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“As long as you remember your lines, you take direction, and you don't act like a diva, they'll love you… God, Listen to me. I'm so obnoxious. You were on that show for three years. You know the routine.”
“It's fine,” I say. “Really, I appreciate the concern.”
Relief floods her face. Laurie is weird, but I get it. She's trapped in TV world. That kind of thing makes it hard to engage with normal life.
“You're reading with Danny and Naomi today, you know, the hot kid and the sister. And, girl, he is damn hot. I know you're engaged or something, but damn. I wonder if he really is into older women.”
“So you didn't get a little casting couch action going?”
“I don't seem that desperate, do I?” She asks.
“Want me to remove his clothing?”
“Yeah… I mean, your character would do that. Wouldn't she?” Laurie asks.
“Yeah, it's about the character,” I say.
Laurie clears her throat. “Do whatever feels natural. I trust you.”
“Right…” I say.
I smile. Laurie is fun. She's almost distracting me from the complete misery that was my weekend.
“Just get into character. Have fun with it.”
“Sure,” I say.
The door opens. “Oh, shit, the suit is back. On your best behavior now,” Laurie says and gets back in her executive chair. The suit comes in with a young actor, 18 or 19 maybe. Laurie was right. He is hot—handsome, tall, and muscular with gorgeous olive skin. He looks like a Spanish-American pop star. It's not hard to imagine why Marie Jane is interested in him, and it won't be hard to play scenes where he is the object of my character's lust.
I might not even need to use Luke as a trigger.
We shake hands and introduce ourselves. His name is Danny. He was a child actor. He loved me on Together, the sweet suck up. Laurie sets up a video camera, directing us to get within the frame. “Whenever you're ready,” she says.
Danny starts the scene—his character is working out in the yard. Much to Laurie's delight I'm sure, he takes off his shirt to count out a round of push ups. I don't have much to play, mostly watching him with my tongue hanging out of my mouth until I gain enough sense to try to grab his attention.
Even though it's only a chemistry read, we get into character. I look at him like he's the only thing I'll ever need. He looks at me with the kind of curiosity only a 17 year old boy could have. It's fun and silly and, for a minute, I am Aly
ssa Summers, hard-working actress, instead of Alyssa Summers, Ryan Knight's fiancée, pathetic, cheating bitch.
When Laurie calls scene, I am desperate to get back into the flow of acting. “Can we read the next scene?” I ask.
“We have time before Naomi, don't we?” Laurie asks the suit. The suit nods and Laurie claps. Jeez, the girl is enthusiastic. “Whenever you're ready,” she says.
I sink into the role. I am Marie Jane, ex-model, desperate attention seeker. I need nothing more than a distraction. I need nothing more than this kid, under me, or on top of me, or behind me. I don't give two fucks how he wants me, I only know I need him to want me, I need him to touch me and kiss me and fuck me. I don't care that it is wrong, that he is underage, that this will make things awkward for my sister. I need to have him or I will never be happy.
My character brain takes over and my actor brain recedes. It is just Marie Jane, trying to seduce this kid. And, when it comes time for the in-script kiss, when I have to play the deepest, hardest, most intense attraction I've ever felt, I close my eyes and picture Luke. If it was Luke next to me, what kind of things would I do to him? I grab Danny's waist. I press my body into his. I do not go beyond a stage kiss—my lips are closed, pressed against his in a very technical, unsexy way—but I play the position of my body and hands big and loud, the way I would if it were Luke.
That's not going to help you get him out of your head. Have a little self-control and find some other trigger. Or don't use a trigger at all. This Danny kid is hot enough to warrant your lust. If you were single, you'd be all over him.
Laurie calls scene and we separate. I apologize to Danny. “That wasn't too much, was it?” I ask. He shakes his head, a smug little smile on his face. This is probably his first time playing the hot dude.
“Geez, Alyssa, I'm not going to get your fiancé coming after me am I?” Laurie asks. “I think we can consider that ample chemistry.” But this does not satisfy the suit. She is not amused by Laurie's jokes. She goes into details of the scene, the lines, the chemistry. They watch the scene again on their little camera.
“That was great, guys,” she says and dismisses Danny. We wait a few minutes for Naomi. Laurie gives me a little background on her, and how she's been playing my character's sister.
Naomi enters the room, and I can tell she is a force to be reckoned with. She is no-nonsense, dressed all business casual, in sensible pumps and a knee-length skirt. She has hard features—a thin figure, strong cheekbones, neat hair. She's the responsible sister, a harsh rule maker with no sense of fun. Someone like Ryan.
We introduce ourselves and shake hands. She doesn't look me in the eye, but she does read her lines, playing each one of them. Unlike Danny, Naomi doesn't get into her role or give me much room to play. She jumps in with her next line the second I finish mine, probably eager to be done with this. We finish the scene, neither one of us really into character, neither one of us hitting the emotional or comedic beats.
