Take Four (7 page)

Her mom smiled and touched Bailey’s arm. “Sweetheart, rejection is part of this business. You might try a hundred times before the door opens.” She paused. “That doesn’t mean it’s not God’s will.”

“True.” Bailey knew that, of course. She’d heard it from her professors and from Katy Hart Matthews and so many others. But she didn’t see herself knocking a hundred times. At some point she would want to get married and raise a family, and performing would only be a dream she’d had as a younger girl.

But today the dream was very much alive, the possibility still very real. She kept that in mind as they reached the office for Jeremiah Productions and her mom parked the car. Before they went in, her mom held her hand and prayed for her, that God would shine through her acting and she would rely on His strength to do her best in the coming hour.

They entered the building, and found a woman sitting at a desk. “You’re here to read for Dayne and Keith?”

Bailey summoned her courage. “Yes, ma’am. My name’s Bailey Flanigan.” She turned to her mom. “Is it okay if my mom waits for me?”

“Definitely.” She nodded to a row of chairs against the wall. “It shouldn’t take too long. Half an hour, maybe.” The woman looked over a list, and when she found Bailey’s name she smiled and checked it off. Then she handed Bailey a clipboard with a few sheets of paperwork to fill out. “We’ll need your agent’s information as well. On the last page.”

“Agent?” Bailey took hold of the clipboard and blinked. She
looked at her mom and then back at the woman behind the desk. “I don’t have an agent.”

“Really?” The woman frowned at the list of names in front of her. “You’re reading for a lead. Most of you have agents at this level.”

A lead? Bailey’s heart fluttered wildly in her chest. “There must be a mistake…” She stared at the woman’s clipboard, trying to see if her name could possibly be there. “No one said anything about a lead.”

“Hmmm…Bailey Flanigan?” The woman found her name again. “That’s you, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Bailey felt dizzy. She didn’t dare look at her mother or she might scream from the thrill working its way through her. A lead? Could this really be happening?

The woman smiled again. “According to the producers, you’re here to read for a lead.”

Bailey almost dropped the clipboard. Instead she remembered to smile and give a quick nod. “Okay, thank you. I’ll fill out the form, but yeah, no agent. Is that okay?”

“I’m pretty sure.” The woman shrugged. “I guess you can talk to the producers about it. They’ll be ready for you in a few minutes.” She directed them to the chairs.

Once they were there, and when the woman left her desk and disappeared down a hallway, Bailey grabbed hold of her mother’s arm. “Did you hear that?”

“A lead part!” Her mom kept her voice to a whisper. “No one told us.”

“I know. Now I’m freaking out.” She stood, walked to the door and back again, shaking out her arms and exhaling in short bursts. “A lead part? Seriously, Mom? That has to be a mistake, right?”

“Bailey,” her mom laughed quietly. “Get a grip, sweetheart. Sit down and fill out the paperwork.”

“Okay, okay.” Bailey squealed, but she did as she was told. But she could barely draw a full breath, barely remember her address. She was reading for a lead part? Was this really happening? And was this why God had shut the door on her Broadway dreams the first time around? Another thought hit her. What if the woman at the desk was wrong, what if she had Bailey confused with someone else?

Dear God, if this is real, give me the ability. I can’t do something this big, not without your help…please, God, be with me.

I am with you always, Daughter…Do not be afraid or terrified, for I will go with you.

The truth echoed through her and brought a sense of peace and certainty. God wouldn’t take her into a situation where He wouldn’t also provide. He’d walked with her through the Broadway audition, but clearly that hadn’t been His plan for her. At least not then. So maybe this was where He wanted her to be. She filled out the forms, handed them back to the woman, and in a blur of confusion and quiet prayer, Dayne Matthews stepped into the waiting area and grinned at them. “Hey, guys…come on back.”

“Me, too?” Her mom looked surprised.

“Sure.” Dayne’s smile lit the room. It was easy to see how he’d been America’s top leading man for so many years. “You won’t get in the way.”

Both Bailey and her mother stood, and Dayne led them down a hallway to a boxy room. Andi’s father and a middle-aged woman were sitting at a long table, with photos and notes spread out before them. They stood when they saw Bailey and her mom enter the room. “Hi…thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for having me.” Bailey wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. She shook Keith Ellison’s hand and did the same with Dayne.

