I had another Mixtape booking yesterday. It was a lot of fun because I did not have to spend the entire day in holding like last time. Other than the beginning of the day when we were checking in and seeing wardrobe, the rest of the day was spent on set. I like that much better because there is always something going on, even during my down times.
Waiting our turn on camera with James.
Another Mixtape Booking
Since I had been cut from working on Mixtape the previous week, I was very happy to have another booking. For this booking, I played a DCFS Social Worker at a DCFS office. One scene I was in had us around a conference room table. It was me, three other extras, and the four actors. I love when we are able to work in small groups like that so much more when there is a huge group of extras. The whole day just feels more personal.
Where Did I Just See Her?
When one of the actresses entered, I knew I had just seen her on something. It took me a few minutes but then remembered she was on The Resident that I had just watched the night before. Her name is Jenna Dewan and you can click here to read more about her.
The other James and Brian – Don’t we look like social workers?
At first, I was supposed to be sitting right next to her which would have given me great camera time. But because I was wearing the same color they moved me across the table from her and I don’t think you’ll see much of me at all. Oh well. I also did a scene where I was just walking in the hallway. As long as you remember when you’re supposed to go, it’s pretty easy.
It was a good day as a background actor. The pictures are of James, Brian, and another James. All super nice guys. As you know from my previous post, I’m going to be out of the background for a little while but I’ll be back before you know it because I am so hooked on being in the background.
There has been a lot happening in the background, the foreground, and everywhere around. Last Friday, I was supposed to work on Mixtape. But around 9:30 pm, I still hadn’t received my call time or wardrobe requirements. I was going to wait until 10 pm to send an email but shortly after I received an email from 4 Star Casting that supposedly some of us were sent an email a few days before cancelling our booking but for some reason we did not receive it. I have to admit, I was a little ticked off as I had passed on submitting for a couple of other shows. I don’t know if I would have been chosen for those shows but at least I could have tried.
My new head shot #3
And to top it off, I had even been to the thrift store the day before to buy some dresses for this booking. It was supposed to be for a Hollywood Hills party and be on the fancier side. I have found thrift stores to be great to add to my extra wardrobe. I wouldn’t want to spend full price on something when I make as little as I do. But wardrobe is important if you want to be booked to work, so make sure to have a diverse collection of choices.
So, I was not happy but said, oh well, and let it go. And guess what? Another sign that the Good Lord is taking care of me. I received a phone call from a principal on Friday asking if I could teach 8th grade Language Arts for the rest of the school year. Now, you know what I’ve been through with my teaching career so this is kind of a big deal. It is going to be difficult to find a position again after everything that happened and my age does not help as well. School districts don’t want to hire someone with my experience because they would have to pay me more. So this call was pretty important and had I been working on Mixtape, I would not have been able to take it. Since the following Monday was that school’s Spring Break, I had to go in an interview that day!
Big News
My new head shot #1
Yes, I will miss being in the background for two months, but really, it’s only two months and I need the money big time. After that, who knows?! And that brings me to my next bit of news. The previous Saturday I went to an open casting call for Gill Talent. It’s kind of funny because I really didn’t even know I was going to an open call. One of my background friends mentioned that she had recently signed with them so I had emailed them and they said to come in the next day. So I did. Everybody was there with their professional head shots and I didn’t even have any. Instead of a true resume, I gave them a resume that explained how my teaching skills would translate well to acting as well as a couple of pictures of me at the bottom. I had to do a cold read with another girl and we had five minutes to practice before we went in the audition room.
When it was our turn, we walked into the room to find three talent agents sitting at the table. They asked for our resumes and head shots and here’s me saying, “I don’t have a head shot yet.” I really thought they would think “Who is this crazy lady coming in here with nothing?” They said they would let us know if they were taking us on as clients in four to five days. In all honesty, I really didn’t think anything would come of it and had kind of let it go from my thoughts.
Then the following Wednesday I received an email that said they wanted to represent me! Seriously! I now have an agent. I am really hoping for a commercial or an industrial. Industrials are videos for corporations for training or other purposes. I think my skills as a teacher, and a great one despite everything, would be wonderful for this. But the work is still up to me. They might send me on an audition, but I have to do the work that will land me the role. This means be prepared. Yesterday, I was again working on Mixtape and asked those in the know what they thought about my new agency and was happy to hear that they are very good and reputable.
Head shot without glasses
SO NOW I HAVE AN AGENT! We’ll have to see what becomes of this and I’ll be busy teaching for the next couple of months so it may be nothing until summer. Or maybe nothing at all, who knows? Life is crazy, isn’t it?
