Diary of a Background Thespian

Call time: 7:30am Location: Magic Mountain, Valencia, CA

2010-09-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

It's a rough job but somebody has to do it. I've been hired as a PARENT on a movie being shot here in the LA area. It's based on a series of children's books. Our location today is Magic Mountain Six Flags Amusement Park. In other words, we are going to be having fun all day. In fact, I was told that we will be riding rollercoasters all day. For some of you, this might be a nightmare of a job but for adrenaline junkies like me, this is pure NIRVANA! I arrive at base camp early wearing amusement park wardrobe; jeans, colorful t-shirt and sneakers. Wardrobe approves us immediately. That was easy. It's early so the PA's tell us to grab some breakfast...

BIG MISTAKE!

I will elaborate in a few minutes. After breakfast, we are shuttled into the park. It is closed to the public. We have it all to ourselves. Our PA told us that we would be riding COLOSSUS, which is the older wooden style coaster, ala THE CYCLONE in Coney Island but bigger. I'm okay with that but in truth a little disappointed. I was hoping for a more thrilling experience. I mean really the COLOSSUS? That's a baby coaster. Please!

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR.

As we stand around the entrance to COLOSSUS with the PAs waiting for the rest of the crew, we hear through the walkie talkie, "That's the wrong coaster...please take background to GOLIATH."

I wonder, "What is GOLIATH?"
GOLIATH is a mega coaster well actually it's referred to as a hypercoaster. It has a 255 drop with speeds of 85 mph. G-Force...4.5! That is what we will be riding 5 or 6 times...in a row!

I was excited, almost like a kid again. I had not ridden a coaster since 1990 when Six Flags in NJ opened the BATMAN coaster.

So here we are on the platform ready to take our seats. The PA makes an announcement, "This coaster is fast, very fast, if anyone has a heart condition or feels they cannot ride it, please tell us now." Okay, that sounds ominous.

I take my seat, the bar drops on my thighs locking me in place. A few seconds pass and the bell rings. We are off. Here we go, slowly up the electronic ramp, higher and higher..."Geez, how high is this thing?"...."I think I see Mexico."...just a few more feet and we are at the top of the world. The coaster seems to stop for just one instant then suddenly....

The best way to describe what happened next is to imagine your stomach being ripped from your lower body and thrown upwards towards your throat, simultaneously an iron vice clamps down on your head so that your feet and head are now one. Both of these actions are occurring as you are thrust forward at 85 miles an hour and the bar which is meant to feel like a security blanket is now stopping the rush of blood to your legs...

I rode it 6 times...and I loved every minute of it...and yes, I am crazy. There were some BGAs that only did it 3 times. Those wimps!

But let me say that by the 6th go around I was turning green and the lovely eggs and sausage breakfast I had early was starting to venture upwards. I was extremely relieved when we were told that 6 times was enough. The camera crew on the ground got what they needed. As I got up from my seat, the entire platform shifted slightly to the right. I experienced some dark spots which only got worse as I made my way down. I can't lie. I thought I was going to hurl eggs and sausage with home fries on the beautiful bamboo lined exit path. However, I'm a pro. I kept it in by breathing deeply, very deeply. Some were not as lucky. Trust me, it was NOT a pretty picture.

All of this and it was only 10:30am!

The rest of the morning was the recovery stage. We sat around trying to get our bodies and stomachs in some sort of normalcy. At noon, the PA came over to see if anyone was willing to ride it again. This time they were going to put a camera on the back of the car to capture the actual ride. No, I don't think so. My stomach was still not in it's right place. All the adult BGAs stayed behind and all the 18 to look younger kids jumped up like they had never been on the damn thing. Ah, youth!

Lunch was called at 1:00pm. We were warned not to gorge ourselves on the delicious food being provided by catering since we would probably be riding another coaster later.

UGH!

Dilemma #1 - What should I eat?

Dilemma #2 - How much should I eat?

Dilemma #3 - Should I eat at all?

I decided to scout the food and see my options. Curry Chicken...NO! Cajun Shrimp...ABSOLUTELY NOT! Baked Ziti with Mozzarella cheese topping...UGH!

Finally I settled on a simple salad, a tiny piece of grilled chicken and some steamed veggies. No dessert, no sauces...and LOTS of water.

After lunch we were escorted back into the park for some "lets pretend we are having so much fun" scenes. Five hours of walking, standing and smiling. I was exhausted. But the good news, no more coasters. They decided it would not be a good idea and they had all the footage they really needed anyway. WHEW! But I really wish I would have know that earlier. I would have had a real lunch. After my stomach settled I was hungry and eating everything I could get my hands on at Crafty.

We wrapped the day by 6:30pm, exhausted and hungry I got in my car and drove home.

Sometimes, I think to myself, "I can't believe I get paid to do this." I spent the day at an amusement park, rode a hypercoaster and played with some kids and grown ups. I'm truly pleased...really.

Call time: 3:30pm Location: Raleigh Studios, Hollywood, CA.

2010-08-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Hiatus is over. Hallelujah!!! Back to work. Yay!!!!

In the biz, the term hiatus, is when all the TV shows go on break in between seasons. Hiatus is generally from mid-May until end of July. I hate hiatus because that means as background, we have to rely on films and because of runaway production in LA, that generally means little to no work.

You must be saying to yourself, “Wait a minute, you’re in Hollywood, the capital of the film world.” That might have been true at one time, not anymore. Most films don’t shoot in LA anymore, even if they are supposed to take place in LA, they still don’t shoot here. Why you ask? The obvious, money. It’s too expensive to shoot in LA and while other countries, states and even cities have become wise and have started giving film production tax breaks such as Louisiana, North Carolina, Toronto, Budapest, Prague, New Zealand, etc, our ex-actor Governor (and probably soon to be actor again) has not seen fit to pass similar tax breaks here in the state of California. So what has happened? Runaway production, that’s what’s happened. Studios take their production to other locations where they will get money back or where they can meet their budget and use local talent. That means, less jobs for us, the actors in the state of California.
How about commercials you say? One word, the economy.

Therefore, I’m very happy that hiatus is over and we are hard at work again on TV projects.

Today I’ve been booked as a COFFEE SHOP CUSTOMER on a long running TV show. I have worked the show in past seasons. Everyone is very nice. I know the routine well, where to park, where to check in, who to see, etc. But this time, when I arrive, the regular PA’s are no where to be found. They are all newbies. So are the wardrobe people. I find that strange on a show that’s been on for several seasons and is in no danger of being cancelled. Oh, oh, there must have been a small shake up in production, the result, new faces. That’s the way of the biz, one day you have a job, the next you don’t.

Our wardrobe is simple, nice LA street clothes. Our base camp will be the studio but we are told that the set is actually on location and we will be bused to the location later on. An empty studio is a lonely place and right now the normally busy set is completely quiet since the entire crew and cast are on location. We are given seats inside this huge, cold, sound stage. It’s really depressing and quiet discerning. After about 20 minutes we all look at each other and decide that we’d prefer to take our seats outside and wait there.

About one hour later the PA rounds us up and directs us to awaiting buses. We are ready to leave for set. The set is literally around the corner. It is a chic cool, very LA looking coffee shop. The principal actors will be sitting outside talking and we are to be just regular coffee shop customers. I’m given a spot at the counter ordering coffee with another BGA. Now before I continue, I want to tell you about this particular BGA. I will call her Naomi as in Naomi Campbell, the 80’s supermodel.

Naomi is a very attractive, classy looking African-American woman, I’d say in her mid 30’s. She’s a Southern Bell, with the cute accent and all. I had seen Naomi arrive to the studio with her wardrobe bag, a Gucci wardrobe bag, genuine or not, I don’t know, but it did say Gucci on it. She came dressed in a gorgeous high end denim slim dress that was beautiful and obviously expensive. I mean this woman appeared to be reeking of money. Why she is doing background work, at this point I don’t know. But the reason will shortly become apparent. I will get there soon. Let me continue describing Naomi because she was in my opinion, a remarkable person.

Naomi walks over to the wardrobe trailer and shows them what she is wearing. It’s too beautiful. They ask her to tone it down just a bit. They go over her wardrobe bag and find a simple sweater. They decide that she should wear the sweater over the dress making her look more “mommy-like.” With her wardrobe figured out, Naomi walks over to a chair and begins to fix her makeup and hair. She takes out a make up case that would rival most professional make up artists and begins to meticulously do her face. This process begins from when we were waiting at the sound stage and continued until we were at the location ready to hit the set. I’d say a total of 2 hours. I don’t mean that she actually took 2 hours to do her make up but throughout the 2 hours she kept checking and refreshing her make up. She wanted to look perfect, I’d say, she needed to look perfect. To me, it was ridiculous because as BGAs we are rarely even discernible figures in the background.

Having described Naomi, I’d like to return to the set, specifically, the coffee counter where I have been given my start position. Naomi is in front of me at the counter. She will order coffee first, then me. As you know, it takes forever to set up shots so usually you have plenty of time to chat. Naomi and I begin to chat. In the course of a few minutes I learn that Naomi is a single mother recently divorced with a condo mortgage and a young daughter. She used to be a stay at home mother because her husband had a very good job that afforded them an upper class lifestyle. After the divorce, which I’m guessing was not a friendly one, she’s been left with very little money and tons of bills. She works part time at a bank and the rest of her time she does background work. It’s been tough because her entire life changed almost overnight. I felt so much empathy for Naomi and I immediately understood her primping and propping, her need to look perfect even if she would never be seen in the shot. The need ran deep, the need to be in control.

I’m always amazed at what people will reveal to strangers. It’s as if the desire to let go, to release bent up emotions to someone that can’t judge or who’s judgment won’t mean much to them is so great, that they will give up the most intimate of personal details just to feel a sense of relief. I found myself feeling sorry for Naomi but in the end, I realize that she didn’t want nor was she looking for my sympathy. On the contrary, she was showing off her strength, her inner power of survival, something she was very proud of. I don’t blame her.

The actual shoot was uneventful. Yeah, I got to stand next to the star. He even spoke to me…whoopie!!! All of the “famous” people on the set were anti-climatic for me. Naomi was the real star of the day. When we finished and were back at the studio ready to sign out, I made sure I said good bye to her. We hugged and I wished her “in bocca lupo” That means good luck in Italian. We had spoken about Italy. She loved the country and had visited it lots of time when she was married.

Naomi, I’m sure you’ll visit Italy again, but this time, it will be on your own dime. How much sweeter will that be? You go girl!

Call time: 9:30am Location: Manhattan Beach Studios

2010-07-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've been booked to play CLERICAL staff in the DA's office in an episode of a popular TV show. I've worked this show before but only on location. I've never been to the actual main set. Today, I'll be making the trek out to Manahattan Beach during rush hour for a days work. I arrive at the studios with literally 5 minutes to spare. Manhattan Beach is NOT close to me and of course, today, it was bumper to bumper on the dreaded 405. I hate arriving late or even close to call time. I'm an early bird. I'd prefer to sit and wait than to huff and puff my way down the parking lot carrying a garment bag (wardrobe), tote bag (reading and writing materials, makeup, hairspray, brush, etc) and my fold out chair (my comfort zone). But today is going to be one of those days especially since I've never been to this studio and with my luck the set will be all the way on the other side. I got lucky, I was told by security that the set is right outside the parking structure so my walk will be fast.

