Actor/producer Billy Beyrer shares some stories from his UCB wrestling days (1:18) and shares the tale of the time he thought he blew an audition for Law & Order (12:07). Billy Beyrer is an actor/producer from Queens by way of Long Island who has performed up & down the east coast and appeared on several network & premium cable shows as well as regionally specific commercials throughout the years. He once got a WWE legend to do a show at UCB by beating him at rock/paper/scissors, has a tattoo of THE WORD on his body, and both Juliana Marguilis & Kathleen Turner have told him to go F himself on elevators. Billy has undergone multiple surgeries to repair a badly injured leg. If you're at all inclined to help him cover the high cost of getting his leg right so he can get back on his feet doing silly things (and be ambulatory enough to see his dad), please feel free to contribute here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-me-walk-again-and-see-my-dad?member=24458413&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

Actor/writer/director/producer Jeff Ayars brings a unique take this worst audition story because he actually turned his experience into a short film. Jeff even invited me to play the lead. Thanks Jeff! Jeff briefly touches on his first viral hit (and a personal favorite of mine), Canadian Sniper (2:25) before jumping into his worst audition story (4:28). I talk about my first time performing naked (11:57) and Jeff talks about getting close to doing the same. Jeff also shares how he got started as an actor and what his ideal career would be both from a performance and production perspective (18:07). Jeff Ayars is a filmmaker, actor and co-founder of the comedy duo Cannibal Milkshake (with Dan Mahboubian Rosen)—known for their sketches & parodies with over 100M views. You might have seen him as Bradley Cooper on Comedy Central, Captain America on Funny or Die, or snorting (fake?) coke as Finance-Bro Ryan Gosling in "New York New York Land." He's also been on "real" TV, starring as Thomas Jefferson in a Super Bowl ad, and brought his punchable face to FBI: International as an Ivy-League villain of the week. Jeff has directed a handful of web series, short films, and in 2019 produced & starred in his first feature: a horror called This Is Our Home on Amazon Prime. He’s currently in production on his second feature, Lady of the Lake. In his corporate work for NBCUniversal, Jeff has directed spots for Bravo, produced promos for Blumhouse/Universal Pictures, and field-produced MSNBC stories from IMAX headquarters, Area 51 and the Pentagon.

Actor/director/producer Greg Burke briefly touches on his experience as the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup kid in those classic 1980s ads (4:15) before sharing his never-before-told story of quite possibly the rawest, cringiest audition story I have ever heard (5:25). He finishes up with some sincere most story catharsis (17:22), what "making it" as an actor would mean to him (24:15), what he'd be doing if he weren't in the entertainment biz (25:29), and Gary's idea for a Greg Burke TV series vehicle (26:34). Also, Mrs. Burke, please don't ever, ever listen to this episode. Greg Burke is an actor-writer-director-comedian-multihyphenate-enthusiast who performs sketch and improv comedy at the UCB Theater in NYC and LA. Greg has created and produced scripted streaming series for Broadway Video, Nerdist, Fox Digital, Katalyst Entertainment, Funny or Die and Cracked.com. And most impressively, the videos made by his sketch comedy group, Greg and Lou, have garnered over 50 million views online. Most recently, Greg appeared on TV in the CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfiend” and on TruTV’s “Adam Ruins Everything.”

Actor, producer, and think tank fellow Robert Anthony Peters (@robert3names) reminisces about the time his mom acted as his reader for a rather risqué self-tape audition (5:40). He also recalls the time he had to go very out of character for a Tower Records commercial audition where the director later described him as "a heavy metal Peter Pan" (9:45). And, of course, he shares the ridiculous Murphy's Law audition/performance saga of the part he eventually booked in the 2015 Michael Fassbender movie Steve Jobs (12:07). Finally, we finish it off with a plug for Robert's award-winning film Tank Man, a story about the famous protestor who stood up to the communist Chinese tanks in the June 4th, 1989 Tiananmen Square protests (www.tankmanfilm.com). See ya' in the camps. Robert Anthony Peters is a member of SAG-AFTRA and has been acting, producing, directing, and writing professionally in theater, film, voiceover, and more for over two decades. His most recognizable film acting roles are in The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith and Steve Jobs starring Michael Fassbender. He writes and lectures internationally on the relationships between art, law, philosophy, and economics. He records audiobooks, is a policy advisor for the Heartland Institute, a fellow with the Archbridge Institute, and is chair of the board of the Fully Informed Jury Association. He also manages his family’s retail shipping store in Tucson, AZ. His film writing, directing, and producing debut “Tank Man” won the audience award at the Anthem Film Festival and can be found at https://tankmanfilm.com/

