Take the Lead

A few weeks ago, when I was on set for the feature film House at the End of the Street, the sound guy told us a story about his time working on the Super Dave Osborne show.  A lot of it filmed outside Toronto and, along with the typical stunts, they would have a concert of some kind. On this particular day, Ray Charles was the musical guest.  He would be playing with a local house band and backup singers.

During the sound check, though decent, the band was not at its best.  However, that did not stop Ray Charles.  He picked up the tempo and coached them through it all in what the sound guy described as the most magical performance he had ever witness.  His only regret being that no one was rolling at the time.

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My point for this story?

Show of hands: How many times have you had an audition, a scene in class, or even a performance where you felt like the people you were working with weren't giving it their all?  How many times have you walked away thinking "I would have been so good if it hadn't been for that other guy/girl"?

How about if the next time sometime like that happens, instead of giving up and blaming the other person, you just work harder and raise them up to your level and go even higher together?  How about you don't wait for someone else to give you permission or do it for you?  How about you try and be a little more like Ray Charles?

How about if next time you take the lead?

Where's the Pause Button?

Can I just make it stop for a second?  Not forever, but just a little bit.  Just stop everything.  The bills, the responsibilities, the whole world, the unknown.  Can I just take a little break from it all and pretend it doesn't exist? On Friday, during a particularly long (yet rewarding) day on set where I got to be Elisabeth Shue's stand-in and, during scenes where she was on the phone, I got to read the other side of the conversation from off-camera.  (Where my thought process totally went "Who me? What? Oh yeah! I'm totally ready!" *Trip over a chair and drop my sides* followed by an onslaught of self-doubt and "OMG! I am giving the world's crappiest read! She must think I am such a shitty actor!" But of course, all of that happened in my head. Except for the tripping part.)  I got a nice thank you from the first assistant director after it was all done thanking me for stepping up to the plate.  It was very cool and almost made this stupid cold that suddenly took hold of me during the evening worth it.

Yeah, I got sick and I've pretty much been hiding in my apartment ever since, trying to get over it.  And you know what? I liked it.  I like hiding out at home, watching marathon sessions of Lost, snuggling under the covers with a box of Kleenex, a cup of tea and a giant furball named Winston.  It's cozy in here.  It's safe.  I don't want to go back out there and work, dammit!  I don't want to worry about bills or people or where my next meal is going to come from.  It's scary out there!  I don't know what I'll be doing after September 4th.

What a ridiculous statement.  Technically, I don't know what I'll be doing tomorrow or two hours from now.  I have a general idea, but you know life happens when you're making other plans...

So yeah, can I just stop it all right now? Just for a little bit?

No?

Ok.  Well, I guess I better get dressed then.

So Ready for This

Just a quick update on my last post. I got the gig, I start on Tuesday.  And I get to stay in Calgary until the end of the Festival.

Sa-weet!

Are You Ready for This?

A couple of days ago, mere hours before opening night, I get a call. "Can you be back in Ottawa on August 6th to meet with the Director of Photography of a major motion picture starring Elisabeth Shue in the hopes of getting a month-long job as a stand-in?"

Uh. Whaa?

This caught me a little off-guard.  Sure, I had heard that they needed experienced stand-ins, but since I was in Calgary, I never thought I would even be considered.

I had hoped The Last Goddamned Performance Piece would have been accepted into the Edmonton Fringe Festival, which would have kept me out West until at least August 22nd.  In between Calgary and Edmonton, I would have visited with my sister in Red Deer.

Since we didn't get into that festival and I had no return ticket home, I was still going to visit family and join the rest of my crew (who have now confirmed work with various other shows) in Edmonton for a bit.

But now?

I checked flight schedules. I called my mom.  I talked to my cast & crew.  If I leave right after our final (Goddamned) performance on Friday, I can just catch the last direct flight from Calgary to Ottawa.

I'm writing this from my sister's place in Red Deer.  I've used my one day off in Calgary to come down and visit her and her new baby.  I'll be heading back soon because I have a show to perform in tonight.

This feels so crazy sometimes, this business.  Can you be consistently available?  Can you drop everything and turn on a dime when a work opportunity presents itself?  I know I can.

Welcome to the wonderful life of an actor!

In other news, Ottawa, I'll see you soon!

Taking a Stand

As previously mentioned, I've been hired as the stand-in for a TV movie shooting in town.  The production is called The Step Son and features Adam Beach and Christina Cox.  I am Christina's stand-in for the duration of the shoot. So, what's a stand-in?  As always, I refer you to the bible of all random information, Wikipedia! For those of you who don't want to click the link, here's the gist of it:

A stand-in in film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting.

Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of production. Lighting setup can be a slow and tedious process; during this time the actor will often be somewhere else. Stand-ins allow the director of photography (DOP) to light the set, the camera department to light and focus scenes. The director will often ask stand-ins to deliver the scene dialogue ("lines") and walk through ("blocking") the scenes to be filmed. In this way, a good stand-in can help speed up the day's production and is a necessary and valuable cast member on a film.

Stand-ins do not necessarily look like the actor, but they must have the same skin tone, hair color, height and build as the actor so that the lighting in a scene will be set up correctly. For example, if the lighting is set up with a stand-in shorter than an actor, the actor might end up having his or her head in relative darkness.

I've done stand-in work in the past (and since I've had a blog for many years now, I realize that I haven't done it in almost four years...), but I've never been the official one for the entire shoot.

Some people think I must have a pretty easy job, and it can be (yesterday we shot a scene where the main actress was laying down on a couch, which means I had to lay down on the couch while the crew set up around me), but it also requires an incredible amount of focus and concentration; like a runner always waiting for the gun to go off. I have to somehow stay out of the way and yet still be present whenever shots are being set up, rehearsed or blocked and pay careful attention to every movement the actors make. I have to be ready to jump in at any moment because the whole point of having a stand-in is to move the production ahead, not make it wait. I also have to have frequent discussions with the hair and wardrobe people so that I know what I should look like (hair up or down/blue shirt or purple cardigan in this scene?) The call sheet lets me know what "day" it is in the movie's chronology and I've started making notes on the actor's appearance at that point just in case we come back to it later on. I've also got a backpack filled with hoodies and sweaters in different colours so that I can quickly slip one on. It can be stressful, but I think it's an awful lot of fun!

The pros of being a stand-in are many. For one thing, I get to be on set everyday working with the director and the DOP. If I do a good enough job, chances are they will use me again for future projects, perhaps even in an actor capacity. In fact, I've seen that happen first hand. A friend of mine was a stand-in on two productions for the same company. By the second film, they gave him a cop role, which gave him one of his first ACTRA credits. Thanks to the union, I get a good paycheck and, if they keep me on set for more than 9 hours (8 hours plus 1 hour for lunch), I get overtime. Not to mention that spending three weeks on set with craft services means that I don't have to buy groceries...

It bears repeating myself from three years ago: being a stand-in truly is the next best thing to being an actor on set. I can't wait to go back for more!