As soon as I arrive at Background holding I see the line forming already for wardrobe. I take my place and wait my turn. As I wait, I met up with a fellow BGA that I've worked with before on various TV shows. She's a very nice girl but a bit chatty. In fact I call her Chatty Patty. Chatty Patty loves to give you the run down on what's going on. She's the information girl, the one that has her finger on the butt, oops, I mean the pulse of all the PA's around town. You need info about a production, talk to Chatty Patty, she'll give you the scoop. So, I'm on line and Chatty Patty starts to give me the run down on all the new rules and regulations of the show. Here they are:

No cell phones on the set. They must be turned off, a PA will go around verifying that they are indeed turned off and left at holding. If you are discovered texting, talking or checking email while on the set you will be immediately dismissed, never ever to return. No exceptions.
No personal belongings on the set, i.e, backpacks, large totes (that are not props), etc. All personal belongings must remain at holding.
If snacks (sandwiches, burritos, tacos, etc) are brought out to Crafty in between meals, background is not to have any until the Crew has had a chance to grab something first.

Okay, production is getting militant. Chatty Patty tells me that this is not the only show that is starting to impliment these rules. Seems like several shows are cracking down on the whole cell phone thing on set. Understandably. I've been on a set when a BGA or even Crew member's phone has gone off in the middle of an actor's scene. Trust me, you don't want to be the person whose phone that was. Think Christan Bale's famous tirade on the set of Terminator Salvation.

As soon as Chatty Patty has finished giving me the skinny, it's our turn at wardrobe. We are given the thumbs up by wardrobe, so Chatty Patty and I go off to crafty for a light breakfast snack. We pick up some coffee and goodies and head back to holding. All the while, Chatty Patty is telling me stories about her misadventures on various productions around town. Listen folks, I love a good story, I'm sure you can tell, but Chatty Patty is not, how shall I put this, the most creative story teller around. The problem is she thinks she is. Have you ever seen the 1980 spoof film, Airplane! when Robert Hayes' character keeps telling his war story to the various people sitting next to him and they prefer to commit suicide than to keep listening?

Scene from the 1980 movie, Airplane!

You get the picture.

After the fifth Chatty Patty background adventure story, I was given a reprive by the PA who called us to set. I've never been so happy to work in my life! But before we left holding, we had to show her our cell phones to verify that they were turned off and stored safely in our bags.

We walked through the various sets of this popular and long running show. It's always so cool to walk through the made up kitchens, dining rooms, etc that you see on TV every week. You can just picture the character having coffee on this table in that episode, or the argument that the mom and dad had while standing in this bedroom. It always amazes me how authentic everything looks, on TV and in person. Only difference, in person, the bedroom is missing a ceiling and the garden you see outside the window is a painted backdrop.

We arrive at set and are placed throughout the lobby of the DA's building. I'm to stand with two male BGAs and pretend to talk to them about some case we are working on while the main actors do their thing behind us because my shoes are too noisy. They don't want me walking. The noisy shoe thing is a common occurance on film and TV sets. This situation is usually remedied by the sound guy who goes around putting rubber stoppers on ladies' heels and rubber cushions on the souls of shoes. However, the sound guy can't find his bag of rubber stoppers so all the women wearing heels will have to stand or tip toe. I HATE tip toeing so I'm very happy I'll be one of the standing BGAs.

We do the scene several times, no problem. Then the 1st AD yells, "we're turning around." That means they are switching the camera to the other side to get a close up of the other actor in the scene. This is a one camera shoot so the camera turns around according to which actor is getting "covered." We've done the coverage for the guest star now we are going to turn around for the coverage of the show's star.

When this happens, background is usually told to leave the set and go back to holding. Since our holding is on the other side of the sound stage we are told to wait just outside the set in a make believe lobby with benches and chairs. This is when things get boring on a set. The waiting around for cameras and lighting to set up. You can't image the work that goes into lighting a set for just one scene. Sometimes, walls have to come down and set furniture has to be moved around. Lighting is a percise science, especially now a days with HD technology. But that also means a long wait time in between set ups.

When the set is finally ready, we are called back in. By this time, the sound guy has found his bag of rubber stoppers and all the women with the problem heels are now ready to walk in silence. That means, I'll be walking in this scene.

I am told that when the star finishes her lines and walks away, I am to walk towards the trial room doors. I will be walking with another BGA. We will walk and mimic talking at the same time. We rehearse.

BACK TO ONE!

I'm standing with my fellow BGA. The star finishes her lines and walks out of the frame. We start walking towards the trial room, mimicking a conversation as we walk.

CUT!

The Director walks over to the 1st AD who is standing right next to us and I mean, right next to us, in fact he is facing us. The Director walks up to the 1st and says to him, "Tell them (my fellow BGA and I) to mimicking a conversation before they start walking towards the trial room. I want it to seem like they are having one continuous conversation." Then the Director walks away. The 1st AD turns to us and says, "You heard what he said, right?" I am not exaggerating. The Director would not direct us, he preferred to tell his 1st to tell us what to do, even though we were literally a few inches away from him. Whatever! Trust me folks, I've been on the set with some big names and some not so big and the real creative geniuses don't treat us like we are beneath them. If they are standing next to a BGA and they want that BGA to do something specifically, they just tell them. The ones that feel the need to do what this director did are, in my book, small time.

Anyway, we did our part beautifully and the 1st AD thanked us. We wrapped fairly early which meant I missed the gridlock of afternoon drive time. Yay!!! I said goodbye to Chatty Patty who was now talking to a newbie, a young blond pretty girl. I think Chatty Patty scared her off background work because as I was leaving the garage structure, I saw the girl running, I should say, sprinting to her car. I almost wanted to stop and yell, "Hey, it's not that bad, really."

Really.

THE FIRST TIME

2010-07-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me that I've never told you about my very first background job. Here I am describing my latest greatest feats of background acting genius and I've never recounted the tale of "my first time." I must warn you, it was a very long time ago and even though I take my daily Ginko Baloba, I may be fuzzy on some of the particulars. However, you never really forget your first time at anything so I think most of my story will be intact. Okay, here goes. Let's go back, way back, back into time...

The year; 1998, the location; Wall Street, NYC, call time; late evening. I was booked as a Business Executive on a Japanese commercial for Mister Donut, a chain of donut shops similar to Dunkin Donuts here in the US. I was told this was going to be a large background call, about 50 BGAs. Our wardrobe was upscale business suit with nice pumps (high heels) and briefcase and purse. We were also asked to bring a raincoat. I was so excited and since it was my first time, I went all out. I wore my best skirt suit, my nicest shoes, not the most comfortable but ridiculously fabulous and I even took great care with my hair and makeup. I mean I looked like a Fortune 500 Executive. I would later, much later in the evening regret having been so perfect with my wardrobe, especially the shoes.

I remember arriving downtown late in the evening. It was a Saturday. The streets of this usually busy and crowded part of town were relatively quiet except for the actors and crew that made up this particular commercial production. We were shooting outside in front of an old Wall Street bank that looks like the Lincoln Memorial (minus the statue of Lincoln).

I arrive on set and my jaw drops. I see a NYC taxi cab turned upside down on the sidewalk, another car torn in half, pieces of building concrete all over the street and the sidewalk, I mean it looks like a war zone. I had never seen something so cool in my life! Yay, I'm in the movie business!!!! I'm an actor!!! All these thoughts are running through my head. My heart is pumping, I'm nervous, I'm excited, I'm thrilled. This is what I always wanted. All I need is a private dressing room in a Star Wagon and a director's chair with my name on the back and I'm good to go... Okay, so I was delusional.

Yes, the set was amazing but in my child-like exuberance I did not see the huge crane with a large contraption that looked like King Kong's shower head hovering over the street nor did I see the two excessively large fans (image the jet engines of a 747) that were strategically placed around the set. I will get to those instruments of torture later.

The crew and production staff, as I recall, were very nice. They were, for the most part, English speaking. However, the Director, the 1st AD, the DP (Director of Photography) and camera man, were Japanese and did not speak a word of English. Furthermore, the Producers as well as Mister Donut representatives were also Japanese and did not speak English. So we had translators who would be the middlemen between all these men and the rest of the crew. Yes, it was a mess, just like you are imagining it in your mind.

Now, let me explain what the commercial is about. In 1998, Hollywood remade Godzilla, the movie. If you can recall it was the big thing that summer, so the Ad agency for Mister Donut thought of this great "original" idea. Wouldn't it be funny to do a spoof of Godzilla attacking NYC? But instead of the monster it would be a giant Mister Donut man?

People would be running down the street, dodging the building debris as this giant Mister Donut man stomps through the streets. Hum, I wonder where they got this idea???

In case you can't image what this commercial is going to look like let me help you. I've posted this picture of the Stay Puft Marshmellow Man from the 1984 movie, Ghostbusters.

Okay...moving on.

We (about 50 BGAs) are positioned in various spots throughout the street and when the 1st AD yells "action" we are going to be running for our lives, looking terrified. No problem. This is going to be like stealing candy from a baby, it's so easy.

I'm standing on my mark ready for my first time in front of a camera. Heart is beating, adrenaline is going strong. I'm going to be running from behind the camera into frame then past the upside down taxi cab and into a building.

REHEARSING...READY...BACKGROUND...ACTION!

I start running, I'm looking back,OMG! It's the monster! It's going to get us..run, run for our lives! I pass the upside down taxi, BGAs are everywhere, it's chaos, perfect!

CUT!

We rehearse a few times. The Director seems happy, he's smiling and bowing a lot. Okay, I think we are ready to make cinematic magic. We go back to our positions. But this time, the 1st AD motions to the translator, who I think is the 2nd AD. They talk in Japanese. The 2nd goes over to the center of the street and grabs a large bullhorn. We listen. This is what I remember he said, "We are ready to shoot. Now, we are going to put on the wind machine. Please do not run directly in front of them. Run diagonally to the wind. It will be easier to move. After a few shots with just the wind, we will turn on the rain machines. Everyone with umbrellas please take them out. Okay, I think we are ready to shoot. Please watch out for your fellow actor in front and next to you when you are running and please watch out for the debris on the floor as well."

Huh? Wind? Rain? But I don't have an umbrella...

BACKGROUND BACK TO ONE!

I walk over to my starting position. Now I'm a little nervous.

READY...WIND...the jet propellers start up...RAIN...the water machine goes on, it's a down pour...BACKGROUND....ACTION!

OMG! I'm in a hurricane. I can barely run the wind is so strong. The rain is pelting down on my head. But I run, looking back at the imaginary Stay Puft Marshmellow Man, oh, sorry, I meant the imaginary Mr. Donut Man. I dodge some debris on the street as well as a fellow BGAs who's umbrella almost hits me in the face, I keep running. There are puddles forming on the street. My fabulous shoes are getting ruined. My suit is dripping wet. But I keep running...CUT!

WE'RE GOING AGAIN....BACKGROUND, BACK TO ONE!

We do it again and again and again and again....

For hours I fought the wind, the rain, the cold, the unruly umbrellas, and the debris on the floor. But mostly I fought my growing desire to kill the Japanese Director and the Advertisers who's brilliant idea this was.

We shot ALL NIGHT long, until the first rays of light appeared in the sky and my suit, shoes and body could not take the torture any more.

In the end, I think I made $100. I was non-union at the time so I received no compensation for the water and rain machines. Had it been a SAG job, obviously things would have been a little different. But I didn't know any better. This was my introduction into the real world of make believe. When I got home, my husband asked me if it was all I thought it would be. I thought about it for a moment. No. It had not been. It was awful, I might have caught pneumonia and my favorite suit and shoes are ruined.

But I can't wait to do again!

