To Act or Not To Act

Audition Day

"No. Oh my god please tell me this is a joke."

Daniel glanced up from his phone. Lando was staring at his own phone, mouth slightly open and eyes wide. "What's wrong, mate?" Daniel asked.

"Check your email," Lando replied, nearly breathless. "This has to be a joke, right? We're on summer break. It's a shutdown— we can't work during it."

"Technically it's only the factories that are shut down," Daniel said as he navigated to his mail app. "So they can still require us to attend PR and things during it." The app said he had one new email, which he opened, not sure what to expect.

Attention drivers,

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your break. The FIA has decided to take a greater interest in the community and sponsor a charity event during this month.

"You don't want to go to a charity event?" Daniel said, sounding incredulous.

"Keep reading," Lando replied.

Daniel sighed and returned to the email.

In a recent poll of fans, we asked what sort of events people would like to see as a fundraiser. The most popular response was seeing you guys work together on a project outside of racing. And because of our connections with Netflix, we feel drama is a core part of Formula One. So, dear drivers, you are hereby invited to participate in the first-ever F1 production of Hamlet.

Oh.

While we understand you may not have acting experience, it will just make the experience more authentic. Under your contracts, you are all required to audition for one of eleven parts, and as an incentive, those cast will receive a large bonus on their paychecks. There will be three weeks of rehearsals before a one night performance. Break a leg.

Signed,

Michael Masi

Race— and Hamlet— Director

"What the fuck," Daniel said, looking up towards Lando. "Are we really doing this?" He usually liked doing events, but acting was the worst. He considered himself genuine, and loved having fun— so faking a character and portraying a tragedy seemed like the opposite of everything he stood for.

"I think you'd be a good Gertrude," Lando replied, a wide grin spreading across his face.

Daniel shot him a look. "I'm surprised you know she's in Hamlet." He leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. "I don't know why you're suddenly so chipper about it. You were just as shocked as me a minute ago."

"Oh, I plan on not getting cast. I just reread it, and we actually don't have to do it. We just have to audition. There aren't even parts for everyone. And it's not like I need the money."

"Ah." Daniel internally groaned. There was almost no chance he'd be able to avoid being cast. The FIA loved his personality and called him up for almost every PR appearance. Perhaps he could flub the audition, but it still probably wouldn't be enough. If Lando was with him in the cast, it probably wouldn't be as awful as he was imagining, but Daniel could see Lando being much better at being terrible at acting and succeeding in dodging the cast.

This was a nightmare.

The auditions began in a school auditorium in London. Michael Masi sat in the middle of the audience, equipped with a notebook and several pens. Beside him sat the team bosses— Christian, Toto, Fredric, Andreas, Guenther, and Mattia had all showed up to support their drivers. The others apparently had excuses, which they could hardly be blamed for. The principals who were there looked like they wished they had an excuse to leave. Christian looked half-asleep, and the auditions hadn't even started.