Actor/producer/casting director Paige Jennifer Barr (https://paigejenniferbarr.com/) shares her tale of a $20,000 cruise audition gone wrong (7:05). She also shares a couple of stories from the casting director perspective including the time she gave some clueless advice to an actor in a commercial audition that resulted in a not-so-happy call from the actor's agent (11:00). Paige Jennifer Barr is an accomplished actor, sketch performer, writer and casting director living in New York City. She has performed at The UCB theatre, The PIT, The Laugh Factory, and many others. She was a performing and writing member of the feminist sketch comedy group “Women Aren't Funny" and a performer on the UCB improv team ”Bogus Sting.” Favorite acting projects include performing opposite Kristen Scott Thomas in “Sarah's Key” and opposite Edie Falco in “Nurse Jackie.” Other notable credits include shows like “The Blacklist,” “For Life,” and Law & Order: SVU opposite Mariska Hargitay. Paige is also an accomplished comedy short filmmaker - writing, producing and acting in many of her own projects including the comedy web series ”Shoulda Swiped Left”, She brought her solo show “Death, Dating and I Do” based on her experiences as a caregiver and then widow, from NYC to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2018, in 2019 to Boston and London and then when 2020 happened she pivoted to making short films. Her most recent work “The Mom and The Mom” just premiered at the NY Chain Film festival. In her her spare time she volunteers for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Please forgive the rough audio (my fault) as actor/author/musician and motorcycle coach Jimmy Pravasilis (http://www.jamespravasilis.com/) joins me in my basement to talk about his new book "The Assholes Guide to Everyday Living" (4:50), his first stroke (5:15) and how it later impacted a a couple of rough auditions (7:45), how he got started in the entertainment biz originally as Danny Aiello's guitar player (14:08), his experience auditioning with scene partners and a particular story about one scene partner went completely off the rails in a commercial audition (21:20), and what he'd ultimately like to be doing as a performer (28:22). Hopefully Jimmy will forgive the AI for misspelling his name in the subtitles. You've seen Jimmy on The Blacklist, The Deuce, Billions, and Ray Donovan. You can check out his funny, self-depricating, and yes, insightful book "The Assholes Guide to Everyday Living" on Amazon: https://a.co/d/ehB6SP0

Actor/director/VO coach Shelly Shenoy (https://www.shellyshenoy.com/) talks about voiceover directing for Netflix, the BBC, and The History Channel (2:00). It was definitely aliens, by the way. She also talks about what inspired her to get into the acting biz (7:10). And finally she shares a delightfully cringey story about her first anime VO audition with only minimal knowledge of what "anime" is (10:02). And yes, it went exactly how you think it did. :) Shelly Shenoy has voiced major video game titles including: Minecraft, Batman, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Red Dead Redemption 2. She is a Voice Director for Netflix and the BBC, and is a highly sought after VO coach. And yes, she even helped me with my own VO reel. And as great as she is behind the mic, she's equally adept on-camera with great comedic timing and zero shame. You can find a lot of her on-camera comedic work in sketches with comedian Lou Perez and We The Internet TV which have garnered over 40 million views and counting.

Actor/producer/comedian Josh Hyman (https://mrjoshhyman.com/) recalls the time he performed with Naughty By Nature in front of 40,000 people at Met Life Stadium (2:15), laughs with Gary about how they would always get called in to audition for the exact same roles (6:20), shares the story of full-on butchering Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory" for a Broadway audition (8:25) and then making an even bigger fool of himself when he attempted to dance at a Broadway dance call (11:39). He also talks about a rough stand-up audition for a comedy club (15:23) and the time he was asked to say n****r on camera (17:31). Josh and Gary talk about what inspired them to get into the acting business (22:40) and Josh ponders what he'd be doing as an alternative job. Josh Hyman has performed in a one-man show around the country and is an original cast member of the NY Times Critics' Pick "Drunk Shakespeare." You've seen him on Blue Bloods and The Duece and he's currently starring in the off-Broadway show "Sex Work, Sex Play" at the 28th Street Theater.

Actor/improviser Travis Mitchell (https://www.travistravistravis.com/) and writer/performer David Ingber (https://twitter.com/davidingber1) head out to my suburban NJ backyard deck to join me for a special in-person episode of My Worst Audition. Dave discovers very early in his acting journey that he has much more to offer on the other side of the camera (4:26). At the 8:47 mark, Gary brings up Dave’s great Boston accent and Dave obliges with a few lines. Travis and Gary attempt and fail to follow suit. Sometimes we "s*** the bed" in an audition but did you know it's also possible to "s*** the floor"... literally (11:10)? At the 12:00 minute mark, Travis regales us with the stories of his two worst musical auditions - the first when he got the materials a week in advance and didn’t bother looking at them until the day before and the second where he thought it would be a good idea to go up an octave in the middle of his song. Dave offers some valuable insight from the other side of the casting table (20:00). At 25:15, Gary recalls the time he reeked of fanboy desperation in his audition for Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator” and then again fanboyed out when working with Lone Star himself Bill Pullman (27:34). Travis shares how Mariska Hargitay was kind enough to take the blame for his line flub (30:18) during his time on Law & Order.

