Every actor has at least one audition story they still think about at 2am.

This week, The Working Actor NYC gathered around the internet campfire to relive some of the funniest, most mortifying, most chaotic audition stories we’ve ever heard — hopping into a bread truck to make it to Ripley Grier, singing West Side Story with a surprise bell choir accompaniment, self tapes shot like Oscar-winning cinema before anyone knew what a self tape even was, and the kind of unhinged audition notes that still haunt actors decades later. Somewhere between the trauma and the laughter, we realized every actor has survived at least one audition that should have sent them directly into witness protection.

But underneath the chaos is something real: the resilience it takes to keep showing up. We talk about rejection, overthinking, bad direction, casting workshops, awkward industry moments, and the weird emotional endurance test that is building a career as an actor. If you’ve ever walked out of an audition replaying every second in your head… this episode is for you. Pull up a chair, bring your own horror story, and join us for one of the funniest and most honest conversations we’ve had yet.