“My Acting Career Is Over!”

I didn’t really mean it- but it was the perfect moment to be overly dramatic and practice my acting skills in a room full of my fellow Extras. (These would include oodles of overly excited young girls trying catch a glimpse of one of the “dreamy” main characters and the slew of wanna-be’s attempting to get their feet in the door.) There I was. The one person in the room who still hadn’t even -gasp!- watched the show I was about to “act” on and who wouldn’t know the actors if they smacked me in the face. Last week a friend talked about being an Extra. She had hung at the beach all day, basically standing around getting paid and fed yummy food. I figured it’d be a trip to do it at some point when I had a free day and if nothing else, give me some good writing material and stories.

Oh and did it ever.

So I had gone into Screen Gems Studios, last week to register. The girl at the desk asked if I was available next Tuesday and did I have any experience being a waitress. I laughed and told her my middle name could be waitress. (How the heck do you think I paid for all those years of traveling in my 20’s?) The job was mine. So there I was packed in a room today with about 50 others. There was primping and spritzing going on all over the place. It was very clear I was the rookie. The people in that room knew what was up and had some experience. They brought garment bags, books, magazines, laptops, IPod’s- you name it. I felt like I was in an airport. I approached 3 women who looked looked the closest to my age and like they might know what the heck I was supposed to do, or where I was supposed to sit, etc. They were Jan, Gail and Linda. They had done this before. A lot. When I told them my part, they immediately said “OOH- you’re a first-timer? And you got a waitress part?! OOH-how did you score that?” 

Huh?

Apparently it’s a big deal when you’re an Extra and you get to even move. I had “scored” a sweet part. 

The day proceeded like this:

Us all being corralled as if we were cattle, van rides back and forth 6 times from holding tank to set, production people running all over the place yelling things that TV and movie people yell- the whole “Action!” and “Quiet on the set!” thing, a lot of waiting, FEASTING on some of the best catered grub I have ever had with the stars and staff in a muddy tent, conversations with random strangers like a dad and teenage daughter who were on vacation, (dad was such a good sport chaperoning the underage teen wasting a vacation day so she could be close to her crush. It was really cute) and of course- my stellar acting skills. 

I walked in front of the camera in both my scenes. Wow. Who wants my autograph? Get in line people, I’m a big deal around here. Next time you turn on an episode and see the short-haired girl wearing a black skirt, shirt and apron walking in front of the camera for a millisecond, oh yeah- that’s me. 

If you’re not laughing now, I’m not sure what might make you. The whole scene (no pun intended) from today was a crack-up. It was totally entertaining and perfect view that Hollywood is not all glitz and glamour. (Did you catch the part before where I said we ate lunch with the stars in a muddy tent? Yes, at cafeteria style tables. Very ooh la-la.) I don’t want to be an actress, but I do love having a fun day that will give me some good stories. I got that and a whole lot more from the set of One Tree Hill. Not a bad Tuesday at my office.

Excuse me, my agent is calling…