Call time: 8:30am Location: Red Studios Hollywood

2010-07-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

One of the privileges of being a Background Actor is that you get to work on sets and in studios where some legendary movies or TV shows were filmed. I always get goose bumps when I pass the gates at Warner Bros. or Paramount Studios. I mean think about it, some of the greats that walked through those gates; Brando, Gable, Grant, Hepburn, Bogart, the list is endless. When I was a child growing up in NYC, I used to spend hours watching TV. I'd watch Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley, Star Trek, M.A.S.H, etc. On Sunday's I was glued to the movies: South Pacific, Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy, Gone with the Wind, Carousel, Casablanca, etc. Those actors, those stories, those moments were magical for me as a child. Now as an adult, I revel in the moments when I can walk through a set or a stage that once housed a show or a movie that is part of this cinematic history.

I was booked as a PEDESTRIAN on a cable show that shoots at what is today called Red Studios Hollywood. I'd never heard of this studio but then again, we are in Hollywood, there are tons of studios of all shapes and sizes everywhere. I arrive at the studio and am immediately stopped by security. I was told that I would have to carry around a little pink "Visitor's Pass". I was REPEATEDLY told that I MUST have this pass on me at all times while on the studio property. Okay, a bit excessive with security but whatever makes them happy. I walk to the stage which was only a few feet away from the entrance. The studio is not large at all. But as I walk around I notice the old bungalows being used for offices, wardrobe, lighting, etc. The studio has an air of history about it. You can just tell that it's been around for a long time.

I arrive at the sound stage and find a seat along the wall with my other BGAs. It's breakfast so we are told to grab a plate and get in line. The catering truck is parked right outside the sound stage. It's parked on the street and we have to exit the stage through the back door. As I exit the door there is a security guard standing, keeping watch on the truck and the crew. As I'm about to walk outside he tells me to remember my pink pass. Now folks, I understand security but I was going to stand in line right in front of him with everyone else on the crew. He would forget me if I tried to get back in without my pink pass??? Really?? Okay, dude, whatever. I went inside, got the famous pink pass and went back to get my breakfast.

While on line, I struck up a conversation with another BGA who also had issues with this pink pass. I have to say, he was one angry dude who should have stayed home. While on line he tells me that he's a writer too and working on a book which he hopes to turn into a screenplay someday. I ask, "What is the novel about?" He says and I kid you not, "About a mother who is so evil she wants to kill her son."
Okay, lite reading. I asked if it was fiction. He tells me that is it semi autobiographical. Okay, I get it, this guy's mother wanted to kill him. Why? Um...I'm not about to ask. Anyway, he tells me that he is having a problem completing the manuscript because lawyers have advised him he could be sued for defemation of character. I had to put an end to this conversation. It was only 8:30 in the morning, this was too much to handle. I made an excuse about having to get hot sauce and ducked away.

Oh, boy. The day looked like it was going to be "one of those days." But then everything changed.

After breakfast, I sat around waiting for instructions when a charming older man sits down next to me. I will call him Charlie for this story. I'm estimating he is 70 years old and still going strong as a BGA. Charlie was, during the 50's and 60's, a working actor under contract with the studios. He worked with actors like John Wayne and Bob Crane from Hogan's Heroes. In fact, the stage where we were sitting was the actual stage that the very popular and classic TV show, That Girl was filmed. He knows this because he used to work the show all the time. He then goes on to tell me the history of the studio. It was created in 1915 and it was called MetroPictures. During the 1950's it was the home of Desilu Productions (I Love Lucy) and in fact renamed Desilu-Cahuenga Studios. In 1984, it was renamed Ren-Mar Studios and was the home of Seinfeld and Ally McBeal during the 90's. Finally in January of this year it was brought by a company that renamed it Red Studio Hollywood. A popular Showtime show and a huge HBO hit now shoot in these studios.

Wow! I knew this studio had history.

Charlie was amazing. I spent all day with him. Whenever we had a break during shooting and went back to holding, I sat down and just let him talk. He told me stories about the old days in Hollywood, what it was like being a young rising star in the Golden Age of Film (amazing, shooting a Western one day then turn around and shoot an epic the next) and what some of the big names were really like (some had big alcohol and drugs problems that would interfere with a movie shoot). Interesting how things don't really change. I told him, those stories still go on today. He agreed but he made a great point. Back then, the studios controlled what was printed about a star. They controlled the publicity. Today, thanks to the pervasive media, it's a free for all.

Charlie told me a great story about auditioning for an episode of The Twilight Zone. He read for the casting director and things looked good for him. They told him the date of the shoot and his heart sank because he was supposed to get married that same day then go off on his honeymoon. So he left the office sad that he would have to turn down this opportunity if they offered it to him because he couldn't cancel his wedding. Well, the next day the casting director calls him to tell him he had the part. Charlie then told the CD that he couldn't take it because he was getting married the day the shoot was supposed to start. So his big guest star role on The Twilight Zone would not happen...on this episode anyway. The CD remembered him for another role in a later episode and booked him then. Charlie got to appear on an episode of The Twilight Zone after all.

Charlie also told me about the time he was guest starring on an episode of Hogan's Heroes and had a little "tiff" with Bob Crane himself. Apparently, Bob liked to hit the bottle on occasion and was a nasty drunk. But Charlie said as a professional young actor he had to swallow the abuse from Bob. At that time, Bob was a huge TV star and any physical confrontation would have immediately ended Charlie's growing career.

I asked him what he felt like doing background work now after having had such a great career. Charlie smiled and said, "I'm old and retired. This is fun for me. I get to act (which I still love), meet great people (like me :)), keep busy and stay productive." In fact, he got his retired school teacher wife a SAG card as well. She also does background work and loves it. He tells me that when she gets a background booking it's as if she booked a starring role in a movie she's so excited. Precious, just precious.

I had an amazing day. To have met and spoken to Charlie was magical. A moment in time that will remain carved into my mind and heart for a very long time. What a rare gem of a fellow, a professional and human being. Charlie, like the studio itself, embodies the rich, amazing cinematic history that I admire and respect so much. I hope to see my friend again. I want to hear more stories and I promise my friends I will share them with you.

Call time: 4:30pm Location: Fox Studios, Stage 19

2010-06-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

You are probably wondering, "What's with the picture of a cupcake?" Well, I'll get to that in a minute. Be patient. First let me tell you about my latest booking.

One of the best gigs to get when you work Background is a sitcom. They are fun and work fast, especially a successful sitcom that's been around at least 2 seasons. Generally speaking, you work less than 4 hours and get paid the full 8 hours. Today, I'm working a very successful CBS sitcom on the Fox Studio lot. I've been booked as the RECEPTIONIST at a hair salon.

I arrive at the Fox Studios early because ever since 9-11, security at the studios have been ramped up so I don't want to be late because my belt keeps going off with the metal detectors...yes, I said metal detectors. It's like the freakin' airport. But you never know. Al Qaeda may get confused and blow up the New York City street back lot at Fox, Warner or Universal.

Anyway, I make it through security and head over to Sound Stage 19 where the sitcom tapes. This particular sitcom does not tape with a live studio audience. They use a laugh track so the atmosphere is very laid back, fun and informal. Love that. I find Background Holding (upstairs, behind the stage) and meet my fellow BGAs. We're around 10 ladies all patrons or hair stylist at this fictional hair salon. Wardrobe is simple, nice street clothes so it's a comfortable shoot for us. We sit down and wait to be called. Now, when you work sitcoms, BGA holding is usually near the set so it's important that conversation is kept to a minimum. This can get pretty boring especially since BGAs LOVE to chat with one another.

So we're sitting upstairs listening to the taping that is occurring just below us, trying to stay quiet but entertained, when our stomachs start growling, "Food, we need food!"

Now I'll tell you about the cupcake because we're going to talk about CRAFT SERVICE.

CRAFT SERVICE or CRAFTY for those in the biz, is basically a small, encapsulated version of a 7-Eleven store (minus the magazines, Lotto, cigarettes and Alcohol) that is set up on tables near the set for the sole purpose of keeping everyone wired and fat. I kid you not. We are talking about everything and anything you can get your hands on that is loaded with sugar but ooohh so good. Let me describe a typical Crafty table:

CHIPS - Doritos, Pringles, Lays, the latest and fanciest chips like Sun-dried tomato Parmesan encrusted chips
DIPS - sour cream onion, salsa, guacamole, etc.
PRETZELS - salted, unsalted, large, small, long, twisted, etc.
CANDY - you name it, they have; from Gummy Bears to Jelly Beans, M&M's, Gum, etc.
PEANUT BUTTER, JAM and BREAD
GRANOLA BARS - Chocolate, Peanut Butter, etc.
NUTS - Peanuts, Cashews, Almonds, etc. plus of course the TRAIL MIX.
DONUTS - all kinds, all fattening, all delicious.
SODA - usually 2 coolers full; Coca Cola, Sprite, Pepsi, (all diet and regular), etc.
WATER - usually 2 coolers. Gotta keep hydrating.
COFFEE/TEA - Flavored and regular, decaffeinated and caffeinated, herbal teas, black teas, white teas, etc. Plus of course the MILK; Soy, Non-Dairy creamers (flavored as well), Half-Half, etc.
VEGETABLE PLATTER - celery, carrots, broccoli, etc. for the health conscious.
FRUIT BASKET - Natural fiber is important. But don't EVER follow a Crew guy after he's used the port-a-potty!

Now, this is JUST the basics. Depending on the show or movie, the budget and the actual craft provider, you can also see the following:

MEXICAN FAIR - tacos, small burritos, nachos, etc.
SOUPS - usually appears later in the evening after lunch especially during the cold months.
CHINESE ROLLS - chicken, vegetable, etc.
CHEESE PLATE
COLD MEAT PLATE
CHICKEN FINGERS with the dips
KABOBS - Chicken and beef

And so much more....You get the picture. Crafty is there on set to keep you going during the long hours when snacking between major meals becomes essential for energy.

Now that I've described Crafty, I'll get back to the story and our growling stomachs. I head out with another BGA in search of Crafty for a light snack. We walk down the stairs and see a small cart with the coffee machine, several sodas and some granola bars. I find that very strange that a show of this magnitude would not have a bigger Craft service. We see a Crew member walking by and ask him if this is the only food available. He smiles, shakes his head and points to the other end of the studio. My friend and I tip toe (they are taping so we don't want to disturb) to the other end of the studio but when we get there we don't see anything but a wall. Again, we see another Crew guy and mime to him, "Where is food?" He points to the wall. We look at the wall, completely perplexed. Turn back to the guy, "Where?" He makes a motion with his finger, "Behind the wall." My friend and I walk behind the wall and...

BEHOLD.....THE MECCA OF CRAFTY!

I do not even exaggerate one iota. This was the biggest, swankest craft service I had ever seen in my entire time as a BGA or principal actress. It was not just the size of the room and the amount of food but it was the type or shall I say, the level of the food. If Daniel Boulud had crafty service, THIS would be it. The first table to my left I'll call the FINE MEATS AND CHEESES table; Prosciutto (I'm talking about the Imported kind, the $17.00 a pound kind), Salami, Capocollo, Virginia Ham, Brie, Gorgonzolla, Gouda, etc. This table was followed by the FINE BREADS which was then followed by the CONDIMENTS. In other words, you could make yourself a sandwich that you could only find in places like Dean & Deluca.

As you made your way around the room, you came upon the BAKERY. Here is where my heart stopped. I thought of THE NUTCRACKER ballet. I was little Clara and I have just been whisked to the Land of Sweets by the Sugar Plum Fairy. I must tell you I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I can put away an entire chocolate cake without skipping a beat or leaving a single crumb. I won't do it mind you, but I COULD!! The table consisted of the following tempting delights:

CUPCAKES - and I don't mean Tasty Cakes, I'm talking about gourmet Sprinkles cupcakes like Red Velvet, decedent German Chocolate, Carrot cake, Chocolate Coconut, etc. All sizes, from the large to the small, bite size.
CHEESECAKES - NY style, Strawberry, Marble, etc.
PIES - apple, pecan, lemon, etc.
TARTS - fruit, nuts, etc.
SCONES, MUFFINS, CROISSANTS

The sheer amount of food was, I admit, overwhelming. I'd seen great crafty before, but this was amazing and perhaps, I'll admit, a bit excessive. We are talking about a sitcom, not a movie shoot that employs hundreds of people. I wanted to eat everything and anything, but in the end, I just took a small plate of cheese, prosciutto, fruit and a bite size Red Velvet (just because I HAD to!)