Actor/musician/improviser Ann Marie Yoo (http://www.annmarieyoo.com/) shares the story of the time a casting director gave her quite possibly the worst mid-audition "adjustment" an actor could receive (3:19). And Gary shares the story of one of his cringiest ever audition experiences for a role that Ann Marie actually ended up booking (11:05). Note: In the interest of preserving this podcast, Gary's story has been partially edited. For the full tale of him being an idiot, you'll have to ask him in person. Ann Marie can be seen on East New York, That Damn Michael Che, and Gotham. You can also catch her performing live monthly at UCB's Maude Night and also at The PIT.

Actor, improviser, and native New Yorker Michele McNally (https://www.michelemcnally.com/) shares the stories of: the absurdly misplaced confidence she brought to her first cattle call musical audition (5:20), the time she was caught without a prepared monologue for an indie film audition and thought she was being pretty clever by making one up on the spot... until she was asked to repeat it (13:10), and her Andy Kaufmanesque commitment to the bit during her audition for the interactive show "Sleep No More" (26:00). Michele can be seen in The Path on Hulu and Space Captain: Captain of Space on Amazon Prime. She is a co-founder and producer of Purple Crayon Immersive, an immersive theatre company here in New York, co-starred as Gary's horrible, obnoxious mistake of a wife in the web series “I’m Gay,” and played Princess Leia in the 3.8 million view viral hit "10 Hours of Princess Leia Walking in NYC" (the latter two of which can be found on our Cringe Factory YouTube Channel).

Actor/writer/comedian Craig Geraghty (https://craiggeraghty.com/) shares the stories of his "big" Sopranos audition (2:16), the time he accidentally scared the pants off some NYU students with an intense audition for the wrong student film (6:45), the time he came up with a Cajun accent on the spot that booked him a Popeye's Chicken commercial (9:53), and his experiences learning to play to his strengths as an improv comic to help overcome his problems with line memorization. Born and raised in Woodside, Queens, Craig got his start in the entertainment field doing stand up comedy throughout New York City from Caroline's to Carnegie Hall. In 2003 Craig wrote and starred in the award winning short film, "From Woodside, Queens" which premiered at the Oscar® qualifying Aspen Shorts Fest in 2004. Craig continued making short films and in 2009 directed his first feature film. "When the Evening Comes" starred Emmy® winner Anne Meara and two-time Tony® winner Philip Bosco and won Best Feature-Comedy at the Kent Film Festival. You've probably seen Craig on numerous shows including Ray Donovan, Iron Fist, The Deuce, For Life, Blue Bloods, The Blacklist: The Redemption, Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order, and The Last O.G. But you may best know him as the face of Las Vegas's commercial campaign for LasVegas.com, playing the role of Las Vegas.com.

Actor/writer/comedian Andrew Kimler (https://www.andrewkimler.com/ https://twitter.com/AndyKimy) shares the gut punch story of the time he completely blanked in the middle of a Shakespeare monologue (4:50) during an audition for a role he truly wanted. His story reminds Gary of the time he accidentally skipped over two pages of important plot dialogue in the middle of a play and what he did to try to fix it (10:13). Andrew tells the gross story of how is wisdom teeth stitches popped out onto his scene partner right in the middle of a show (13:25). The boys finish up by discussing the SAG-AFTRA strike (18:40) and getting pooped/peed on by our kids (25:30).

Actor/writer/producer Matt Van Orden (Law & Order SVU, The Affair, The Listener) shares the cringey and stupidly funny story of his first major Broadway musical audition at New York's premier Broadway casting company (6:40). Book? What book? This story ends with the casting director kindly taking the time to give Matt some valuable audition advice. Gary also shares the audition lesson that a very prominent and kind casting director took the time to teach him when he made a mistake early on (14:28). Matt and Gary also chat hair loss (2:10) and Gary learns that he was supposed to be using gloves with Rogaine this whole time. Yikes. Matt talks about the book and screenplay he wrote for the movie he's currently producing, The Kill Floor (20:04). Logline: "Haunted by a mission that cursed him with PTSD and left his brother comatose, Navy Seal Matt Bama returns home to work with his cousins in the local slaughterhouse only to become embroiled in their opioid operation. After a Navy Admiral's son overdoses, Matt is forced to choose between his family and his duty." We finish up with some inspiring stories about how it's best to be well prepared but then go in and let 'er rip.

Actor/writer/producer Rob King regales us with his first musical theater audition for In the Heights (5:53) and his first web series audition where he was asked to play a very different type of person than his natural corny self (11:53). And Gary tells the story of the audition 15 years ago that started him down the "My Worst Audition" road and inspired many fun (or cringey) auditions thereafter (20:04). Rob King is a veteran actor/writer/producer who has performed on Law & Order, Alternatino with Arturo Castro, and in the Alexandra Daddario movie Can You Keep a Secret. He has written sketch comedy for Above Average and The Dad and he's currently raising money for his passion project short film Unsaid. You can learn more about it here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/unsaid#story