Mr. Ellison explained the woman with them was Eleanor
Ainsworth, casting director for
Unlocked
. He went on to list a few of Ms. Ainsworth’s recent films—all of them huge box office hits. “We’re glad you’re here,” she told Bailey, with a polite nod.

Bailey thanked her and then she turned to Mr. Ellison again. “I saw Andi today. She’s doing well.”

“She is. Thanks, Bailey.” Mr. Ellison’s smile was genuine. “Your friendship is an answer to all our prayers. Especially now.”

Bailey wondered if the casting director was a Christian. If she wasn’t, she didn’t seem bothered by Mr. Ellison’s mention of prayer. Bailey’s mom discretely took a chair in the corner of the room, out of the way. Bailey noticed a camera set up and aimed toward the empty half of the room. She gulped, fighting off her anxiety.

Dayne handed her a script. “Turn to page forty-five, will you, Bailey?”

“Sure.” She did as she was asked. With a quick glance, she could easily see a lengthy monologue from a character named Ella. Bailey had read the book
Unlocked
and loved it. She knew immediately Ella was the music student who helps Holden Harris, a boy locked in his own world of autism since he was three years old. The role was indeed a lead and one of the most pivotal in the story.

“Take a minute and read Ella’s monologue to yourself.” Dayne sat on the edge of the long table. “Then we’d like to film you reading it. I’ll play the drama instructor, so you’ll have someone to focus on.”

Bailey felt her head start to spin. She lowered the script and looked from Dayne to Mr. Ellison. “I…I thought I was reading for an extra role.”

Andi’s dad laughed and rubbed his temples. Then he exchanged a look with Dayne. “You didn’t tell her?”

“I thought you did.” Dayne shot a funny look toward Bailey. “Sorry about that.” He shrugged. “I guess you know now. We’re
looking at about a hundred newer faces, fresher girls who could pull off the role of Ella. We’re auditioning ten girls from the university drama department, and Keith and I both wanted to include you in this round.”

“Oh.” Again her head hurt from the craziness of it all. A hundred girls? All with acting experience? She had no right being nervous then. Nothing could possibly come from those odds. “So…how many have you seen?”

“We’ve already seen ninety or so girls, screened them in LA.” Ms. Ainsworth kept matter-of-fact about this part, not letting on whether they felt they’d found their Ella or not. “Since we’re filming here, we wanted to look at local girls too. We’re doing that today and tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Bailey felt faint. Suddenly something occurred to her. Andi would be reading for the part if she wasn’t pregnant. No wonder she hadn’t been herself today. She stared at the script.
Focus, Bailey…you have to focus.

Dayne motioned in her direction. “Take your time. We’ll give you a couple minutes.”

She nodded and focused on the script again. As she did, she realized the enormous odds. Other girls would have agents and resumes, years of experience, sometimes dating back to when they were babies. What experience did Bailey have? A number of stage productions? She didn’t even belong here. She’d probably only been given the chance because she was Andi’s friend, or because she’d had a small one-line part in
The Last Letter
.

Still, a peace came over her as she began to read the monologue.

How she’d gotten here and why they were screen-testing her was irrelevant. God had placed her here, and she would do her best with the audition. At least then she’d have no regrets, even if she wasn’t anywhere near ready for a part this size.

The monologue was touching, and Bailey resonated with it
immediately. Again, because she’d read the book and loved it, she knew which part of the story Ella’s monologue came from. Ella was a high school senior making a passionate plea to her drama instructor to let Holden try out for the school musical. It was a section of the novel where Ella explained how the private prison of autism might actually become unlocked through the power of song.

In the few minutes she had to read through the part, Bailey forgot everyone else in the room. When she looked up, Dayne stood and came to her. “You ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

Dayne smiled and gave her a private wink, as if to say the
sir
was a little formal for the two of them. Still, with Eleanor Ainsworth here, this was definitely a moment to be as professional as possible. Dayne moved toward the camera. “I’ll sit here, off to the side a little with my back to the camera.” He took his spot on a barstool, off-center. Like he’d said earlier, his presence here was only meant to give her a point of focus, somewhere to direct her passion. “Roll the cameras.”

Ms. Ainsworth stood, went to the camera, and pressed a button. “Rolling.”