I've learned through the years that as tempting as it may be, you must show restraint around Crafty. It can be intoxicating, all that food, you can easily gain 5-10 pounds during a week long shoot if you don't control yourself. I have to control myself...remember my butt story from the other day. Now that you've been educated about CRAFTY, one day, I'll tell you about CATERING. Stay tuned.

Call time: 2:45pm Location: UCLA Teaching Hospital

2010-06-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

You would think that I am old enough and experienced enough to know that politics, be it Federal, State, International, Gender or Union, should NEVER be discussed at work. You would think, huh? But I guess I needed a tongue lashing from an over zealous jerk to remind me of that.

I will explain later.

I was booked on a movie that for right now, has no title. Its being referred to as "untitled." The Director is a HUGE legend in comedy. I was over joyed when I found out he was directing. I've loved his movies going back to the early 80's. They are some of the classic comedies, the type that are just not made anymore. Anyway, I was booked as a HOSPITAL VISITOR. When I arrived at base camp they told me that was going to be an all nighter. Okay, no problem. I'll take the overtime..cha ching!

We are quite a few BGAs all working various characters; visitors, orderlies, doctors, nurses, EMTs, etc. During our wardrobe pass, we find out that we are going to change into 4 different outfits because they are shooting every scene that takes place in the hospital on this one night. First, I'm glad I brought enough clothes because we were not told that ahead of time, second, as background whenever you have to change more than once using your own clothing they have to pay you for every clothing change. Since I'll be using my own clothes that means $$$.

We are shuttled back to the set and our holding area. On the van ride to the set I found out that the stars of the movie are two big young actors. The female, has been nominated for an Oscar in the past and the male lead is an enormous name in the business. I'm expecting TMZ, paparazzi and swarms of female fans trying to get pictures and autographs. But when we arrive at the hospital I see that it is relatively quiet, no fans, no paparazzi, just crew and BGAs. WOW! I'm surprised and happy because I've seen the chaos and peaceful sets are the best to work on...obviously.

The set is outside since they are all exterior shots. BGA's holding area was set up inside the hospital on the first floor. I'm glad I wore sneakers because the holding room was about a mile from the set. Okay, I'm exaggerating but it WAS far!!! I have NO IDEA what the hell they were thinking putting us so far into the hospital. We needed a map to find the damn room and then it takes us a good 5-7 minutes to get to set every time we were called. The worse part? Crafty was on the set which meant that during those late hours when coffee becomes your best friend we'd have to "travel" 5-10 minutes just for a cup of Joe. That sucks, trust me!!!

I immediately discovered the Director is a 4-take-tops-type-of-director which means the scenes will be moving along and we'll be working most of the time, not just sitting around. The actors are also top notch professionals. The male star, where not the best actor in the world, is a seasoned comedy actor. He understands comedic timing and is a wiz at improv. I've already mentioned the female actress has been nominated for an Oscar...need I say more?

The first scene we shoot is just a walking across the street easy no problem scene. Four takes, we move on.

The second scene will be a little more complicated. It is going to require coverage and close ups. We'll be working on this scene a bit longer. I'm standing around waiting to be placed when the 1st AD comes up to me and says, "the Director would like you to walk behind the actor and react to his gift for the female actress." WOW!!! Absolutely!

In the scene the actor is waiting outside the hospital by his car with a gift for the actress who I'm assuming is his girlfriend in the movie. As she steps down he walks up to her and hands her something. I don't want to give away what the gift is. Let's just say, it's an out of the ordinary type of bouquet. Something a little strange but sweet. I am to pass behind the actor, see this gift and react to it. It's supposed to be a cute reaction, a nice smile I'm told.

I'm placed about 100 feet away from the actor and told to start moving when he reaches her. The point is for me to be slightly to his left when he shows her the gift. That way you can see my reaction. We do one rehearsal. It works out just fine.

PICTURE'S UP!

I go back to my starting mark. The actor gets ready.

BACKGROUND.....ACTION!

The actor starts walking up towards the actress. I start moving as well. Just as I'm about to pass him, he shows her the gift. I look over, react, smile and keep walking. The actors continue the scene.

CUT! Great. The 1st AD comes over to me. Great, just start a little sooner. Make sure you are right behind him when he gives her the gift.

Okay, let's go again.

BACKGROUND...ACTION!

The actor is moving towards the actress, I start moving as well. I see he's about to give her the gift I move a little faster so I'll be right behind him. He shows her the gift, I see it, react, smile, keep walking. Perfect!

We did the scene three times. The fourth time, the Director told the actor to go ahead and play, improvise. Here is where you see the real professionals, the real talent. Even though, this actor will really understands what makes a scene "funny" as opposed to playing funny. He improvised something with the car that was hilarious and in fact much funnier than what was in the script. I'd be surprised if they don't use his improv in the finished product.

LUNCH!

Here is where the politics conversation came to be. We were shuttled to base camp for lunch. During the van trip someone made a comment about the lack of TV work for SAG members because everything is now AFTRA. I made the HUGE mistake of saying that it was SAG's fault because they tried to screw AFTRA so AFTRA went into the negotiations alone and got themselves a contract with producers. Now every new show on TV is AFTRA therefore, if you are not a member of that union (I'm not) you are pretty much screwed. This new atmosphere in the biz regarding AFTRA's domination of new programing on TV is hurting SAG members' whose bread and butter was TV. It's hurting the ability to make enough money for Health insurance and it's damaging their Pensions.

As soon as I made the comment, this guy whips around his seat and starts telling me that I don't know what the hell I'm talking about. That SAG never, at any moment, tried to screw with AFTRA. That in fact it was AFTRA that went against their joint agreement and negotiated with producers. Blah, blah, blah.... I regret ever having said anything because this guy wouldn't stop. We got off the van and got on the line for lunch. He found me on line and continued to lecture me about the by laws and the past agreements and GOD knows what else because I had completely tuned him out. The man who was standing behind me hears this jerk going off and decides he too would like to have his two cents worth. But this new guy is not a SAG zealot and agreed with my comment. So now I'm sandwiched between these two dudes who are going at it and getting fairly angry with each other. I'm looking around wondering where I can bury my head. Finally, I see a friend of mine who's motioning for me to join her. She's behind me on the line. But I don't care at this point. I'd rather risk not getting any chicken then continue listening to these two idiots go at it.

So take my advise. Keep your political views, of any kind, to yourself unless you are home with friends where you can yell and curse at each other but still hug and kiss after.

BACK TO SET!

My evening of idiots did not end there my friends. For whatever the reason, I attract the weirdos, jerks and mentally disturbed. It is now almost 1:00am in the morning. I'm tired, I'm cold and a little cranky. For the next scene, I'm giving a "friend" to walk with. We are supposed to be walking towards the hospital, obviously to visit a sick friend (okay, that's the "intention" I'm giving myself...I AM an actress you know!!) Anyway, we are set up down the walkway to the hospital and told to start walking towards the entrance on BACKGROUND.

My walking partner (whom I shall call BILL for story purposes) and I are standing around waiting for the Director and actors to talk and discuss the scene. I see that Bill is upset, perturbed is a better word. I ask, "Are you okay?" He responds, "No, I'm very pissed off." He then goes on a tirade about his investors and how dare they pull the money without first discussing the issues with him and that his producing partners need to take care of things, blah, blah , blah. So what is the logical thing to ask? "Oh, you are producing a movie?" He responds, "No, a documentary about what's really happening in Afghanistan." He then whips out his IPhone and gives me his sales trailer to watch. I watched it. Okay, it was...interesting. Whatever, the point is, he supposedly got investors to put up over $400,000 for him and his "team" to go to Afghanistan and interview the troops about the war. Good for him. That is not why I referred to him as an idiot. The idiot part came later when he wouldn't stop telling me how amazing he was (has worked for the biggest and most powerful people in Hollywood) and how many projects he had produced (Cuba Gooding Jr. is his "boy." He apparently hangs out with him all the time) and how much money he had raised (over $23 million). I let him go on and on. After he's done praising himself, I very calmly ask, "If you are such a big time producer and know so many players in Hollywood, why are you standing here at 2:00am in the morning doing background work on a movie that doesn't even have a title yet?" Silence.

There really is no need for me to continue with the story. He danced around my question, saying something about "a favor to a friend." Yeah, and I'm Julia Roberts working incognito as a favor to the Director.

We wrapped at 5:30am. It was a long night and I was very tired. But the money is going to be really good, lots of overtime, meal penalties, clothing changes, etc. I signed out, got in my car and drove home. Driving home I wondered if perhaps one day, when I'm a HUGE producer, Bill will work for me and that SAG guy, I'll even hire him...as background of course.

Interview: 12:45pm Location: Pasadena, CA

2010-06-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today I was rejected because my butt and hair were inadequate.

(Bye the way, that's not a picture of my butt, but since I didn't have one handy, I picked one out from the internet. I figured, one butt is as good as any.) So let me tell you about today.

I was booked on an interview to be the photo double of an Oscar winning actress in a movie that is currently shooting. At first I was confused because I don't actually look like this actress but I figured with hair and makeup I'd be okay. The interview would consist of the director, hair, makeup and wardrobe looking you over and deciding if you could pass for the actress in long shots.

I arrived on set and immediately looked for our sign in. Oh where o' where could it be?? Hum...perhaps where all those dark long haired, olive skin women are standing? Yeah, I think that's it.

So there are 8 of us. We look like clones of this particular actress, some skinnier, some meatier, some have longer hair. Everyone is nice and we smile, make small talk and are ushered into a Star Wagon to wait for the director. Now, folks, I want to be honest, because well, what's the point of doing this blog and telling you my stories if I can't be honest. Here goes.

Yes, all the ladies were very nice, but come on, let's be real, we were all measuring up the competition. The funny part was that we were apparently being really magnanimous about the entire situation. You know the game you play when you go out to dinner with friends and the check comes. Everyone grabs it at the same time, "I'll get....no I'll get...no really I'll get...etc." Seems like everyone is so generous, but inside, deep inside, everyone is thinking, "He/she should get really, I got it last time...I don't want to get it, I only had a salad....I can't afford this bill but I can't just sit here and not reach for the damn check...etc." Come on friends, you know what I'm talking about. Well the same was sort of happening here. I mean, there is no denying that while we were chatting up a storm, telling each other, "You look so much like her....no really you do...you have her hair...you have her skin tone..." the reality was if you could draw those cartoon bubbles over our heads you would have seen, "She's too fat" or "She looks too young to be the actress" or "I look so much more like the actress than those girls." It makes me laugh because you always have the one actress that stands there saying, "Oh, I don't care if I get the job. It's out of my hands...blah, blah, blah." Please, give me a break. Bottom line, EVERYONE sitting in that Star Wagon wanted the job. If you didn't really want it, you would not have come. It was also going to be a great opportunity and two weeks of work. So, yes, we all cared whether we got the job or not.

