Directed by Sohale Dezfoli and written by Nicholas Begnaud, an actor goes into an open call but misses an important detail in the character description. Starring: Mark Prendergast, Taylor Joree Scorse, Kacey Rose, Lorne Hughes, Tracy Dye and Carlo Malis.
If you’ve ever known an actor or watched any film or television show surrounding an actor, you’ll already have a good idea about how excruciating the audition process can be. Sohale Dezfoli and Nicholas Begnaud take that idea and add a playful comedic twist.
Begnaud’s writing spins that vagueness and awkwardness into almost a misadventure. There’s great relatable notes of anxiety, self-doubt and frustration while also having fun with dipping into a lot of qualities you find in film and television from intensity to cheesiness.
One of its strongest elements is integrating those digs towards different stereotypical industry behaviours and styles, Dezfoli evolves the style of Main Character Energy to match each individual example. It captures the feel of a skit but in a more organic way, it exaggerates reality but it doesn’t lose touch with it.
It does well to encapsulate the feel of being set up to fail, and when its characters finally get a chance to show what they can do, Dezfoli nicely ups the tension to give them time to shine. Although it’s only main weakness visually is the colouring, it can feel somewhat high contrast, like it needed to be toned down slightly.
There’s a great old-fashioned styled score sitting atop Main Character Energy which nicely matches its playful tone and the performances from Mark Prendergast and Taylor Joree Scorse. They have a surprisingly good chemistry, it builds naturally, it’s understated at first while it battles with their competitive nature before they create a convincing bond. They’re both entertaining to watch and help to instil a sympathetic nervousness.
Main Character Energy is sweet and funny, taking a very relatable situation and adding a charming sense of humour to it. It’s directed well to bring in all the different themes and notes to its comedy. The writing holds onto a sympathetic feel even when straying into sketch territory. It has an endearingly playful atmosphere and is led by two very likable and enjoyable performances from Mark Prendergast and Taylor Joree Scorse.
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