Yes... SHE walks in... Or HER given name, Natasha Rae Bethea... http://www.modelmayhem.com/3013147 ...  Damn! Go ahead... U can say it too...Damn!... Yup, Ms. Bethea shows up fashionably late to my audition. Natasha (Lets jus call her NRB) comes in and we exchange quick "hellos", not much eye contact. NRB has a certain swagger about her. It fills the room and changes the atmosphere. Thats a trait that most attractive women have. She seems very confident. Unconcerned with the new face in the room. Now Im actually getting nervous. I assume NRB has been attractive all of her life and she doesnt go an hour without a guy trying to hit on her. However, she is attractive in a way that seems nice to me. Not like the slutty, hyper-sexual attractive (which I never have a problem with :-)). But her's is more like that pure beauty and sexiness combined. Reminds me of a girl that grew up in your neighborhood...you had a crush on her, but she only dated the cool guys. So if you wasnt 1, you had no shot, but she'd be your friend. Anyway, I have the script in my hand. Im drinking water by the gulps now. No longer is the feeling in my stomach some enjoyable, excitement-nervousness... This is a "Karriem, you might be out of your league up in here" nervousness. NRB has the script too, but its on the table in front of her, unopened. She read the 1st line in scene 2  so effortlessly, I almost forgot that I was suppose to read too. I thought I was watching tv. Just before my 1st line, I felt what I thought was a huge butterfly emerging from a cocoon, lodged deep inside my stomach (sometimes I get a bit dramatic lol). My mouth gets dry. But here goes my 1st line....

   In about 15mins it was over. It felt like an hour though. NRB was flawless in her approach to that scene. She was sharp, charismatic, and engaging. Her energy was great. I felt as if my energy was off. I didnt think my approach to the character or the scene was correct. NRB was so good it felt like she was the 1 auditioning for a lead role and I was the building janitor reading for an actor that didnt show up. I felt like I didnt show up. The person who took acting classes, memorized long monologues, going back and 4th to auditions, and left it all out there at every audition, really never showed up that day. I knew it was the long layoff. Almost 2yrs of not auditioning or even practicing lines seemed to have stripped me of my "acting swagger". Smh.. Damn... But anyway, I kept my gameface, as we sat back down. The Director, Jai, spoke for a minute or 2. I stood up and shook his hand. I turned to NRB and told her thank you, and that she was great. Still without much eye contact between us. She smiled and I walked out. As I closed the door behind me, I imagined them in the room looking at each other, then simultaneously face-palming. UGH!... I still kept my gameface though. And I could already feel that acting swagger coming back. I was anxious to get home and read more monologues, and get online to look for more auditions. Knowing I would be ready just like before, when I got another chance... if I got another chance. I left the building and I called 1 of my best budds, my mother (Awww). She answered and I said "Ugh, I couldve done better".

   Day 1 goes by and no call from Jai the director...as expected. I didnt think I brought my "A game" so I was not surprised. By the time day 2 came, I wasnt even thinking about "The Handyman" role anymore. A little more than 24hrs removed from an opportunity to take my acting career to the next level, I was back at work, sweating my ass off. After work though, I checked my calls and BAM!!! A missed call from Jai. I txtd him back. He said he wanted me to come back and read again. And also something about maybe "finalizing" something. I asked what he meant by that and he said he was leaning toward me as the lead male. (Input BIG SMILE here). We scheduled a date for me to return and I was back in Takoma Park, MD. ready to DO MY THING for real this time. I was thinking... I earned a call back on a bad day. Im about to go all out now. NRB and I showed up outside the building at the same time. I smirked and nodded my greeting, and she responded with the same. Eye contact minimal. We got in the building and Im ready. Both of us were. The scene seemed sharper, but the biggest difference was the energy level. It was higher, which made the chemistry, which we hadnt developed yet, appear to be better. Jai sat down then got up and left. Leaving NRB and I in the room alone. The silence was so uncomfortable, that I couldnt stand it. But this had to stop. If I had just sealed the deal with my audition today, then me and her need to get cool and fast, because we are going to be coworkers in close quarters (very close quarters). I turned to her and said "So, how have you been". She responded with "Fine". And from there it kept going. Natasha Rae Bethea is a Howard Uni. grad. Who is extremely passionate about making acting her career. This is also her 1st lead role and she says that even though she may appear to be confident, she is nervous as well. NRB and I are apparently at the same stage in our pursuit of a career in acting. We both have had much smaller roles and have been to many auditions. I told her how impressive she was the 1st time I was there. She blushed and was humbled. She told me that I was the best out of all the other guys who she read with for the lead male. I took it as her being polite. Get a compliment...give a compliment type of thing, but I was very appreciative. Jai the director came back and I signed the contract. WOW. I did it. I stood up and shook hands with Jai, while still holding a conversation with NRB. We were talking about something silly as I walked her to her car, laughing all the way. Im noticing that we both can get a bit silly :-). This might be trouble on the set lol. Im thinking NRB and I can be friends. Well, we're going to have to be friends or something because we've got a lot of, ummmm, "kissing" scenes to get through.