A Break from the Background
I’m about 95% sure I have this temporary teaching job. The principal is on vacation and is planning to speak with my references when he returns. As long as everything checks out with that, the job is mine. And I know my references will say only good things about me so, barring some unforeseen thing, I will be taking a little break from the background. Sad, I know. I love being an extra, most of the time. But returning to the classroom will be a wonderful opportunity for me. I can reaffirm that I am an excellent educator and will hopefully leave this with a great reference that will help me obtain a full time position the following school year.
I’m planning on keeping this blog going, even during these two months so I’m not disappearing, just taking a little break from the background. I do have one more post about another Mixtape booking so be on the lookout for that and hopefully it’s not too long before I see you in the background.
So what’s going on in the background? Well, it hasn’t been the most exciting lately to be honest. You already know about me not being used when I last worked on Chicago Med. That was the first time I have ever worked and not been used at all in a scene. Guess what? It happened again! Yep, I was so excited to work on Empire because that was a new show for me and I sat there the whole day and was not used at all.
So after never happening, now it was twice. I can’t really complain though. Who wouldn’t want to be paid while sitting on the side of a television set with an abundant amount of really delicious snacks? I had been told that Empire was one of the worst for how well they feed us. I have to say that I did not find that to be true. I began early with a great breakfast in holding. On the set, there was a huge table with all sorts of stuff; donuts, croissant sandwiches, candy, chips, just about any snack item you can think of, it was there. Then around lunch, they wheeled in fried fish, onion rings, and fries. This is not so great when you’re trying to lose weight and you’re bored.
La belle Ahnree
With all that food around and not having a lot to do, you can bet I cheated a bit (well, maybe a lot). Then it was time to check out around 2:45. We headed back to holding and I was told I needed to eat again as I had arrived at 6am! I explained that I did not want to eat as that was all I had been doing all day but they wouldn’t check me out until lunch was over. It did look good; spaghetti, meat balls, garlic bread, salad. But I couldn’t even possibly eat one more bite.
I was able to see a lady I had worked with back in September on Redline, Ahnree, and it was great to see her again. Click here to read more about this upcoming show starring Noah Wylie. We worked a great scene together in which they were only filming us and 3 other extras. We are hoping that the scene will make it into the show. Stay tuned! If you are watching Red Line when it opens in April and you see some ladies dancing at the end of a fancy gala scene, that will be us.
Brief Glimpses
Here I am on the set of Proven Innocent!
I spotted myself, briefly, on episode 5 of Proven Innocent. You can see my face in the scene on the court house steps. Well, it was supposed to be the court house but it was actually filmed at the Field Museum on the back steps. I was hoping for a better view in the debate scene when Bellows, played by Kelsey Grammer, is debating his opponent for Attorney General. But they didn’t show much of the audience at all and all I could find was the back of my head. Oh well, that’s how it goes in the background!
And here too.Proven Innocent debate scene
Mixtape Marathon
I also worked last week on Mixtape, a new show for Netflix. Click here if you’d like to read more about this upcoming musical drama. It’s set in Los Angeles but filmed in Chicago. So how did it go? Hmmmm, it was a very, very long and boring day. My call time was 4:48 am. Yes, in the morning! I hate that but if that’s what it takes, I’ll do it. They did not use me, or any extras for that matter, until about 5 pm. So they were paying for a room full of about 40 to 50 extras to sit there all day long. I was finally used in one angle of one scene.
This show stars Madeline Stowe and I have to say, at age 61, she is one of the most classically beautiful ladies in film and television. I was impressed. After this scene, we were all wrapped (that means finished) and some hadn’t even been used at all. I clocked out at 6:48 pm so it ended up being a 14 hour day with very little to show for it. But that’s why everybody can’t work in the background. You have to be prepared for days like this and approach it with humor and patience. If not, you’d go nuts! So sit there, read, play games on your phone, talk to the others, and eat or whatever can keep you occupied because the days in the background can be long, long, long.
I’m booked for this Friday again on Mixtape and I’ll let you know if the day goes any better. We’re supposed to be filming a fancy Hollywood party scene and we’re heading to an upscale suburb to do so. I won’t reveal which suburb because locations are supposed to be kept under wraps and I don’t know the exact location either. Not that I would tell! But it has me wondering exactly where we’ll be filming, maybe one of those fancy mansions? Perhaps this is why I like working as a background actor. It’s always something different and you never know what to expect.
That’s all for today. Thanks for reading about what’s going on in the background.
My Life in the Background 