Dory
Lubliner

AUDITIONING FOR GOING STEADY....

At the time, my days were devoted to working as a top list recording studio and performing bassist. Naomi is a very kind-hearted person who was aware of and supported my professional ambitions and championed me at every opportunity.

While my intentions towards Naomi were genuine, clearly, one of the reasons why I (an actor & musician at the start of his career) pursued a relationship with the daughter of the biggest movie producer in Israel at the time, was so that I would hopefully have first hand privileged & preferred access to an opportunity to advance my career that would potentially come up. Menahem knew I had professional experience in acting, so at some point it became obvious that I could be a good candidate for a part in the movie.

So the time came when the Going steady script was completed and approved and the production was to enter the Casting phase. I expressed to Naomi my interest in being in the movie, and she in turn asked her father on my behalf, if he could help to arrange for me to be auditioned for a part in the movie.

Menahem the producer suggested me for a part in the movie to the director, Boaz Davidson, who in turn agreed to audition me. They were in fact seeking to discover & exploit new talent, so I was told to show up at the date, time and location of where the auditions were to take place.

I vividly recall entering the building where the Noah Films offices were located on that particular occasion.

Joel Lila & Dory Lubliner in Going Steady (1979).

I had been to that office many times before on personal reasons, going up the stairs, walking down the long empty hallway leading to Menahem's & Yoram's respective assistants/secretarys' office and finally through a door leading to their adjoining offices. Except this time, the long empty hallway was packed with all sorts of teens patiently & quietly waiting for their turn to audition.

It was eerily quiet, per the instructions not to disturb the ongoing auditions in Menahem's office and there was an atmosphere of silent tension you could cut with a knife. Some of the teens were actors, or aspiring actors, some just kids who wanted to be in the movie and had (who knows how) managed to be granted an audition appointment. Maybe 25-35 kids in their late teens.

At times we could hear the voices through the walls, of whoever was performing an audition, then we'd see them exit the room and leave the premises, one by one with invariably various degrees of excitement or disappointment in their faces, only adding to everyone's stress.

I was typically late to arrive so I was the last one in line. I arrogantly considered myself superior to "all them amateurs" and my strategy in being the last one to audition, was meant to ensure that while the director would be tired & frustrated & want to go home already, I'd give him the performance of the century that would leave a lasting impression and make his whole day long ordeal worth while - getting me the part.

While waiting, I asked some of the kids if they had received any "sides" (a sheet describing the scene with some of the part's dialog) and was told no-one had been given any such thing. They said they were told that the audition would be improvised on the spot once each came in to face the director - which worried me a bit and made me wonder how professional this production was going to be. I also knew that the lead actor Yiftach Katzor (whom I was not acquainted with) was in there ad-libbing his part opposite each of the auditionees.

So, time went on and I was eventually left all alone in this long empty hallway, sitting on this wooden bench "biting my nails and sweating bullets" trying to keep my cool while hearing voices, laughter & strange sounds from inside the audition room.

The guy ahead of me in line exited the room and left as I sat there waiting and going nuts from the stress. As I sat there, around 4:00 or 5:00 PM, someone peaked into the hallway to see if there was anyone else left, when (s)he saw me, I was invited to go in. I immediately took on my cool laid-back persona and walked into the room.

Behind Menahem's imposing desk sat Boaz and beside him sat Tzvi Shissel, someone I knew was a close friend of Boaz, a writer/lyricist/director. They were both smiling from ear to ear and seemed to be having a good ol' time. There was also some kind of video camera pointed at the front of the room and connected to a video monitor on the desk facing the two "clowns" who were about to audition me.

I looked to my left and saw Yiftach looking at me with anticipation and a big smile, as though he could hardly wait to eat me alive. Someone handed me a pair of reading glasses ordering me to put them on which rendered me virtually blind, but it was supposed to make me look like the "class nerd" and also handed me the Tel Aviv Yellow Pages to pretend I'm holding my school-books.

Then Boaz addressed me and began to describe the premise of the scene. He said: we don't know yet what part you might fit but for now you'll play the "class nerd". In the story, Yiftach has the hots for this cute girl from school whom he's pursuing.

On that particular day, on his way home from school he walks by the apartment building where she lives, stops below the 3rd floor apartment's balcony and is getting ready to call for her.

You, however, are supposed to be a secret admirer of hers equally interested and pursuing her as well, and more-over, on the same day you also go to try to meet with her on your way home after school, and you unintentionally bump into each other in front of her building and are faced with a very awkward situation. So, please step back a few steps and on "action" start walking towards Yiftach. "ACTION!"

The directors' eyes are wide open and glowing with excitement, they applaud!, we both bow, I say "thank you, thank you"

Boaz says to me "you'll be in the movie, we will contact you".