Sara Podwall

ENGL 484
Waiting Rooms

Jane sat in a row of identical brunettes, listening to the rustling of pages. The waiting

room was almost silent and Jane scanned the line of women looking for a familiar face. Many of

the women looked like suburban moms, which surprised Jane. She had chosen to wear her

business look for this audition and was dressed in a lavender skirt suit and itchy pantyhose. Years

ago this would have sent her into an anxious spiral, wondering how she got the read of the

character so wrong. Today, however, she just wanted the reading end. She was too tired to be

worrying about outfits. She had been up late the night before, begging her son to fall asleep. She

had barely gotten up in time for this audition. It was hard to believe that she used to get up hours

early to do last minute character work beforehand. This would be her last commercial audition

ever and she wasnt going to spend it stressed.

The door opened and Jane looked up. A shorter version of her was coming out of the

room. The women eyed her as she walked by, looking for any signs of how the audition went.

Jane had seen this woman around before. She knew better than to reveal anything to the people

who hadnt auditioned yet. The womans footsteps echoed as she walked down the hallway to

leave. The door loudly slammed behind her, momentarily quieting the rusting papers. The

audition room door opened again and a blonde man walked out.

Jane? He didnt bother looking up from his paper as he called her name. Jane raised her

hand, then stood up to follow him into the room. She wished she hadnt raised her hand. Why did

she always act like she was still in school? She gathered her things and moved forward.

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There were two people already in the room when Jane walked in. An older man was

eating a bag of corn nuts and talking to a redhead, neither of them looking up as Jane took her

place in front of the camera. She glanced down at her sides again while the blonde man sat down.

Can you just look into the camera and tell us your name and age?

Jane Goodwin, 27 years old. The older man still hadnt looked up. The redhead was

now glancing at Janes headshots, making a few notes in the margin. The headshots were only

from a year ago, but Jane already felt like she was handing out the pictures of a stranger. She had

been advised not to get new headshots after her baby, but now she felt like she was lying to the

casting director, trying to fool them into casting her.

How long have you been 27? The young man asked.

Just since December.

And how long do you plan on being 27?

Im not sure. Only a year for now. I havent made any decisions about it yet. Both men

were looking at her now. The women circled something on her page, then reached into her bag to

take out a sandwich.

Begin whenever youre ready.

Jane looked backed down at her sides. She took a deep breathe before giving the camera

a wide smile.

The first person she saw when she left the room was Christy. Jane rarely saw her

anymore on the audition circuit and was surprised she had come out for this. Christy smiled

widely when she saw Jane, standing up to hug her.

How was it in there?

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Kind of rough. The lady ate her sandwich the whole time I was reading. I kept getting

distracted by the crinkling of the plastic wrap.

Man, I hate that. How many takes did you get?

Just the one, but it wasnt too bad. Im kind of done with commercials anyway though.

Really? Christy looked surprised. Youre only going to go on pilot auditions or

something?

Or something. I dont have time for these auditions every day. Peters going back to

work soon and then Ill just be watching Oliver during the day. Jane had just gotten back into

going to auditions, but they were leaving her exhausted. She was trying to juggle all the character

work with taking care of Oliver, not to mention working out every morning. Once Peter went

back to work it would be a lot harder.

Oh right, how is Oliver? I still havent seen him.

You should come over soon. Hes finally sleeping through the nights, so its getting

better. I havent seen you in so long actually.

I know, not since your birthday. Hows Peter?

Good. He went to the doctor the other day to get his lifespan extension.

Oh, are you guys doing that? Christy asked, lowering her voice. Jane looked around,

but no one was paying attention to them.

Yeah, why wouldnt we?

Well, you know some actresses arent doing it.

But there was that whole video where all those celebrities were promoting it with the

President.

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The young movie stars are obviously doing it. Theyre already known. Im talking about

working actresses like us. People are saying there arent going to be enough older women for

roles in a few years. Everyones still going to be in their twenties, maybe early thirties. Actresses

who age naturally will just get all the roles.

Do you really think so? That had never occurred to Jane. People had been extending

their lifespan for a few years now, but she had never thought about how that would effect her

work. Before she had Oliver, she just assumed she would opt out of it. Of course she saw the

appeal of slowing down the aging process, but it was expensive and still relatively new. A luxury

that she and Peter couldnt quite afford, but now that she had a child and it was becoming more

common, she was thinking about it more and more.

Yeah, you should think about it. There arent going to be any thirty or fourty-year-old

actresses soon. Just hundreds of twenty-year-olds The door to the audition room opened right as

Christy said this and the blonde man popped out again.

Christy? he said, glancing down the row of women.

Gotta go, Christy said, already making her way to the door. Call me later. I want to see

Oliver.

Peter was sitting on the floor with Oliver when Jane walked in. He glanced up as

she came in the room, his hand extended to wipe Olivers face with a napkin.

Hey! Oliver just spit up a bit. Weve been having floor time.

I can see that. Jane sat down by Oliver, scooping him onto her lap. She loved watching

Peter play with Oliver. She was dreading the day he went back to work, leaving her all alone in

the house with a baby to take care of.

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How was your audition?

It sucked. The woman ate a sandwich while I read.

What an jerk.

Tell me about it. I ran into Christy though. She wants to come over and see Oliver.

Whos Christy again? Peter asked. Jane rolled her eyes. Peter was never able to

remember her friends. She looked down at Oliver. He was now playing with his feet quietly. If

only he could stay like that all day, Jane would be able to bring him with her to audition. She

briefly wondered whether that would make her more memorable to casting directors.