Finally after waiting for 1 hour we were told to line up in front of the wagon. This would be the preliminary elimination by wardrobe, hair and makeup before the Director's final say. They had to "weed out" the women that obviously would not fit the wardrobe, size 4 pants. Second, any lady who's hair was too short, above the shoulder. So far, I'm making the grade. I'm a size 4 pant and I have long hair. Great. There are only 5 ladies left from 8. Next comes makeup, they look us over and check our skin tone and hands. That cuts out 2 more ladies. Finally, we are only 3 left. I've noticed that hair and makeup are motioning to me and I see that they are saying I'm the closest to the actress. That is a good sign. I mean these people work with the actress everyday, they dress her, do her hair, her makeup, they know her the best. I think my chances are good.

We are now going to be shuttled over to set so the Director can make his decision. I'm feeling quite confident because we are three slightly different variations of the same woman. But I know this actress and even I think I'm the closest to her from this bunch.

We arrive on set and told to stand in front of the Director. He then, very diplomatically, told us to turn around. Yes, turn around. In other words, our faces were unimportant. It was our butt and hair that had to match the actress. So all that posturing and contemplating which one looks the closest to the actress was for nothing. It was going to come down to our hair and butt.

Now, how did my butt and hair stack up to the other two? Well, I didn't get the job. It went to the skinniest girl with the smallest butt and shortest, lightest hair (who bye the way, was a size 2 not a 4 like wardrobe requested).

So, my butt and my hair were rejected for a slimmer version of themselves. Oh well, I'll just tell them to go on a diet and we'll get the next job.

PS- We were completely clothed. No nudity please...the horror:))

Call time: 10:00pm Location: Old Pasadena, CA.

2010-06-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

I've been booked as BANK STAFF on a TV pilot being directed by a HUGE!!!! Hollywood V.I.P. He’s created several enormously popular TV shows and written and directed a mega blockbuster movie. This guy is the real deal so I’m very excited.

Our call time was for 10:00pm which means it’s going to be an all-nighter. I arrive at base camp to find several BGAs standing around looking lost. All the trucks and honey wagons are there but we can’t seem to find anyone. The catering truck hasn’t even set up yet. This is very strange. Finally, an out of breathe and frazzled PA comes running over to us to say that the crew call was changed to 11:15pm. Hello?? Why didn’t anyone call the BGAs??????

Let me tell you how a booking works. When you are booked by Central Casting you are sent an email with the name of the show/movie, the name of the casting director that booked you and the call time. You are then given a four digit code. You are supposed to call a specific telephone number, enter the code and a recording will come on. This recording gives you all the information you will need, such as wardrobe and location. It also will reiterate the call time. However, you are also told to check back before you go to sleep and before you leave for work to make sure there were no call time changes. We all did that. There were no call time changes posted on the recording.

In other words, someone messed. It’s gonna cost them money. They have to start our clock from 10:00pm even if the call is not until 11:15pm. Good for us, bad for them.

Finally at around 11:00pm the rest of the crew starts rolling in. We are sent over to wardrobe around 11:45pm. I will be wearing my very stylish grey suit with white blouse. This is a high end bank in Madrid, Spain. We are all supposed to be Spaniards, European, stylish, hip and we all look the part if I don’t say so myself.

At about 12:00 midnight we are shuttled to the set which is a bank in Old Pasadena that looks very authentically Spanish. Location scouts have done an excellent job. The bank is beautiful, very old world.

Our holding area is in an empty building adjacent to the bank. We have our chairs set up and craft service has even been nice enough to set up inside. This will be very convenient at about 4:00am in the morning when we are starting to crash and need the caffeine fix.

At about 1:00am some of us are called to the set to work the first scene. I’m playing bank staff so I’m given a desk which is great because I get to sit during the entire shoot (other BGAs were hired as tellers, they get to stand). Sitting makes me happy because wardrobe has me wearing stiletto heals. Remember, we are not Americans; we are stylish Europeans, we are not supposed to care about comfort.

The Director and the two Stars of the show are going over the lines and rehearsing their actions. The first scene is going to be relatively simple. The two Stars enter the bank and walk over to the Bank’s Director.

Meanwhile, I’ll be at the desk pretending to be on my computer, then on the phone, and then I’ll be writing down some notes. We rehearse a few times. They’re ready to shoot.

BACKGROUND…ACTION!

I’m on my computer, then I decide I need to call a customer, I pick up the phone, I mime talking to her, I’m writing down notes, etc. These same actions continue for about 1 hour, simple, straightforward.

We finish, back to holding. It’s getting late in the evening and most of the BGAs that were not working on the scene have fallen asleep in holding. This is not an easy feat to accomplish on a fold out chair but BGAs are very creative creatures and you have to see the “beds” that some of them make out of fold out chairs, coats, bags, etc. Some BGAs come prepared, though. They bring camping chairs, but not just any camping chair, they get fancy, they bring the kind that has a kick stand for your feet and arm rests with cup holders. I mean the really fancy, comfortable chairs, like these:

I don’t have that kind. I have the normal, standard camping chair, which is not really very comfortable. This is my chair:

Not ideal for a restful sleep. But that’s fine for me because I’d rather NOT fall asleep for the following reasons:

1) Vanity – I don’t want to get all wrinkled and messy.

2) Vanity – I don’t want to wake up and find out that I’ve been drooling all over myself.

3) Vanity – I don’t want to wake up to find out I had been snoring.

There are plenty of BGAs that have no problem sleeping on the job. Can’t blame them, when it’s 3:00am in the morning and you’ve been sitting around in a room for 2 or 3 hours doing nothing, sleep is perhaps inevitable. I’d rather not, that’s just me.

After lunch…yes lunch…we are having lunch at 4:15am, we are back to the set to finish the earlier scene. This time the Director wants more action in the background so we will be doing some crosses. I was told by a PA to cross from one desk to another desk and mimic asking that bank staff a question, then go back to my desk. We rehearse.

BACKGROUND…ACTION!

I’m at my desk, I get up, go to the other desk, mime asking a question, the other BGA gives me a file, I mime “thank you” then go back to my desk…CUT!

I hear the Director tell the 1^st AD that he wants someone to walk directly into the camera then veer off the side. I guess he wants to try something fancy. The PA, who I think likes me J picks me to be this person. WOW! Great! I’ll have a full on camera shot. I’m excited.

I start preparing for the Director to call me over when all of a sudden a “friend” of the Director’s (a young girl) enters the room. He sees her and calls her over. They hug and laugh. It seems like other people on the production staff also know her. They’re all talking, laughing and we’re just standing around, waiting.

Finally, I hear the Director say to her, “Hey, you want to be on TV? Why don’t you pick up a file and do the walk straight into the camera. It’ll be fun.”

My heart just sank, that was supposed to be me. The PA looks over at me and gives me an “I’m sorry” look. My fellow BGAs also look at me with pitiful eyes. They feel my pain.

The worst part of this story is that the girl didn’t even want to do it. She kept saying no. They had to convince her! Can you believe that???? The Director and Producer are going back and forth with her saying, “Come on, it’ll be fun.” And she’s saying, “No, I don’t want to do it. I’ll be embarrassed.” They’re trying to persuade her and all the while I’m standing there thinking, “Hey, leave her alone. She doesn’t want to do it. Pick someone that does!!!!! Like ME!!!!” Anyway, she finally gave in and did the scene. I, on the other hand, did the walk from my desk to the other desk and back again, in the background, a faceless, grey suit in stiletto heels. C’est la vie.

We worked all night until sunrise, shooting the very last scene just as the sun came over the beautiful San Gabriel Mountains. The view was spectacular. I can’t lie and say that I wasn’t exhausted by that point. It had been a very long night.

I’ll end this entry with one thought. Disappointments are a common thing in Hollywood. You win some and you lose some. In all honesty, you lose more than you win. Oh, but when you DO win, its magical and those are the moments you keep in the back of your brain when it’s 4:00am in the morning and your feet hurt, you’re tired and the thought of a nice warm bed keeps circling in your head. During those moments you say to yourself, “One day, it will be me, my turn, I’ll be the Star, I’ll be the Director, I’ll be the Writer, I’ll be the Producer.” So folks, whatever the dream, just keep dreaming it.

Call time: 8:15am Location: Downtown, LA - 3 day call!

2010-05-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

I started doing background work back in NYC many many years ago. I was starting to take acting lessons and wanted, no, yearned to be on a set. I was told by an agent to start with background work. It would give me a sense of what goes on during the making of a movie or TV show. I'd learn some technical things as well as get used to being in front of a camera, even if I'd only be in the background. Bottom line, as an actor, you have to develop listening skills as well as learn about camera angles, eye lines, etc. It's a great beginners classroom, the world of background acting.

So I took the advise and I started working background. Since NYC, I've done it off and on here in LA. Lately, (thanks to our magnificent economy and the dried up commercial landscape, GRRRRR!) I've gone back to doing it on a regular basis again.

At first I was resistant, almost militant about returning to the background. I had a very successful commercial career as a principal actor for several years. I'd done national campaigns for Dodge Caravan, T-Mobile, Bank of America, just to name a few. I even had a small but recurring role on a Fox syndicated TV show. So the idea of going back to background was not appealing. However, work is work and it's better than NOT working so I renewed my Central Casting status and got myself a calling service. So here I am, back in business.

Having said that, let me be honest, there are days I hate it. I hate sitting in "holding", I hate having to wait for the crew and cast to eat before I can eat, I hate being a nameless actor in the crowd. Remember, I've been on the other side, I've had my name on the door of a honey wagon, I've had a director's chair set up for me, PA's running around getting me water bottles, the first in line at lunch, wardrobe, makeup and hair fussing over me so there are days, it's just plain hard to be background.

But sometimes there is a booking that is so special, so amazing, where something happens and you feel invigorated, you feel like you've been part of something great, and those are the days you realized how privileged you actually are, even as background.

This is the story of one such booking: (I'm going to use names here because they deserved the recognition)

I was booked as CLERICAL at a police station for the movie FASTER! starring Billy Bob Thornton, Dwayne Johnson and Carla Cugino. As I understand, it's a fast paced action police drama. The 3 day booking is for all the scenes they are shooting at the police station. We are shooting in Downtown LA in a beautiful old building. It will be doubling for Bakersfield, CA. We are only shooting interiors. I've been told to bring muted tones, nice business casual.

I arrive at base camp and am told immediately to go get breakfast. Wow! They want us to eat before they even check us in. I see the lunch truck and look at the menu; Eggs Florentine, Mexican Sausage Burrito, Shrimp and Lobster (yes, Lobster) Omelet, and the rest of your basics. Okay, so they have A LOT of money on this film. I order the omelet (I'm not stupid, you know. Can't pass up Lobster for breakfast). I grab my breakfast, some coffee and head over to the tents where the rest of background has gathered. I quickly realize that many of my fellow BGAs know each other. They've worked various TV shows together as cops and detectives so they've formed a friendship. I sit down by myself in a corner, thinking, they wouldn't want a stranger in their mists...wrong!

"Hey, chicka, what are you doing alone over there, get your butt over here." That came from a beautiful lady, who was the ring leader of the group. She's a Veteran BGA which means she works almost every day and has even been a regular background on several TV shows. Everyone knows her, not only because she's good at what she does, but she has one of the most positive uplifting life attitudes I'd ever seen and in THIS business, that's saying a lot.

So I take my plate and make my way over to the crowd. Introductions follow and we are now quickly becoming friends.

PA comes over. I have to tell you, this PA was perhaps one of the nicest and funniest I'd ever worked with. (Since this booking, I've worked with him twice again and he's still the same, funny dude.) He tells us to head over to wardrobe, makeup and hair. Now as background, you are told to come "camera ready." This means YOU do your own hair and make up. This is standard practice. Since I'm a professional, I've done my hair and applied my makeup, so I think I'm ready. I go through wardrobe, (they weren't standing on that dreaded lift, yeah!!) and I'm told to wear the grey for the first day and the brown for the second. The third day will be grey again. After wardrobe I pass through hair and makeup where I see they are actually DOING the background actors. I'm looked over and told my hair looks great (they even thanked me!) but they want to fix my makeup. I sit in a chair and I'm given the full makeup treatment. WOW! This doesn't happen often, especially when there are over 50 background actors. I'm impressed.

