Break a leg

When casting a play or a film, this is how I conduct my auditions: I ask actors to prepare a short piece, a monologue. I take note of the following: the actor's choice for an audition piece (why choose that particular story?), sincerity in his delivery and his committment to the material and his performance.

An interview follows, here I try to get a glimpse of the actor's personality. I also try to determine if he'll be as committed to the production as he was to his performance during his audition. His past works hardly matter to me, although it helps to know that he did not abandon a production before for no good reason or was a pain to work with, I'm more interested in what he can deliver NOW.

In the last few days, I've heard candidates present themselves. I will choose my candidates the way I choose artists to work with because at the end of the day, that's how it's going to be: whoever's elected to office are the ones that we , the people, will have to work with to make our home a better place for us today and even better for the next generation.

I will listen to their "audition pieces," it's very important to know what concerns they believe are worth putting at the top of their respective platforms. I have my own list of very important concerns that the city needs now, I shall compare theirs with mine.

I shall take note of their sincerity when delivering their "stories," their commitment to it. If I can't personally talk to them, I'll watch their interviews with other people. From that I should be able to determine if the candidate has the personality to deliver on their promises. And while I am interested in what they can do NOW, I shall take note of their past, their track record: what have they done to address the concerns they are now promising to address if elected? And while this is easier to determine in the case of re-electionists, for all we need to do is look back at the last three years, I am also very much interested in what first-time candidates have done in the past as far as their chosen issues are concerned. Afterall, we don't have to be in power to effect positive changes in our community and if they have done nothing before, I am almost sure they will do nothing even if they get elected.

So, to our candidates, as we say in theater... break a leg!