My friend from that acting class I took a few years ago. Brunette, kind of small. She

spilled iced tea on you at dinner that one time.

Oh right. The loud one.

Yeah, her. She was telling me that theres going to be a market out for actresses in their

thirties soon.

Really? said Peter. He was looking around as she said this, piling up Olivers blocks.

Yeah, most girls are doing the lifespan thing now. Theres going to be a deficit of middle

aged women.

What about the current middle aged women?

Well, they arent going to be middle-aged for long. A lot of them wont be able to get the

extension. Pretty soon there will only be a few of us. Jane had Peters full attention now. He had

abandoned his block pile and was looking right at her.

What do you mean us? Your consultation is in two days and youll probably get your

extension right after. I thought we decided we were getting this done.

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I know, but what if my perfect role hasnt come yet? Im just increasing my competition

by staying in my twenties longer. Now that this had occurred to her, it was all Jane could think

about. There were plenty of actresses who didnt make it big until their mid-thirties. If she really

thought about it, a good role was more likely to come around in her thirties than twenties.

But we decided we wanted to get more time with Oliver, right? Dont you want to see

more of his life? Peter whispered this, as if Oliver could understand. Jane looked down into

Olivers bright green eyes. They were just like Peters and reminded her of summer grass.

Peter and her had talked about this many times. Obviously Jane wanted to get as much

time with her family as possible. She would have given anything to have this technology come

around before her own parents passed away. She understood why Peter wanted to maximize their

time together. But he also had a career. She also wanted a successful career.

Of course I want more time with Oliver! Ive just been trying to make it for so long. I

dont want to miss out on something great.

You dont need to choose one or the other, Jane. You can keep auditioning. Youre

talented and driven and I know youll get a break soon.

I guess I just want it now.

The older you get, the harder its going to be for this to work. You already have an

appointment anyway, Peter pointed out.

Maybe Ill just postpone it. Even as Jane said this, she knew he wasnt going to like it.

This appointment took months to get. Jane, its just a consultation. Just go.

It worked for your parents.

What?

Your parents were older when they got it done and it worked for both of them.

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So, what? Youre going to wait until your fifty to get this done? Forget Oliver, hes

going to grow up and start a family on his own at some point. I already did this. Youll be a

whole different generation from me. I thought we were doing this together.

Not when Im fifty. Ill just wait maybe five yearsten maxthen Ill do it. Would it be

so terrible if Im 37 while your 30?

But what if it doesnt work. What if five years is too late for it to work for you? Are you

willing to risk that?

Jane was getting uncomfortable. She should have known that Peter wouldnt understand

why she was reconsidering this.

Okay, fine. Youre right, Jane agreed. Peter was already easing back onto the floor,

refocusing his attention on Oliver. Ill go.

The waiting room was huge. All around Jane women were reading magazines or checking

their phones. Although no one was talking, there was loudness to the room. It was so different

than the waiting rooms she was used to sitting in. She had been given a clipboard with forms to

fill out when she had checked into the doctors office. She was only halfway through the first

page, but couldnt focus on the paper. The lifespan questionnaire was extensive, not only asking

about her, but also about her family. Name? Jane. Age? 27. Occupation? She paused at this one.

She wondered how many years she would be sitting in waiting rooms trying to become an

actress. Would buying another fifty years just mean another fifty years of going to audition after

audition, never knowing if you were going to make it? She didnt think she could take that.

At what point was she supposed to realize that acting wasnt going to work out for her?

She didnt have a backup plan. There wasnt anything else she had ever thought about doing.

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Any other job likely required some sort of higher degree, but the thought of returning to school

filled her with dread. Was she buying more years of a low-paying shitty job?

She looked around again at the young women in the room. Most of them were younger

than her, but the woman near the fish tank looked her age. She was sitting with a little boy who

looked kind of like Oliver. He was looking right at her with his enormous green eyes. Jane

watched the woman bounce the boy lightly on her lap as she filled out her own clipboard. The

woman looked up and Jane smiled.

So many questions on this thing. How am I supposed to know my entire familys

medical history? I know my mom must have gotten her wisdom teeth removed at some point, but

the year? No idea.

Yeah, I dont know what they need all this information for, Jane replied with a laugh.

She looked down at her own form. Annual income? Ugh. She looked back at the woman.

Your baby is so cute, he looks just like my son.

Thanks, I couldnt get a sitter today so he had to come along.

My husbands taking care of mine.

Thats sweet. We both had to go back to work and normally my sister takes care of him,

but shes coming down with a cold.

What do you do?

I manage a restaurant. Caf Rona. You should come by some time. Were still pretty

new. My husband and I just opened it.

Oh wow. I heard opening a restaurant is hard.

Yeah, it is, but its what Ive always wanted. Jane blinked as she said this. This woman

was achieving everything she wanted and was going to get to do it for years and years.

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Jane stood up.

Ill be right back, she said to the woman. She walked out of the waiting room, into the

small bathroom in the hallway. She splashed cool water on her face before looking at her

reflection. The woman who stared back at her looked so different than her headshots. She smiled,

trying to picture what her new ones would look like. Thats it, she thought, you just need new

ones. Older ones. She grabbed a paper towel, drying her hands quickly. She walked out the

bathroom, turning left towards the front doors. She could wait a few years. She pushed the door

open, heading for her car.