a week on set

I get a one-week job for an Emmy-winning TV show whose name I cannot reveal.

Before I even arrive on set, I have two separate appointments in Brooklyn. One for a COVID PCR test. Then the next day for another COVID test and a fitting. Then two more COVID tests later in the week. 

The shoot begins Monday at 6:42 am and will continue all week.

I am first sent to wardrobe. Everything is pressed and organized.

Next I go to hair. I come out looking like Nancy Reagan. (The scene is from decades ago). I could be caught in a tornado and my hair wouldn't move.

Then makeup, where I fall in love with the artist who will be recreating me this week.

Three hours after arriving I'm ready.

The day is long. 14 hours.

I am paid $237. A  SAG background person gets paid $460 for the same hours, same work. I'd love to be union but it's hard to get in.

I do this for four days.

One day we get in at 8:12 (odd call times) and are not on set until about 5.

One night I forget my wallet, earrings, and driver's license.

Another night I buy a sandwich on my way home at 9:30 then forget to take it with me.

My mind is barely functioning by the time the day ends.

But...

It is the most organized, buttoned-up show I've worked. The seasoned director creates an easygoing atmosphere; his professionalism is always apparent, as well as his calm and humorous demeanor.

The crew makes it a point to mention how important the background actors are, and how much our work is appreciated.

It may be a small gesture, but it's an important one. 

Mostly, though, we sit around and wait.

But I end up talking to some very nice, funny and interesting people from all different backgrounds. An ex-music exec. More than one teacher. An editor. A police firearms instructor. An elite runner. A cantor. A Broadway dancer. An ex-female bodybuilder. And more.

And it's an overall good-looking group. It's hard not to be intimated by some of the gorgeous people playing background.

The work is mostly boring. Sitting all dressed up looking exactly the same, every day, and listening to the same dialogue repeated over and over.

Still... it's hard not to be enthralled with the glamour of Hollywood glitz.