The best audition ever...

I took ARL for an audition for a movie yesterday.  It was in a person's home so you could see those auditioning in front of you.  Since the morning slots were for child roles, there were also parents there watching/waiting as well.

Two other young ladies auditioned before ARL was up.  With both, the director gave them feedback and asked them to run the lines again.  I assumed that was his "thing"...i.e. provide constructive feedback and see how it is received and applied. 

ARL went up and nailed her first read through of the sides.  The director broke into a huge smile as she was running lines with one of the other actors.  He didn't give her any feedback other than that was really good.  She was auditioning for a minor child's role.  He asked her to read for the lead child's role and this time to face the camera. 

As she was reading for the lead role, I watched his smile keep getting bigger and bigger.  When she finished, the camera man said quietly, "you want her, don't you?" to the director.  The director, camera man, and actor asked if we could give them a minute.  They left the room for a few minutes.  They came back and called ARL and I up to the table to sit down. 

The director said, "I usually don't offer parts on the spot in the middle of auditions...but I was taught that when you see what you want, you don't let them walk away."   He turned to ARL and offered her the LEAD child role.

ARL and I were speechless.  He asked if we would be comfortable with her wearing a wig or dying her hair (her adult version of herself is a brunette).  We said sure.  He then explained a lot more about the film and the film company.  He left us with these parting words..."you know it's right when you get chills...you gave me chills".

To be awarded the lead role in the middle of auditions...truly surreal.   So proud of my baby girl!


 

Disney Half Marathon - January 12, 2013

Last weekend I was in Florida having a blast! It was the 20th Anniversary of the DisneyWorld Marathon!  We flew down on Friday afternoon and headed straight to our friend Dwight's house. He had gone to the expo earlier in the day and picked up our race packets. We had an easy night with pizza and subs and hit the bed early (9pm). We had a 2:45 wake up call for Saturday!

I got up after a very short night's sleep and got ready. We left Dwight's by 3:15am. We arrived in the parking lot at Epcot by 4am. We sat in the car and stayed warm for a bit. We headed over to baggage check around 4:45, used the porta potties, then made our way to the corrals. This is the first race I've ever run where they have someone checking your bib at the corral to make sure you are not jumping ahead of where you are supposed to be.

Another big difference I noticed is that usually you can't hear what the people in the front are saying at races.  Disney has great sound systems and giant TVs so that everyone (even those at the back of the last corral) can see and hear what is going on!  At 5:30, the fireworks went off and the Elites and corral A took off.  Another round of fireworks for corral B, and we were off!

There were 25,000 people running this race, so it was pretty tight.  You couldn't get much room to run and you had to do a lot of passing on the grass.  It opened up once we got past mile 2 or so.  The race is amazing because Disney has something to keep you entertained every 1/2 mile.  Photo opportunities, characters, marching bands, cheerleaders, gospel singers...you name it, they have it!

One of my favorite parts was the army men from Toy Story who yell at you as you are running up "a hill".  I use the term hill quite loosely.  Gentle upgrade would be more descriptive....the course is really flat.  I also really loved running down Main Street USA in Magic Kingdom and of course running through Cinderella's castle which was beautifully lit. 

I finished in 2:15:51 which was not a PR...but, I wasn't trying for one.  I just wanted to enjoy the race and have fun.  We spent Sunday in Epcot and Monday in Hollywood Studios.  It was an AWESOME long weekend. 

Me and Dwight...Dwight completed the Goofy Challenge (Half on Saturday, Full on Sunday)

 

2013 Running Goals - Is it OK not to have them??

It's been a while since my last post. I'm happy to report I'm still running! I have a 1/2 marathon coming up in a few weeks. I finished out 2012 with a beautiful trail run with my hubby along Lake Liganore in Maryland. It was idyllic and relaxing!

I'm already signed up for a few races in 2013. I don't really have any goals specifically for 2013 and I'm wondering if that's OK? Will I slack if I don't have something to work towards? Will it make running less rewarding?

What do you think?