VA Lottery Commercial: That's a Wrap!

Last Friday was the BIG day. My call to show up on set as a "Background Artist" was 7:15 AM. I had to travel about 30 minutes, and I wanted to make sure I could find it, so my OCD, overly anxious self wanted to leave at 6:00 AM. This meant I was getting up at 5:00 AM, so I could arrive "camera ready" Let me give you a little background on that term. Once I was cast as a "Background Artist" I received a long email with all of my details about Friday's shoot. Call time: 7:15 AM, breakfast was being provided starting at 6:00 AM. The location, about 25 minutes away from me. Parking info, contact info. This was a big one, Wardrobe Notes: "Everyone should bring business casual attire that is seasonal.

 MEN should have a suit or a sport coat and slacks in blacks, tan,  blues or greys. Please bring dress shirts and coordinating ties. Please wear a watch and bring appropriate shoes.

 WOMEN please bring pants, dresses or skirts in blacks, grays, teals,  blues, tans or burgundies.  Blouses and/ or sweaters/ sweater sets are great.  Please bring  appropriate hosiery, shoes and jewelry." This presented a problem for me. I am a single mother. I don't make a lot of extra money. Since I have lost 50 lbs. in the last year and a half, I have one, yes I said, one pair of pants. I have dresses, but since it was a holiday commercial, we needed to be dressed in winter clothes. I was able to scrounge enough of those together, but I wasn't exactly sure what they wanted. And jewelry, PLEASE! I wear the same silver filigree hoops every day, and a watch. I very rarely accessorize anything unless it's a special occasion. Accessorizing is not a ritual the budget conscious engage in. I decided to bite the bullet and buy at least one pair of pants and a sweater to match and some cheap jewelry. The last instruction? Please come dressed and "camera ready" I have never done a commercial before. I assumed that "camera ready" meant hair and make-up needed to be done. Dilemma number two: I have no idea how to make up for the camera. I had a feeling that what I wear everyday was going to be too much. And, no, I do not paint myself up like a harlot, but I do wear dark lipstick and black eyeliner and black mascara because my features are very dark. Luckily I have people that I know who have done this sort of thing, and thanks to Facebook, I put out the feelers on make-up tips. I showed up with down played make-up, and it must have been fine because I was APPROVED by wardrobe. We started shooting around 8:30 AM. Now, as the term "Background Artist" indicates, I and all my other fellow "BA's" are in the background of the shot. This generally means, there is a lot of standing in one place, take after take after take. My first stint of standing (I like that alliteration!) is 3 hours, in heels. I would rather walk a mile in heels than stand in one place for 3 hours. Pretty soon my feet were screaming, but we're not done folks. We are "moving on" to the next set up shot. We broke for lunch around 2PM. Lunch is provided for us, and we are in the chow line, more standing. Finally I get my plate of salad, soft tacos, and rice and take a seat. Ahhhhhhhh! At this point I have to give you another back story. At the beginning of October I had a root canal done, (Bear with me. This has relevance. I swear!) I have a temporary crown in place, and I have been very careful to eat on the other side, not chew hard candy or gum. When I arrived on the set, I decided to partake in the breakfast fare. Bacon, one of my favorites, was one of the items offered. I took a bite of a very crunchy piece and immediately felt something in my gum on the side of my root canal tooth. I though I had scratched the gum, and really paid it no more attention as I had to shoot the commercial. I paid it no more attention until I took a bite of the soft taco, and it felt like a razor blade was cutting into my mouth. I decided to check out what was going on in the bathroom mirror. I had broken my tooth totally in two pieces right down the middle. I immediately called the dentist, and, of course, they want me to come in right then. Any other day, I could have, but today, I am shooting a commercial. It's a Friday, folks, so you know what that means. I can't see the dentist until Monday morning. I still have an afternoon of shooting to do, and all I can think about is my tooth. Luckily, I am not in pain, but definitely anxious, because the afternoon shoot involves cookies, and possibly eating them. We started shooting again around 3:30. Several times I thought I would have to take a bite, but narrowly escaped with the word "Cut" We wrapped at 8:30 PM. A 13 hour day! May I just say, if you have never been on a film set for anything and think it is an EASY job, you are wrong! It is a very tedious process, doing the same thing over, and over, and over, and looking fresh every time, even if you've done it 25 times. I collected my clothes, and when I got in the car to drive the 25 minutes back home at 9PM, I can't ever remember being more tired. Add to that, immense hunger and the broken tooth = one frazzled, on edge, me. Once I got home, I knew I would not be able to eat anything substantial because of aforementioned tooth. I decided on Broccoli Cheese soup from Jason's Deli. I looked online, so my daughter could look at the menu to decide what she wanted, and I placed the call at 9:30 PM. "I'm sorry. We/re CLOSED!" came the answer. I looked at my daughter, and I said, "I think I'm gonna cry." and that's exactly what I did. Poor thing, she was so confused by my wacky behavior, but  she was there for me, as she always is, and hugged me as the emotions of the day gushed forth in the form of gut wrenching sobs. Would I do it again? Maybe. I think I would make better choices: more comfortable shoes, and, oh yeah, I'll make a note to have all my teeth in tact.