We head over to set. We are given a holding area on the 1st floor of the building, the set is on the 4th. We sat at holding for maybe 30 minutes when we were called up to set.

The set, which is the police station looks fantastic. I mean, authentic to the max. There are computer screens with mugshots up, files with Bakersfield Police on the cover, plagues on the walls, etc. We meet the Director and 1st AD (yes, you heard me, they introduced themselves) then the PAs place us around the room in various positions; some are at desks, others by file cabinets, some uniformed BGA have "criminals" in handcuffs, the works. Basically, they want the room to look like an authentic working police station.

We are ready to rehearse. Walk on the set...Billy Bob Thornton and Carla Cugino.

Great! I love both actors. Billy Bob in SLING BLADE and MONSTERS BALL great! Carla in WATCHMEN and RIGHTEOUS KILL was amazing. I'm thrilled because it's a tight set and we'll actually see them "do their thing."

All the BGAs get in their positions, the Director goes over the scene with the actors, they go over their marks, we rehearse a few times, okay, let's do this!

PICTURE'S UP!

BACKGROUND...ACTION!

I'm fiddling with some files, I pretend to write something down, I look up and see the PA motioning for me to walk across the room. I take a file (looks more authentic) and I walk across, miming "hi" to a detective sitting at a desk....CUT!

Great. The Director is happy, actors are happy, everyone is laughing, smiling.

The 1st AD goes over to the PA and chat. The PA comes over to me. "Okay, when you hear Billy say, "coffee" you are going to walk across behind him." WOW!!!! I'm in the shot! Great!

Here we go.

BACKGROUND...ACTION!

I'm by the file cabinet, I pretend to write something...I'm listening for my cue...I grab another file..."coffee"...there's my cue...I grab the file and walk across behind Billy and Carla...scene continues for a minute...CUT!

Great! Perfect! Let's do it again!

We do the scene several times and it's always on the mark. Professionals doing their job, plain and simple.

We stayed on the set pretty much all day except for the lunch break. Lunch being as amazing as breakfast. I also got to witness what is referred to as the"Second Team" preparing for car stunts. They had a Ferrari and a classic Chevy at base camp. The second team had a board up with drawings for the sequence of stunts in a car chase. It was fascinating watching them meticulously go over every frame, step by step.

After lunch, we went back to holding for, again, only 30 minutes and we were called back to set. We remained on set throughout all the sets up and Director, DP conference, actor rehearsal, everything...it was a real lesson in film making. I was fascinated and grateful.

I tried to soak it all in, background rarely gets such an in depth view of the creative process.

After 10 hours, we were exhausted. While the Director and DP were discussing camera shots and lighting, four of us BGAs sat down in the back at a desk just relaxing.

The following, I'm proud to say, actually occurred:

As we sat around quietly watching and waiting, Billy Bob comes over, grabs a chair and sits down with us. At first, we were a bit shocked. Folks, the stars, the big stars and even the NOT so big stars, NEVER NEVER come over and chat with background. They might, if we're standing around waiting for action to be called, make a quick comment, smile or even say hello. But walk over and pull up a chair to talk to us? Never or shall I say, rarely.

So now we are sitting with Billy, chatting about the shoot. He turns to me and asks how long I've been doing background. I tell him. I also tell him that I'm interested in writing and producing so this is good training for me. I get the opportunity to learn what to do and what NOT to do on a set as a producer. He agrees. Then he proceeds to tell me a story. When he was a young actor coming up the ranks he used to do background work all the time. He used to watch everything intensely, learning as much as possible. He also remembers the times he was treated poorly as background and the times he was treated nicely. He promised himself that if he ever got in a position of power where he would be calling the shots, he would never treat background badly.

Just then the PA told us to go back to our assigned positions. We are about to start rolling again. I got up and so did he. I turned to him and said, "Thank you for being so gracious. It is rare that an actor of your stature takes the time to speak to the background actors. It is truly appreciated." He smiled, extended his hand and said, "By the way, I'm Billy Bob, it was a pleasure speaking with you. Good luck." I shook his hand, told him my name, thanked him again and ran over to my position to wait for the Director to call ACTION.

What can I say, except, that it was an inspiring moment and one I will never forget.

For the rest of the shoot, he continued to be friendly and gracious. Carla, was friendly as well, but a very intense actress, always suggesting new ways of doing the scene, different approaches she could take with the character, a real professional in my book.

The rest of the shoot went as well, just as inspiring. I made some great friends and learned a few things that I will apply next time I'm the boss. At the end of the 3rd day, the Director thanked us all for doing such a great job.

Great story, right?

Yeap. Experiences like this remind me, we are indeed, members of an elite group, and like most elite groups...membership has it's privileges.

Please Do Not Call Me An EXTRA!

2010-05-14T08:54:00.001-07:00

I’d like to start this blog entry today with a clarification. I’m NOT an EXTRA! WE are not EXTRAS! Please refrain from ever referring to us as such. Thank you.

As you can tell, this is a touchy subject with some of us. Don’t get me wrong. I’m fully aware that the term “extra” is often used to describe background talent. In fact, Ricky Gervais produced a very funny and successful HBO series about background talent; the name of the show, EXTRAS. However, let me take this opportunity to set the record straight. No matter what anyone tells you, we are NOT EXTRAS. The word extra connotes something superfluous, unnecessary really, just there as an addition. We are not superfluous. We are not extra baggage or extra actors on a set. We are absolutely necessary and in fact, in some cases, we are THE essential ingredient that makes a scene work. Can you image for example, the movie TITANIC, without the hundreds of background actors floating in the water screaming for their lives? I don’t think the sinking of the Titanic scene would have had the same effect if only Leo and Kate were holding on to the railing afraid as the ship sinks dramatically, into the ocean. Or even in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY, the famous scene when Meg Ryan fakes the orgasm. I don’t think it would have been half as funny without the background actors reacting to her moans of fake pleasure. Remember their faces and Billy Crystal’s embarrassment? Isn’t that what makes the scene work?

Therefore, please take the term EXTRAS out of your mind. We are background actors, talent, who help create authenticity. And as with all talent, there are good background actors and not so good, well actually, bad background talent. I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “How in the world can there be bad background actors? I mean, how hard is it to walk from point A to point B or mimic ordering a coffee or a conversation at a dinner table?”

Let me explain.

A few months ago I was booked on a very popular TV show. We were filming on location at a very exclusive outdoor restaurant. The scene called for the star of the show to have a brief but emotional conversation with another actor who was playing her father. The way the tables were set up the star and the other actor would be sitting in the center table flanked by tables of BGAs. I was positioned right behind the star, which was great because I knew I’d be on camera. I was given a “date” to sit at the table with me. Since we were supposed to be enjoying a scrumptious meal at this high end restaurant, they placed in front of us real food; an Italian Tiramsu dessert, coffee, and glasses filled with water. We were told by set design that we could eat the dessert because it was actually delicious and they had more pieces available if the scene dragged on. There is so much mimicking you can do in a dinner/restaurant scene without actually eating or drinking something. I said hello to my fake date. He seemed like a nice person. He had been doing background work for a long time, so I’m thinking, “Great, I got a pro, no problem, we got this.”

REHEARSAL

BACKGROUND…ACTION!

We’re sitting and I’m mimicking talking about the weather, (cold), the food, (delicious), the coffee (horrible), all the while my “date” is just smiling, fork in hand and starring over my head at…I have no clue! Look, I understand, we are not doing Shakespeare here but you gotta give me something to work with, at least look at me!

CUT!

As the Director and the Star talk over the scene, I ask the guy, “Why are you looking over my head? Did the AD give you an eye line?” He said, “No. I’m just looking at the ocean.” I ask, “Is there a reason you don’t want to look at me during the scene?” He says, “We’re just rehearsing, no big deal. I don’t want to get stale.”

Stale? Looking at me would get stale after a while? Okay, I’m not insulted.

Whatever. (Sound effect: Two snaps of the singer)

The Director and Star finish their powwow and are now ready to shoot.

PICTURE’S UP. (That’s what they say when they’ve finished rehearsing and are ready to shoot)

I look over at my scene partner, he’s smiling, fork in hand ready for the Director to yell, “Action!”

Okay, here we go.

BACKGROUND…ACTION!

We’re sitting, I’m mimicking talking about the how beautiful the restaurant is, I’m smiling, drinking some water, I try the Tiramisu (yeap, it is delicious), I pretend he said something funny, I laugh…CUT!

I’ve just described what I was doing during that take. Now I will describe what he was doing.

Sitting.

That’s it. No pretend conversation with me, no drinking the water, no trying the dessert, nothing. He did look at me this time, but THAT’S IT!

Again, you must be saying, “So what, let him sit there. You shouldn’t care what the other BGA does as long as you do your job.” Well, you see, I’m an actress, I believe in ACTING! Just because I’m background doesn’t mean I’m not mentally in the scene. Remember, it has to look authentic. Do you think a table of two people, one laughing, talking, eating and the other just sitting with a fork in his hand, like a deer caught in the headlights, looks authentic? Eventually, the other person has to move his hand, his head, something! I mean, you wouldn’t be frozen to your seat?

Just because we are background doesn’t mean that we don’t act authentic in a scene. That’s why we are called background actors, “actors” being the operative word. I do understand that sometimes as BGA you might not actually be in the shot. But if you are on the set and you are supposed to be doing some sort of action then follow through, don’t assume you won’t be on camera. That’s Basic Background Acting 101.

What else makes a good BGA or a bad one? The ability to understand continuity and the art of repetitiveness will make one BGA stand out from another.

Folks, a set is a busy, chaotic place; you have lighting people, gaffers, make up girls, wardrobe, Director, 1^st Assistant Director, 2^nd Assistant Director, camera men/women, etc. At any one time there could be at least 30 people on a set and that’s NOT including the actors. It can get crazy and the people in charge of BGA are usually the PA’s (production assistants). They are given the job of directing BGA where to walk, where to turn, where to stand from the 1^st AD who gets his direction from the Director. In other words, it can get fairly confusing for the PA’s to keep up with where, when and how you should be doing your action in the scene. They really try their best but a good BGA knows, after the first few rehearsals, when in the scene they should be walking, where they are walking to, and how they should be doing their “business.” They don’t need to be told over and over. There needs to be continuity in a scene and things need to match. A good BGA keeps these things in mind. For example, if you are told to walk from the couch to the kitchen when a certain actor in the scenes says, “I’ll be right back” then it’s your job to listen for your cue during every take. Or if you have been getting up from a chair every time an actor makes a certain gesture in the scene then it’s your job to remember to repeat those exact actions every time.

Next time you watch a movie or TV show, you won't be watching the "extras", you'll be watching the background talent and the great job they are doing. Thank you.

Call time: 9:00am, Location: LA Convention Center

2010-05-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

The best part of being a Background Actor is that you get to be so many different characters. One day you can be a nurse, get to wear scrubs and play with a stethoscope. The next day you can be a police officer, wear the uniform, get a prop gun, handcuffs, baton, the works! Or the next day you can simply be a regular Joe Schmo walking down the street with your jeans, iPod and cellphone as Tom Cruise or George Clooney runs down the street past you chasing a bad guy...not that I've ever been on the street when George Clooney is running but I'm sure some lucky BGA has! The closest I've been to The G man was when he was stopped at a light on his motocycle and I was in a car next to him. I was admiring his bike when I looked up and saw it was George Clooney. Ladies, he IS as good looking in person as he is on screen. Sorry guys, I just had to throw that in there.

