gaze to Eden, eyeing her carefully, as though trying to envision her in the grander scheme of Christie's play.

"Tell me -- do you have much experience with accents?"

[wishesandsmoke]

"Other than joking around with friends?" Eden asked, a little brighter, for lack of a better word, in her own skin. A smile, a nod, that was good; the buzz that set in as she finished something like that, the satisfaction of getting through it without stumbling too much, that was better. She shrugged. "I'm not sure I'm much good at any of them, but with a little practice... What kind of accents?"

[howmanylives]

"Well," he said with something of a smirk, "the play's set in England, so preferably something from that region. I'm not set on keeping it there, granted, that depends on the talent I can find, but I mostly just wanted to sate my curiosity."

[wishesandsmoke]

"Well, I'd be glad to give it a try," she said, "if you want me to. Something more upper-class, I'd imagine?" Her education had mostly been drawn from various movies, so she wasn't altogether certain her attempts would be anything but laughable, but she was still game for it.

[howmanylives]

"Yes," he confirmed with a nod. Given what he'd seen thus far, he doubted he'd be able to keep the play in England if he wanted to retain the respect of the Island's English population, but he was a firm believer in having all his bases covered. Better to know his potential cast's capabilities -- and limitations -- now rather than later. "If you can avoid the Cockney Dick Van Dyke route, it'd be sincerely appreciated."

[wishesandsmoke]

Eden laughed. "I wouldn't dare," she said. It would come out a poor imitation of Audrey Hepburn at best, a disaster more likely. Either way, he'd need more than a couple sentences to get a feel for what she could do. "Would you like part of the monologue again or something else?"

[howmanylives]

"Part of the monologue should be fine," he said. Casting his thoughts back to what she'd just performed, he nodded, before adding, "Take it from 'souls were rising.'"

[wishesandsmoke]

Eden gave herself a moment to trace through the lines in her mind, then nodded, smiled a little and began. "Souls were rising from the earth far below," she said, "souls of the dead, of people who had perished... from famine, from war, from the plague, and they... floated up." It was a passable attempt, or so she liked to think, though there was something missing; vowels and consonants were mostly correct, but the inflection lacked something to make it seem altogether authentic. "Like skydivers in reverse, limbs all akimbo, wheeling and spinning. And the souls of these departed joined hands. Clasped ankles and formed a web. A great net of souls - and the souls were three-atom oxygen molecules, of the stuff of ozone, and the outer rim... absorbed them. And was repaired."

[howmanylives]

It wasn't, as promised, anything approaching Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, which was, if nothing else, somewhat encouraging. That said, her lack of training was evident, any sense of nuance lost in the attempt -- passable, but not great. The likelihood of the play remaining in England was diminishing quickly.

"Thank you, Miss Cain," he said, holding up a hand. "That'll be enough."

[wishesandsmoke]

"Alright," Eden said, hands clasped behind her back as she dropped her attempt to sound even vaguely English. With any luck, that wouldn't prove to have too negative an effect on her chance at getting a decent role this time around. "Well, thank you. And when will the cast list be posted?"

[howmanylives]

"Preferably by the 9th," Jamie replied after a beat, in the hope that, by giving out an actual date, he'd be able to curb his indecisive tendencies at least somewhat. "It'll be up on the bulletin board."

[wishesandsmoke]

"Okay, great," Eden said. As long as she knew when and where to look for it, not being anxious or overly optimistic about her prospects in the meanwhile would be a little easier, or so she hoped. "Well, thank you." With that and a smile, she turned to leave the stage to whomever would follow.