Dayne looked at Bailey, his eyes offering her a kind of warmth she needed. He made her feel like she was reading for family, which was practically the case anyway. “Okay, say your name and age and the part you’re reading for.”

Bailey nodded. Then she set the script down on the floor near Dayne and returned to her place in front of the camera. A taped
X
on the floor made it obvious where she was supposed to stand. She looked straight into the camera—the only time it would be appropriate to do so—and she did as she was asked. When she finished, Ms. Ainsworth pointed with her finger, clearly cuing Bailey to begin.

For a quick moment, Bailey couldn’t remember anything
she’d just read or what character she was supposed to play or even why she was here. But the flash of terror disappeared as quickly as it hit, and suddenly she was no longer in a small boxy room auditioning before a cold camera, her best friend’s father, and two of Hollywood’s most powerful people. Instead, everything Katy Hart Matthews had ever taught her about acting came rushing back. And in the time it took to inhale, she was no longer Bailey Flanigan. She was a high school girl, passionate that if the teacher in front of her would only see it her way, Holden might find a way free of his autism.

Bailey paced a few steps away and then back again, allowing her frustration, her passion to become palpable. “Maybe you don’t really understand the power of music, Mr. Hawkins.” She stopped and made a frustrated sound. “Music like that isn’t something out here, something people are merely entertained by.” She pressed her fingers to her chest, her eyes locked on Dayne’s. “It’s in here, where love lives and life begins. Music is to the soul like…like air to the lungs. Holden feels it, I know he does.”

Bailey turned, as if she could see Holden standing beside her, rocking slightly, locked in his own world. “I’ve seen him respond, no matter what his therapists say. He feels it, and now you have to give him a chance. I believe…I really believe that music can reach him where nothing else has. No one else. Not since he was three years old.”

The monologue continued, but Bailey couldn’t feel anything but the character. The passing of time, the looks from Dayne and Mr. Ellison and the casting director, every possible distraction faded in the fervor of her plea, the realness of her argument. It actually startled her when Ms. Ainsworth finally lifted her hand.

“That’s all, Bailey. Thank you.”

Bailey exhaled and looked around, suddenly self-conscious. The casting director and Mr. Ellison had their heads together, penciling notes and talking in whispered tones.

Dayne stood and walked to her. “Wow.” His eyes told her he was sincerely moved. “Where’d that come from?”

Again she felt slightly embarrassed. She hadn’t once stopped to consider how she looked or sounded. Rather she only allowed herself to become the part. “I don’t know.” She moved her toe in small circles on the floor, adrenaline still racing through her. “I love the book. It’s one of the best I’ve ever read.”

“You can tell.” He took the script from the floor and walked slowly with her to the table. Once there, the three of them thanked her and told her they’d be in touch. Bailey’s mom waited until they were outside the building before she let out a high-pitched muted scream. “Bailey! I couldn’t believe that was really you!”

“Seriously?” The thrill coursing through her was so great she thought she could run all the way home and still have the energy to run back again. “I don’t know if it was
that
good. I don’t have experience for a part like this.” She looped her arm around her mom’s waist as they walked to the car. “So I let my heart convey the character. I tried not to get in the way. That’s how Katy’s taught me.”

The whole way home her mom marveled at how genuine she’d come across, how sincere and how natural she looked on camera. “You’re perfect for Ella. Who would’ve ever thought?”

“I’m glad you think so.” Bailey laughed, not letting her hopes get too high. “Too bad you’re not making the decision.”

Her mom’s enthusiasm settled down a little, and as they stepped into the house she took hold of both Bailey’s hands. “Honey, what I saw in there…you have such a gift. I mean, I’ve seen it before with CKT, and of course you’ve been training with Katy. But still…that was amazing, sweetheart.”

The compliment stayed with her long into the afternoon and, deep inside her, Bailey realized something she hadn’t known before the screening. Even as badly as she’d wanted the Broadway part, she had underestimated her passion for performing, for
bringing a character to life—whether on stage or in front of a camera. Now she knew better. Whether it took a hundred tries or a thousand…whether she auditioned in New York or Los Angeles or right here in Bloomington. She would keep trying, keep auditioning. And as her resolve grew, she felt God assuring her in a way that made her soul sing.