Last week I got a call from Central Casting, the company that supplies extras to most of the movies and television shows filming in California. I'd applied with them last summer, called in a few times, hadn't been a good fit for anything filming, and given up on the dream of some easy cash for standing around. The call I got was that they needed a tall woman to be an extra on the Showtime television show "Dexter". This woman needed to block Dexter, the vigilante serial killer played by Michael C. Hall, from getting through a crowd as he followed a presumably bad guy played by Colin Hanks. Having only been on a few sets before I jumped at the chance to see things work up close.
And see them up close I did. Last Friday, dressed in my brightest "Miami garb" appropriate for a flea market (the show's set in Florida so we were told to dress accordingly) I drove to Long Beach (about an hour's drive from my house) and found base camp with the help of the SLICE signs (see above). I took two other outfits, complete with jewelry and bags as I was instructed but apparently my pink tee and white capris fit the bill. I was herded through several lines to get paperwork and get looked over by assistant directors and wardrobe people and then sent with the fifty others working the scene to set.
The set was amazing. The crew had transformed a small area between two apartment buildings and several businesses into a biergarten and flea market. And they hadn't just made it look like those things - they actually put hot dogs on to roast, carted in hundreds of cases of beer, set up wares in booths, etc. The time and attention to detail was simply amazing. Once I got there I was escorted off to the side with the other tall woman they'd called in for the part, Ruby who had a few years and a few inches on me. Ruby was dressed head to toe (even her fingernails and toenails) in day-glow orange. She looked awesome. And she'll likely be in more shots that any of us because she knew how to look "Miami"!
Ruby and I were given sides to read (industry-speak for script pages) and I quickly took note of the episode number (6 - entitled "Just Let Go" - it's scheduled to air November 6) and read all that I could. It was fun to get to see the scene in print that we were working on and to realize that what we'd spend eight hours shooting that day was less than two pages of the script. Two pages with barely any dialogue. And the dialogue we would hear would be only one side of a cell phone conversation.
After that we stood around for quite some time. Then we were moved into place and were given many, many directions over the course of several hours. Basically it was one giant crowd scene that they split into three parts. They filmed so many angels and my job? To walk like I knew where I was going. To walk past Colin Hanks and past Michael C. Hall and try to get in their way, just a little bit. After that, we moved into the biergarten and were instructed to do the same thing. And then again, in the flea market. There I got to pretend to look at t-shirts and camping gear and candy in different booths. But mostly my job was to look like a "real person" but stay out of the way of the cameras while blending seemlessly into the background. Here's hoping...
It was exciting to be on a set, to see the actors and the directors and all the crew working up close. To be a part of it. It really was. But it was also a very long day. It was hot, so hot and we were all in the sun, for hours on end, me and my big purse that I thought looked good but was really just heavy. And by the end of the eight hours or so I just couldn't wait to go home.
Today I got my paycheck, which includes mileage, a big perk for extras I hear. A whopping $67.15. Was it worth it? For the experience? Yes? For the money? Well, for an underemployed writer and teacher? Yes. But is it something I want to do every day? No. I am not an actor. I know which side of the camera I belong on.
Will you be able to see me in the episode? I have no idea. I brushed past both actors more times than I can count. I physically touched the title character time and time again. At one point, in character, he had to say "sorry" to my "character" for running into me. But I have no idea what the editors will do once they get the film. You might see a pink splash or you might see all of me. Or maybe just Ruby. Either way? It was fun. Very fun! And basically, my five minutes of fame. Glad that's done with, back to sitting
behind the computer screen.
UPDATE:
My episode aired as scheduled in November and I was in a surprising number of scenes in the first minute of the show. Here are some still shots I took off the television:
I was only thirteen when the movie "Thelma & Louise" came out in theaters. Much too young to see an R-rated movie (thank you, Mom and Dad -- I think too many kids see too much way too early) and frankly, I have no recollection of the film except for the title characters names and how our family quickly turned those names into nicknames for my grandmother and her cousin.
