She recently moved to Clayton after saying good-bye to Michigan. But before leaving, she made a list of things to try, such as jet skiing, attending a wine festival and walking the Mackinac Bridge. Last week, the 50-year-old added auditioning for a movie, “Blaire’s Bridge,” to her list of accomplishments.

“I thought, this sounds like a blast,” Webster said after the audition. “I am in this for the fun of it. I’ll hold a sign. I don’t care. It’s something I have never done before.”

Webster was not the only local resident looking for a chance at stardom. About 100 people, from as far as Chapel Hill, came to the auditions at The Clayton Center. They scampered into a private room with movie writer and director Mark Grady, who will begin filming the movie in Johnston and Randolph counties this summer.

Originally, 450 people signed up for the auditions, but Grady shortened the list, based partly on where people lived. He found it hard to believe, for example, that residents of New York or California would be able to make rehearsals so easily. The movie calls for six lead roles — three adults and three teens — and various supporting roles.

“We are convinced if a story is good, a cast is good and the quality of the production is good, you don’t need to have Julia Roberts in the movie,” Grady said. "We've got a lot of talent here, so let’s showcase it a little bit. Word will get around, and people will come to the movie.”

Tyler Small’s three appearances on “One Tree Hill,” a television show, prepared him for the audition. He read a few lines for the character Austin James, a confident high school athlete. Small, of Four Oaks, felt like he had some things in common with James.

“I ain’t really cocky, but Austin sort of relates to me pretty good,” said Small, a senior at South Johnston High School. “I think I would play Austin pretty good.”

Another high school student, 17-year-old Laura Owens, was one of the first people to audition Wednesday. A junior at Clayton High, Owens was recently cast as one of the main characters in the Raleigh Little Theatre production of “Ozma of Oz: A Tale of Time.” Also, she played a Swedish plumber in the high school’s “Where There’s No Well” three months ago.

Grady asked Owens to read for the character Cathy Worthington, a quiet and shy student. Owens said she would be thankful to have any part in the movie. “I’d love to be an extra, because I think it would be neat to be on the set,” she said. “I’d like to be watching the movie and say, ‘Hey, that’s me in the corner.’”