Anyway, I've been a nurse (several times), a teacher, a detective, and even a Wall Street executive. For that character I got to wear a suit that Vera Farmiga wore in UP IN THE AIR! Today I'm a FLIGHT ATTENDANT. Coffee, tea, peanuts?

It's an important shoot because it's the last scene of the season finale of a very popular TV show. In other words, I know how the season ends before anyone else. Again, another perk of being a BGA, we get to know how scenes are shot, what happens in a movie during a pivotal moment, how a show ends, etc, all before the general public finds out.

Today, we are cheating the LA Convention Center for an airport. Again, set design has done an outstanding job. They've brought in airport monitors that tell you Arrivals and Departures. They've set up gate numbers, directions to Baggage claim, everything you would see at the airport. At this point, I'm even expecting to see a plane parked outside a gate. Okay, that WOULD be impossible. But you get the idea.

I arrive and check in. I go see wardrobe who outfits me with the entire Flight Attendant wardrobe; white shirt, blue skirt suit with matching vest and the very popular scarf tied stylishly around my neck. I'm loving it! I then walk over to the prop department and get a name badge (I will be Susan Westlocke for the day) and the requisite rolling carry-on luggage. I'm in heaven!

We are three Flight attendants; two females and one male.

I have also noticed that wardrobe is outfitting TSA workers, Airport security and SWAT team police officers. I can't begin to tell you how amazing everyone looks. We are ready for our close-ups! Where is Mr. DeMille??*

As we are gathered outside the Convention center waiting for everyone to get their props and things, the very famous STAR of the show walks by, head down, not even acknowledging we are there. Now, at this point of my story I can get really caddy and say that he was a jerk, he should have at least said, "Hey" and kept walking. But I WILL give him the benefit of the doubt. This is the season finale, he may have been getting into an emotional state of mind to shoot a scene. I'm an actress, a professional, I've studied Meisner, "Method", etc. I understand preparation. No problem. Let's move on with the rest of the story.

BACK TO HOLDING

Background holding today will be a humongous room with hundreds of fold up chairs. Remember, this is supposed to be an airport, it's got to look crowded and busy. Today will be chaos. We number around 300 BGAs. We are assigned 4 PAs, and given a brief overview of the day. The scene is quickly read to us so we are aware of what is going on. Unfortunately, I don't watch this show so I have no clue who the characters are or what is going on. But there are some fans of the show among the crowd. I hear gasping and "Oh!" when they finish reading the scene. I guess that means they're not happy with the ending.

Anyway, the PA finishes her speech with a directive. WE ARE NOT TO LOOK OR TALK TO THE ACTORS, ESPECIALLY...THE MAIN STAR.

Okay. Fine. No problem. However, just one thing...the actors will be standing in the middle of the airport, we are 300 BGAs walking with luggage through the terminal, if we can't look at them, how do we know NOT TO RUN INTO THEM!!!! It would be kind of funny if a BGA with a large rolling suitcase ran right into the STAR then said, "Hey, I was just following orders. I was told not to look at you." I'm just saying.

Alright, alright, I'm being literal, but I can't help it. That directive irked me a little. But I understand. I got it, Meisner, The Method, blah, blah...

EVERYONE! ON THE SET!

OMG!! Have you ever tried to move, simultaneously, 300 people into one room, position them in various locations in the room then give them directions on how to move around without bumping into each other or looking staged in any way? Well these 4 PA's did just that. Excellent. I give them props. I would never be able to do that.

The other female Flight attendant and I are placed behind the STAR several yards away. We will be walking towards him. The 1st AD wants to make sure our costumes (not us) are in the shot. The exact wording was, "I don't want to waste the outfits." Yeah, my outfit is to get screen time, not me. Okay.

So we take our positions. The cue to move will be when the STAR turns around. I got that.

BACKGROUND...ACTION!

We wait...and wait...the STAR and the co-star are saying their lines. Looks emotional...we wait...okay, the STAR turns around..this is our big moment...we start walking...we're walking and talking (actually miming, no sound please!)...we are just about to cross the STAR when...CUT!!!

Back to our 1st position.

The 1st AD comes over to us. That's not going to work. We have to move further back and start sooner. We have to start when the STAR is ABOUT to turn.

Huh? How do we know when he's ABOUT to turn? We can't hear him. The 1st AD thinks for a moment. Okay, you are going to start walking when he takes his cap off. He does that just as he is about to turn. GREAT! No problem. We got that.

BACKGROUND...ACTION!

We wait...we wait...the actors are doing their lines. Things are getting emotional...looks good...we wait...we wait...the STAR turns around and starts walking, cap on his head...CUT!!!!

We obviously never left our spot because the STAR never took his cap off.

The 1st AD comes up to us..."Okay, that's not going to work." After several minutes of consultation, he just told us to "wing it." Yes folks. The outcome of our very important outfits making it to the screen was left in our hands.

My fellow BGA and I talked it over. We had a pretty good idea as to what was going in the scene even if we couldn't hear the lines. We came up with a plan.

BACKGROUND...ACTION!

We wait...we wait...the actors are doing their lines...emotions...lines...we wait...the STAR pauses, there is a moment of silence, no words are spoken...we start to walk...we're walking...the STAR turns around...we're walking...we cross just in the right place at the right time...magic...the STAR keeps walking, fading into the sunset...we pass the cameras...CUT!!!

Perfection.

We did our job, our outfits got their moment on the screen. Do you think they'll get credit at the end of the show?

FLIGHT ATTENDANT OUTFIT played by the BLUE SUIT WITH MATCHING VEST AND SCARF

It was a very long day. There were 6 main actors in the shot and it took a long time to set up, rehearse, shoot, then break down, change angle, rehearse, shoot, etc.

Towards the end of the evening my feet were yelling at me and my back was screaming as well. The scenes also became a blur and we were told to "just walk around." During one of the camera angle changes I was standing around a nice size crowd of BGAs. I struck up a conversation with a young man. He'd been a BGA for about a year but really considers himself to be a "serious" actor. (WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!!) Anyway, I'm in the middle of a sentence with this "serious" actor when he just walks away and disappears into the crowd. At first I was insulted, but within seconds it became crystal clear to me why he had walked away. He had farted. And I don't mean a small Chihuahua fart. I mean a Great Dane having just finished a bowl of chili fart. You know? The kind of fart that requires a gas mask.

So I'm standing there, in the middle of this invisible cloud of stink when I notice people are staring at ME! NO!!!! THAT WASN'T ME!!! THAT WAS THE SERIOUS ACTOR!!!

I realize quickly that no one is going to believe me so I walk away and disappear into the crowd as well.

The rest of the evening was quite uneventful. We made some overtime $$$ which is ALWAYS good. When it was time to say good night, I took my outfit into it's dressing room. I removed it from my body and placed it gingerly back on its hanger. I walked it back to the wardrobe department and handed it over to its agent, the wardrobe girl. It had done a wonderful job. Perhaps it will be nominated for Best Costume in a Supporting Role.

"Thank you for flying with us. Please come again."

*For those not familiar, reference is to the movie SUNSET BOULEVARD If you haven't seen it...GO RENT IT!!!! It's a classic.

Call time: 7:00am, Location: Panorama City, CA

2010-04-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

I have been booked as a GUEST. To be precise a guest at a Quinceañera. For those not in the "know" it is the Latin equivalent of Sweet Sixteen. However, us Latins believe girls become "women" one year earlier, when they turn 15.

Anyway, this will be a Mexican Quinceañera so today I get to be Mexican. The wardrobe: party attire but not too dressy, nice Church dresses. I will assume that means nothing revealing, nothing gaudy. No problem. I got that.

Pack my bags and head out to Panorama City. This is great, the location is not too far from where I live. The weather is a bit chilly this morning. Panorama City is sort of in the center of the San Fernando Valley so the mornings are chilly, but the days really heat up. Today promises to be a picture perfect "Valley" day.

I arrive at Crew parking and am immediately shuttled to Base Camp a few blocks away. It's my understanding that we are cheating the location for a small town in Mexico. We arrive at Base Camp which is also the actual set. Wow! They did an amazing job scouting locations because this place looks like it could be a market in Mexico City. You got it all; Tortilla stands, sombrero carts, pottery stands, all authentic Mexican ware, and everything is in Spanish. Fantastic! Even I think I'm in Mexico. I love show business!

I go over to wardrobe and show them my church dresses. They love them. They decide on a nice linen dark red dress and the accessories. Great, everything is going wonderfully. Then the wardrobe woman hands me a cashier's vest, like the kind you see employees at Lowe's or Home Depot wearing. She says, "keep your street clothes and just throw the vest over your sweater." I have just learned that I will also be a VENDOR. Great! That means I'll be in the first shot and the later shot of the day...it's looking like overtime $$$$.

We are then called to the set. I am given my cart. It is a potpourri of things; lighters, magazines, kid's toys, stuffed animals, chips, sodas, etc. I attempt to pick up a magazine but I realize that everything is either glued on or stapled on to the cart so the wind won't blow it away. The only things not stapled down are the Twinkies. Okay, no problem. I'll sell the Twinkies. I then notice that next to my cart is a stand with clay pottery piggy banks that have been beautifully hand painted. On the other side of that stand is a huge flower display, all types of flowers, silk flowers to be exact, remember, we are just cheating everything to look real.

I am given my instructions by the PA. I am to sell the Twinkies to my fellow BGA's who are playing PEDESTRIANS. I got that. The star of the show comes on set, so does the other actors in the scene. They rehearse their lines. All looks good.

The 1st Assistant Director (AD) yells, "BACKGROUND...ACTION!"

A PEDESTRIAN comes over. She looks at my cart. I show her my Twinkies. She smiles and mimes, "I'll take two." I smile back and mime, "2 pesos" (I have NO idea what the value of the peso is or how much a Twinkie costs). She hands me pretend money and leaves..."CUT!"

We stop. The Director calls over the 1st AD (Assistant Director). They talk. The 1st AD tells the PAs that Background (that would be us), needs to be busier. The PA comes over to me, "You'll be at the Twinkie cart then I'll send over some people to the piggy bank stand, you'll sell them the banks as well." I got that.

1st AD, "BACKGROUND...ACTION!"

I sell my Twinkies, then I turn to my right and see a man standing by the piggy banks. I go over and sell him a bank. We smile..."CUT!"

1st AD, "Needs to be busier!"

PA, "Okay, you'll sell the Twinkies, then the piggy banks then you'll go over to the flowers and sell those too." I got it.

Here we go again. 1st AD, "BACKGROUND...ACTION!"

I'm selling the Twinkies, I'm selling the piggies, I run over and start selling the flowers..."CUT!"

1st AD. "Busier! I need more crosses. I want Background to cross in front of the actors. It's got to look like a busy market."

PA comes over to me and says, "After you sell the flowers, you'll cross to the other side of the market, wait a few beats, then cross back to the flowers." I got it.

1st AD, "BACKGROUND...ACTION!"

I'm selling the Twinkies, I'm selling the piggies, I'm selling the flowers, I'm walking across the market...one...two...three...I'm walking back to the flowers, oh, I see people at the piggies, go sell the piggies, more Twinkies..."CUT!"

You've got to be kidding me!

1st AD, "That was great! Now do exactly what you did before, but quietly."

WHAT? QUIETLY? No problem, just tip toe...but don't look like you're tip toeing. We're professionals. We can do it.

Here we go again. 1st AD, "BACKGROUND...ACTION!"

Twinkies, piggies, flowers, tip toe over the market...one...two...three...tip toe back to the flowers, piggies, Twinkies, more piggies, more flowers, tip toe over the market....

