Actor Aaron Marcus missed his 12:20 pm audition slot after a late bus and traffic in New York, arriving around 1 pm instead. He stayed calm, didn't over-apologize, and still got pinned for the show. His lessons: build travel buffers, tell your agent first, and use breathing techniques when things go wrong.
Hey, I'm Aaron Marcus. And hey, really quickly, if you are watching this on YouTube and you haven't subscribed yet, make sure you click the subscription button and also the little bell, the notification button. And that way, every time I upload a new video, you'll be notified. Hey, so I just experienced every actor's nightmare. It was, it was really, really tough. And, and that's what I like to do in these Quick tip videos. I mean, not to share nightmares, but just to share real experiences that happened to me that will be beneficial to you. So really quickly, I had a commercial modeling job in New York, very excited about that. And the shoot started at 1:45. I had a 2-hour booking. So for me, I had just gotten back from giving workshops in California, pretty beat. Didn't want to do the drive, so I decided to take the bus. And the bus actually was— it was perfect because the photographer's studio was like a 500-foot walk from where the bus stops in New York City. So this was just great. Late in the day, I got an email from an agent saying I have an audition. for a new TV show. That's pretty exciting. So when's it happening? On the same day as my job. And they wanted to, the casting director wanted to see me at 10:00 AM. So with my ticket, I don't arrive into New York until 11:30. So I asked the agent, is there any way of me being seen later? Ultimately, I would have switched tickets. This company is really impossible to deal with. I probably would have had to just paid for another ticket. Or paid a penalty. So the casting director— and this is a woman, is a big casting director. She actually was part of the casting for a big TV show that I had a recurring role on, so I know who she is and respect her a lot. And she was very nice. She said, yeah, I could come in at 12:20. So Normally, if that were the only thing I had going on that day, I would have caught an earlier bus. I just like to give myself more time. You just never know what might happen. And so, like, for the print job, I gave myself almost 2 hours. Or actually a little over 2 hours. You know, just in case. I just wanted to be able to relax. So I knew I was cutting it a little bit close. It gave me— 2 hours. You know, almost an hour to get there, and it wasn't that far. It was about 8 blocks away. So I thanked the agent, and so now the bus is running late, and I figured, okay, well, it's, you know, now it's like 8:30, you know, we shouldn't hit so much traffic, you know, rush hour will be done, you know, hopefully they can make up some time. Traffic was just horrible. We didn't even leave my area until about 8:45. I mean, they were really late getting out. And then the traffic was really bad getting to New York. Once we hit New York, traffic was horrible. And I could see I'm gonna, I'm gonna be— first I thought I was just gonna cut it really close. Originally my GPS was saying we would arrive around 12 o'clock. I think, all right. I could make it in 20 minutes. It's going to be really tight. I can make it in 20 minutes. Now it's saying 5 after 12. Now it's 10 after 12. And now we're not even getting into New York past 12. And then the traffic just— it was just logjammed. It was, it was a nightmare. So here, here's what I needed to do. I called, I texted my agent and said, look, I just want to let you know I am running late. Please let casting know. Personally, I'm just embarrassed. There's no excuse. What am I going to say? The bus is late. Well, look, the fact is I don't live in New York, which complicates things, and that makes me even more sensitive to it because I never want them to think, well, he's out of town. There might be a problem. Even if I book a job, they might not want to submit me because what happens if he's late? I mean, I'd be coming up The night before, if I had a day job in New York, you know, for a TV show, I certainly wouldn't be coming up in the morning and cutting these. But, but they don't know that. And, and so, look, it's hard enough getting auditions, and then to show up late. And I'm, I'm running all these things through my mind. What am I going to say to the casting director when I get there? Uh, are they still going to even see me? They, you know, they, they might just say, hey, Casting's already done. Sorry, we're, you know, we're finished for the afternoon. Um, it was horrible. My heart is racing, and, and I already had my speech worked out. I was going to walk into the casting director's office, and if she said anything, I was just going to say, look, I have no excuse. Uh, there's nothing that I can say, um, that really is going to make things better here. Uh, nothing that you want to hear. Um, All I can say is, I can't tell you how much I apologize. This is something that never happens to me, and that's all I can say. But meanwhile, I'm going into an audition now, and I'm dealing with all the— it was horrible. And get off the bus, and I've got a big garment bag because I'm going to a print job, and I had to bring a lot of wardrobe. I've got another bag just with, you know, headshots, you know, things like that. And I'm running up 7th Avenue. It's freezing outside. And it was, it was just a horrible situation. And it's something, look, we all deal with every once in a while. But as it turns out, I did— I didn't even get to the casting director's office till about 5 to 1. That's how late I was. And I just had to calm myself down. Didn't say anything. Didn't say, hey, I'm really sorry. Didn't want to get into anything. There were 2 people ahead of me, which I was very thankful for. And I did sign in and I was waiting. Somebody might say, sorry, can't see you today. As it turns out, worked out well. Um, it never came up in conversation with the casting director. She says, oh, it's nice to see you, Aaron. And, um, I thought it was a really good audition, so we'll see what happens. But anyhow, if— first of all, always give yourself a lot of time when you are traveling. Not even especially, if you are even taking a train or a bus or whatever it is, give yourself a lot of time because you just never know what might happen and you do not want to show up late. It is just— it makes you look irresponsible and unprofessional. So anyhow, as it turns out, worked out well. Actually, I even got pinned for the show, which it doesn't mean I'm booked or anything like that, but it means that casting really liked me, production really liked me, they're considering me. I'm sure they're considering other people too. But anyhow, it felt good that at least I kind of went to the next level there. So the audition was good for them. And the commercial modeling job, it was wonderful. Had a great time. Everybody was really nice. So as it turns out, everything worked out Really well. Long day, very, very, very, very stressful at the beginning, but that's how you want to handle the situation, along with taking deep breaths, understanding this stuff is out of your control at this point, keeping your agent informed. You don't want to call casting directly. Keep the agent informed to let them know what's going on. And I just hope this never happens to you. Really quickly, I always like to ask if you would like to be a part of this Acting and Modeling Quick Tip channel. Love to have you support it with a donation. There is a PayPal link below the text, and you can make a donation of whatever is comfortable for you, but I would greatly appreciate it. And if you have any topics that you want me— or questions that you want me to discuss in future quick tip videos, let me know. Just shoot me an email. You can get to me through my website, howtoactandmodel.com. And I'm Aaron Marcus. Can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
