MASTERPIECE: An Aspiring Actor Seeks The Role of Her Dreams…Only To Face The Audition Of Her Nightmares
While actors are both recognized and praised for their most memorable roles, their paths to becoming successful performers started in the same place: the audition room. Despite all their preparation for and focus on landing their first big part, though, actors have frequently seen how questionably qualified casting directors can turn those dreams into nightmares.
Scheduled to premiere online at Filmshop Exhibition and later this November at the ME Film Festival in Milledgeville, Georgia, writer/director Eden Martinez’s surreal comedy short film Masterpiece shows how a young would-be starlet (Alyssa, played by the film’s co-writer Ginny Leise) ends up getting trapped in the ultimate "audition from hell".
Instead of performing a monologue or reading character sides, Alyssa is forced to pose for a painting while the obnoxious couple hosting the audition (the Duponts, played by Clayton Dean Smith and Marcia Hopson) subjects her to humiliating insults while revealing embarrassing factoids about her personal life. Overwhelmed by both the situation and the Duponts' verbal onslaught, Alyssa struggles to escape with her dignity - and ambition - intact.
Martinez, who’s worked in both narrative filmmaking (such as her 2014 directorial debut Eulogy) and branded content (the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s "Our City, Our Story" campaign, among several) returns to the director’s chair for Masterpiece - a project that unforgettably satirizes the real life experiences of serious actors whose auditions have been thwarted by decidedly un-serious casting directors.
"I wanted to create a dark comedy with a strong female protagonist in the dark comedy genre that had a bit of a twist," Martinez recalls. "Co-writer/producer/lead actor Ginny Leise is a close friend and had shared some of the bizarre experiences of actresses which inspired me to create a piece that brought those experiences to light. I love films that explore truth through a heightened sense of reality."
Partnering with several members of New York’s Filmshop cooperative on Masterpiece, Martinez aimed for equality within the ranks of her film’s collaborators.
"My main goal was to maintain a 50/50 crew of men and women, which I was able to do," she says, praising two important members of that team: "I was fortunate enough to have two incredible producers, Ginny Leise and Grace Kim, who really believed in my vision. Creatively, Ginny had an incredible hand as the co-writer, specifically in punching up the comedy in the script, which elevated the film."
Photo: Masterpiece co-writer/director Eden Martinez.
Two more critical partners in Martinez’s crew added an impressive visual imprint to Masterpiece. "I find that after producers, my (director of photography) is the next crucial piece," explains Martinez. "I was blessed to work with frequent collaborator Alexa Wolf who elevated the look of the film."
Masterpiece’s setting and characters was a task that fell on gaffer Jackson Eagan. Says Martinez: "...(Eagan) has an immense commercial background and was really able to shape the theater lights to minimize our rental needs."
In spite of its small budget and limited setting, the task of shooting Masterpiece was complex. In conclusion, though, Martinez’s talented collaborators helped to make their film’s production a triumph.
"The original script was about 7.5 pages which we were shooting over a 12 hour day. Thanks to the incredible cast and crew, we brilliantly pulled it off and managed to maintain a ridiculously positive attitude. I couldn’t have had a better team on the project and the passion really comes through in the work."
Influenced by the absurdist comedy of Monty Python, plus the classic comedy/horror fusion and visual aesthetics of Death Becomes Her, Masterpiece offers a hilariously scary yet immediately relatable spoof of how bad auditions - or even bad job interviews - can ultimately become invaluable lessons in professional and personal growth.
"My hope for the film is that viewers, especially artists, can empathize with the insecurity and vulnerability of actors," explains Martinez. "For females, the audition process can be particularly scarring and the film puts that into perspective. I also hope that actors can connect with the absurdity of the system and be encouraged by the fact that they are not alone in their experiences. Artists and people alike share those emotions no matter what their area of work or expertise."
Find out more about Eden Martinez on her web site:
On Instagram: @edenmart11
Details about Filmshop Exhibition can be found here:
