[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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[getemtiger]

Though Mary Jane wasn't even sure of how many auditions she had done, there was no doubt in her mind that none of them had been quite so nervewracking as this was. She'd been practiced, then, comfortable if not always confident; after a time, it had become like a routine, including the rejections that typically followed, that would just send her off to repeat the process again. It was different, here. More than a year and a half had passed since she had so much as spoken a line onstage, longer still since her last audition, and on top of that, shows here were few and far between. If she blew this, there was no way of telling how long she would have to wait before she got another shot. This was the closest to her career she would ever get, now, and though she wasn't about to admit to as much, she needed it. Acting was the only thing she missed about home. Difficult though it may have been to pull herself together after Halloween, if there was anything that was worth it, it was the possibility of getting to perform again

[howmanylives]

Seeing as he'd married the Parkers, Jamie was about to cut off Mary Jane from her formal introduction, but then decided against it, dropping his hand without another word as she continued listing her credentials. If she was going to play the professional card, he was all too glad to follow her lead -- he had no interest in nepotism, and even if he did, he was still pissed about Parker's stunt on Stark's yacht during the hurricane. While his wife had played no part in that altercation -- not that Jamie knew of, at least -- it was still a hard fact to keep in mind, and that he was more familiar with her counterpart's body of work back in his universe was another point against her. Mary Jane Watson's forays into acting hadn't exactly earned her much critical praise.

But if anyone knew a thing or two about keeping an open mind -- not to mention clones -- it was Jamie Madrox, and so he was determined to keep his natural biases out of the casting process, for better or for worse. Her experience with Wilde was, admittedly, impressive

[getemtiger]

"Catherine, from Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge," Mary Jane answered, finding herself almost grateful for the lack of personal response. It was easier to try to think of this as any other audition like that; though it didn't help to settle her nerves much, she was willing to take whatever she could get. As it was, she was just grateful she had a monologue in the first place. Better to use one that had done her well in the past than to battle the bookshelf, trying to find something else suitable and memorize it in such a short time. Given the unexpected turn of events a few days prior, that was a decision that had definitely served her well

[howmanylives]

If he'd watched Mary Jane more critically than the others so far, it was only to make sure he didn't miss anything -- she was, in a way, at a disadvantage, and though some part of him had thought to warn her, he'd decided against in the end. Seeing her now, he was glad he'd held his tongue.

"You've done your homework," Jamie surmised after a beat, pulling himself up to his feet. He almost wanted to ask if things were alright at home, between her and her husband, but they'd struck out on a professional tone, and he had no need to deviate from that for the sake of idle curiosity. "You don't happen to remember anything of Cecily Cardew's? I'd like to hear your English accent, and Miller's no good for that."

[getemtiger]

"No, he really isn't," Mary Jane agreed lightly, looking up at him, having ducked her head. Mostly, it was a way of buying herself a little bit of time. She was sure she could remember something of Cecily's, but it wasn't as if she had practiced, and the last thing she wanted was to screw up when she was pretty sure that had gone fairly well. As for the comment about having done her homework, she could only hope that he took it as a good thing. Catherine's monologue was one she had used for some time, but it wasn't like the appropriateness of the last couple lines had escaped her

[howmanylives]

"That'll be enough," he said, holding up a hand once she'd finished. Taking a moment to scribble another note or two under what he'd already written, he looked up, flashing her a smile. She'd easily been among the most prepared so far, which was promising to say the least. "Thank you, Mrs. Parker."