Act II Scene I

So last week I was in a movie. Well, an Indy film. And, okay, so I was just an 'extra.' But still, I'm now hob knobbing with the stars. Or, potential stars, rather.

The whole experience was pretty interesting and fun. The film is called Miss Shellagh's Mini Skirt (Petal Films, LLC) directed by Terisa Greenan. When she asked me if I wanted to be an extra I said 'sure'. I don't have a lot on my plate these days. It'd be fun to be a part of a movie- or at least see the goings on on a movie set. Besides, I figured I would just be in a crowd scene. Not like I'd have to actually act or anything. No one will see my mug in this thing, right?

Wrong. There were only three to five extras in the two scenes shot that night. We were definitely in full view of the camera. Great. My already 10 lb excess will appear to be a 20 lb excess. At one point I'm shot walking into the bar wearing my knee length pink coat. It'll look like a giant pepto bismol ad in the middle of the film! But that aside, it was a lot of fun. It was a bar scene, shot at the Owl and Thistle down on post alley from 2 a.m. til about 7.30 a.m. I now have a better appreciation for all the 'takes', 'cuts' and 'actions' that it takes to make a film. At one point my co-extra got me laughing so hard I felt like a kid in church again with my mother giving me the evil eye. It was uncontrollable! I couldn't stop. We were both holding our hands over our mouths trying to stifle our guffaws! It seemed to go on forever before I finally heard mom...I mean the director say "Cut! Okay, good job everyone. Let's do it again." Sheesh. Ya think? I felt terrible, though, because it was five in the morning by then and everyone was getting tired and rummy.

So here are a group of people: actors, directors, writers, technical crew. Is this what they do for a living? How do they 'make it?' I mean, how do they make ends meet? Well, certainly most of them do something else for money. Most have what we'd call "real" jobs. But what's nice is when you ask one of them 'what do you do?' They will tell you, "I'm a writer" or "I'm an actress." I think we Americans are a little mixed up when it comes to talking about what we do.

If I want to know what someone does for their job, their daily grind, their income, I'll just ask what do you do for work? Or where do you work? But honestly, I'm more interested in what a person does for life. What is their passion, their hobby, their thing. As a woman transitioning in her forties, one of the hardest questions I deal with from strangers is the ever dreaded "what do you do?" and I know they mean career-wise. I often answer "as little as humanly possible." That kind of flippant and vague response usually gets the conversation headed into a somewhat different direction. A direction that veers off the 'what do you do' question.

What do I do? Well, I write. I write a lot. I write every day. I write at home, on the bus, at my temp job (when I can sneak it in). I take writing classes. I am an aspiring writer. I also read. I read everything. There is the hope that if I read a lot, I will write better. So I read. And then I write some more. What have I written? If you mean what have I published, well, nothing yet. But I'm working on that.

There is the misconception out there that it's easy to write a book. Sure it's easy to write the book...given enough time and persistence. But getting published, as you writers know, is a whole other story. I told one friend that I'd like do public speaking. Public speaking, teaching, writing. Something that incorporates all those skills. "Why don't you write a book?" she says. Gee...why didn't I think of that?

The leading actor in the film said often, when he is out in a bar or some place, people will ask him what he does.

"I'm an actor," he says.

"Oh really? What would I have seen you in?" they ask.

"Umm, yeah, if you had seen me in something, I'd be a star and I probably wouldn't be standing in this random bar talking to you." Yes, he was kidding...a little.

Last night was the wrap party. Even though I had no actual part, I went to show my appreciation and support to the director, cast and crew and cheer them on. Also, if you want to know the truth, I was hopeful of running into one of the cuties I met the other night. Of course, that didn't happen. BUT, I had a great time with the rest of the group and look forward to seeing them all again for the preview party! As for my acting debut, just maybe my giant pepto body will get edited out in the end! And the next time someone asks me what I 'do' I certainly won't say "I'm an actress." At least not yet.