Several hours later, I had sold about 500 Twinkies, 50 Piggy banks and enough flowers to adorn a float at the Tournament of Roses Parade, hypothetically of course, remember, this IS make believe.

"LUNCH!"

After a very delicious lunch we are back at holding. Holding is a large banquet room with many tables and chairs. We've been told to change into our next outfit and wait. They are setting up the party scene. I'm sitting at a small table with a full belly and a nice hot coffee. I take out a crossword puzzle to pass the time away. A few minutes into the puzzle, I'm bored. I look around and briefly lock eyes with a man in his late 40's who's also sitting by himself a few feet away from me. He has an open book in his hand. I smile and ask, "what are you reading?"

Now, have you ever wanted to take back a moment in time? Yes? Well this would later prove to be "the moment" for me. Friends, the following ACTUALLY transpired.

The man gets up from his chair and comes over to my little table. He sits down and shows me the book. It is The Bible, in French. I say, "Vous parlez Français?"His face lights up like a Christmas tree, "Oui, oui, vous aussi? I continue to engage this conversation in French for a short period because, well, frankly, I was bored and I wanted to practice my French. I ask him if he was French. He is not. He is from South America. I ask him why has he chosen to learn French and why is he reading The Bible in French. He tells me, he wants to be a missionary in South America. Huh, okay, but why French? There is only one French speaking country in South America. It is called French Guiana. I find it strange he would go through all the trouble of learning a new language to be a missionary in a tiny country.

But I ask him anyway. He says no, he's not going to French Guiana. Then again, why French? He says, "why not?" I say, "well I asked why were you learning French and you said because you wanted to be a missionary. I then assumed you were intending on going to a French speaking country." Logical, no? He doesn't respond. Instead, he remains slightly transfixed, as if he ACTUALLY had to think about it.

Finally, I decide it would be best to drop the whole French thing, so I say, "Anyway, it's very noble of you to want to be a missionary." This folks, is when I truly wish I could have gone back in time.

He says, "God told me to." I said, "You mean, being that you are Christian your calling is to spread the Word of God." He says, "No, God told me to. Literally. He came to me and told me be a missionary." I'm thinking, like you, he's cuckoo bananas. But wait, it gets better. He then proceeds to tell me the following story. When he was 15 years old he died. He died for 1 hour, during which God came to him and told him he would never die. He would live forever. Then miraculously he came back to life.

I (because at this point I see no way out of this vortex, I'm just letting it spin out of control), say to him, "Well, Christians believe we never really die. Our souls continue in Heaven." He says, "No, I'm never going to die. Literally." I say, "You mean to tell me you are immortal?" He bows his head in reverence...to himself I guess.

Meanwhile, a young man is sitting just a table away. He's playing around with his iPhone but has obviously been listening to our conversation. He looks up at me and is trying to contain his laughter.

Just then, the man tells me he needs to take his medication. He furthermore, elaborates that he can never be without it. I ask him why, does he have a serious heart condition? He says, "I'm schizophrenic."

No? Really? I never would have guessed.

The young man can't contain himself anymore. He decides to join the conversation. He asks the man, "Do you think your schizophrenia is the reason you think God came to you and said you would never die?"

I'm sitting there thinking, "DANGER!! RED LIGHT!!!! SHUT UP KID, HE'S A SCHIZO THAT HASN'T TAKEN HIS MEDICATION YET!!!!"

At that moment, the man gets up, walks over to the kid, opens up his Bible and reads a passage, a passage that had nothing to do with the conversation or anything else for that matter. He finishes, closes the book and very calmly walks away.

The kid and I stare at each other. We have become figures in a virtual Daliesque world. I'm mesmerize, the kid shrugs his shoulders, says, "what a nut" and goes back to his iPhone.

"BACK TO THE SET!"

For the rest of the shoot I played a game of "hide from the schizo" since the PAs were pairing people off as couples. Wherever, he was, I was on the other side of the room.

We wrapped around 9:30pm (overtime, yay!!!) I handed my vest back to wardrobe, I took off my church dress and threw on my jeans. Yellow voucher in hand, I signed out, took the shuttle back to my car and drove home. When I arrived home my husband asked me how it went. I smiled and said, "Just another day on the set."

Bonne nuit mes amis! A bientôt!

Call time: 10:00am, location: Venice Beach, CA

2010-04-27T14:27:00.000-07:00

The sweetest sound a Background Actor (BGA) can hear is the "ping" of the cell phone announcing that you've been BOOKED!!! Yay!!! That means you work tomorrow; money, moola, another shot at getting noticed by nobody!!!

That "ping" came to me on Friday night for a Monday booking on one of my favorite shows. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was. Not only is it one of my faves, but the call time was 10:00am (late for most call times) and I would be working at the beach. Yay again!!!

Okay, I'm playing a TOURIST. Clothing; shorts, colorful tops (no red, black or white), sandals, sneakers, hats, anything NOT California looking because we are supposed to be...Tourists. I got that.

I go through my closet. Hum, I don't have a lot of non California looking clothes mainly because I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA. But that's fine, I can make do with some khaki shorts, a few bright colored tops (no logos please!), sandals and a pair of VERY white sneakers I use when I play a nurse. Okay those will do. I'll throw on a pair of white socks, real touristy looking. I got a straw hat (which I hate) but I know will work. I'm ready.

I check the weather, Valley: mid 80's Sunny, Beach: low 60's foggy, overcast.
No problem, I'll take a sweater, the fog will burn up as the day goes by, it is almost May.

So I pack all my things into my carry-on bag (I'll go into the standard Background Actor essential supplies another day), get my info (I'm to check in with Jeff or Kia), the directions and hit the road.

As I approach Venice Beach, the weather turns ugly. It's cold, really cold. But then again, it's only 9:30am. I arrive at Crew parking and cross the street to Base Camp. Immediately I spot Background Holding (that would be under the breakfast/lunch tents). I say hello to my fellow Background thespians, ask about Jeff or Kia (it's early they aren't checking people in yet) and take a seat.

At 10:00am our assigned PA (Production Assistant) Kia comes over with our vouchers and to let us know that wardrobe will be ready in a few minutes. Let me briefly address the voucher thing. First of all there are two possible vouchers that you can receive as a BGA. One is Blue and the other is Yellow. The coveted voucher is the Yellow one because that means you are SAG and you will make twice as much as the Blue people (non union). I, well, I'm one of the privileged, I get the yellow voucher. I've been SAG since 2001 when I was Taft-Hartley by a production company that booked me to be a mom (Principal actor) on a commercial. Ah, those were the days...

Anyway, we finished filling out the vouchers, pick up our bags and head out to the wardrobe trailer. There are 4 wardrobe ladies working today. They all dress exactly alike (black pants, black boots, grey or black top with a white shirt underneath, a dark jacket, almost always black and a scarf. The scarf is where they demonstrate their individuality. Some like color others stick to dark tones, but all wear it exactly the same, wrapped around the neck into an ascot looking thing. Trust me, ALL wardrobe women and men dress exactly like this. They pride themselves on being "stylish". THIS is what they consider stylish.

The wardrobe trailer is a big semi truck with literally hundreds of clothing options from pants to shirts to shoes, etc. It is basically a traveling wardrobe department. The back of the trailer has a lift. I assume that is where they can roll clothing racks in and out of the truck. However, it is from this lift that the wardrobe people stand in judgment of our clothing choices. I cannot tell you how it bothers me when they won't come down from that stupid lift. I do not appreciate it and I believe it is rude. The "main" wardrobe lady, in other words the biggest snob, stays on the lift and directs the other women (who have come down and are standing on the ground looking through our bags). They aren't happy with our choices. They can do better. Let me skip through the rest of the wardrobe situation because I won't bore you and furthermore, the wardrobe people really irk me and I'd prefer not to speak about them. Let's just say that they gave me a very ugly plaid linen top and told me to wear my khaki shorts, brown sandals and ugly hat. They also gave me a huge summer bag. I looked like an idiot from the mid-west who hasn't picked up a fashion magazine since 1995. Fine. I'm being paid. If they want me to look like an idiot, okay, I'll look like an idiot.

Our PA tells us to hurry up and get into our wardrobe, so we hurry up and get dressed. Wow! This sounds like we are going to the set immediately. Great! No waiting around.

Wrong.

We sat under this open tent in our summer beach attire from 10:30am until 1:30pm. It was cold. No, cold is not the word...it was FREEZING!! No heaters, no changing back into our jeans. No. Just sitting around trying everything in our power to keep warm. One guy ran back to his car and came back with a blanket, and I mean a blanket, like the type you use in NYC in January when it's below 0. I have NO idea why this guy had a blanket, and this type of blanket to boot, in his car. But I envied him. He looked very warm...and happy.

I sat trying to keep busy so I wouldn't think about the cold. A very nice man, who was hired to work as a "street performer" (Remember, we are in Venice Beach where street performers range from very talented to not so talented to silly to crazy to just plain weird) This very nice man was, what I would say, in the weird category. His costume; black pants, black jacket, a red, white and blue studded cape, a white studded apron-thing worn around his butt and a red, white and blue Uncle Sam hat. His talent, twirling. Yes, twirling. He twirled a white pole. A white pole which appeared to be a shower curtain rod. I'll leave that mental image with you.

Anyway, he seemed very nice. He asked me how long I had been acting. I started to answer him, but in the middle of my answer he fell asleep. He is a narcoleptic. At first I thought I must have been really boring to put this man, who is sitting in a virtual meat locker, to sleep. But when he woke up like nothing happened I realized he was a narcoleptic. Also, I saw him dozing off several times while talking to other people.

After lunch which was at 1:30-2:00pm we were shuttled to the set. Finally! We get to work. The set was the Venice Beach walk. For those of you from LA or for those of you who have visited this area know that there are hundreds of people walking back and forth all day long. The set was right smack in the middle of all the craziness. I must also tell you that the main star of the show is a very big celebrity so not only do we have all the bystanders watching just because it was a "movie set" but all the paparazzi and fans. It was a bit chaotic. But that's okay. We are professionals. We can handle anything.

Anything came in the form of a street performer who set up his mike stand and speakers a few yards from the set. Needless to say, he was distracting and interfering with the shoot. A producer walked over to him I imagine to request he refrain from performing until we finished. The request did not go over well. This man begins to yell out how it was a free country and that he had been assigned this spot and he was going to perform no matter what. Before we knew it, a large crowd had gathered around this man, the producer and at this point several police officers. The crowd began chanting, "let him play, let him play." He begins to yell out even louder that he was being harassed and that his civil rights were being violated. I presume you know what happens next...he was arrested.

That was the first incident. The next "anything" was the Aboriginal-Polynesian-Bodybuilder that wandered onto the set. Now, I'm going to emphasize again that it was cold, freezing cold. This man comes over wearing a black speedo, sneakers and socks. That's it. He is completely oiled up and is wearing a head piece made of tusks and rope. Oh, he's also carrying a bottle of oil...in case he dries up. But he was also a very nice man who had a bright smile and great attitude. They loved him on the set. In fact, they gave him a cameo.

The day wrapped up for me around 5:00pm. By that time, I had lost all feeling in my limps from the cold. We were shuttled back to base camp. I got out of my plaid shirt and khaki shorts. Threw on my cool California jeans and warm jacket, and signed out. With the bottom copy of my Yellow voucher in hand, I headed to my car for the drive home during rush hour.

It may have been a difficult day, but in the grand scheme of things, I'm lucky. I made more money today than some people make working behind a desk in a cubicle somewhere. I got to stand next to a very famous person, meet some interesting people and pretend to be someone I'm not. Not bad. Not bad for a days work.