Chronicles of a Working Actress

My name is Shannon Komai McClain and I'm a working actress. Which means I'm often LOOKING for work. There. It's what I signed up for when I got into this business. People think being an actor is all glamour, red carpets, parties and champagne. Sure, that's part of it. It's great to be working on a fun project where you've got your own trailer and there's people who are paid to do your make-up and hair and ensure you look your best. But in actuality, I spend 75% of my time LOOKING for work. Searching out the next gig. Going to auditions. Sending out my headshot. Meeting with my agent. But an actor (even the famous ones) tend to have ALOT of free time on there hands between gigs. Luckily, I'm no longer calling home asking for help to pay my rent. But trust me-I've been there. And it's not fun.

Anyway, I figured I'll share my experiences with you. The highs and lows. The rejection and disappointment. The successes and failures. And what I'm doing when I'm NOT auditioning. All of it. Plus, I've got a lot of time on my hands since I'm not working. And spending part of the day writing this blog makes me feel like less of a loser.

Today was actually a pretty cool day. I had an audition on the FOX lot in West L.A. for a new show on TBS called "The Wedding Band." It stars Brian Austin Green and it's being directed by Bryan Gordon (who directed "Curb Your Enthusiasm"). Plus, it's always interesting when my outfit for an audition is so short-if a gusty wind blew-my lower lips may be exposed. Yup- I'd be playing a stripper named Stormy Weathers....sorry Mom.



I arrived at FOX early. I pulled up to the security gate feeling good until I found out I was at the wrong entrance. When I finally made it to the right one, parked, and got lost for about 10 minutes on the huge studio lot (thanks alot security guy at Gate 4!), I made it to the casting office with seconds to spare. About 20 minutes later, they called me into the room. I walked past the other ladies standing around reading lines in barely there dresses and greeted the two casting associates. I took my mark in front of the camera and slated myself-which basically means looking into the camera and stating your name- then I went right into my audition. It was only a few lines of dialogue and two scenes, so I had it all memorized and didn't need my script. For the second scene, the casting director asked me to show some of my dance moves, then go into my dialogue. She seemed really pleased with my performance and told me I did great.


Ten minutes later, I was making my way back to my car. We'll see what happens from here.....