Carlos adjusted the collar of his too-tight shirt, the fluorescent casting room lights buzzing overhead like a bad omen. The director didn’t even look up from his phone as Carlos delivered the lines he’d spent the week rehearsing in front of his bathroom mirror. His voice wavered on the punchline, a joke that landed flat in the hollow room. One of the producers scribbled something on her notepad....Carlos caught the words “too stiff” before she turned the page.

“Thank you, we’ll be in touch,” the casting assistant said, already calling in the next actor before Carlos had even made it out the door.