“It’s okay, I was asleep so…”

NK and I went on a little adventure Thursday night. We submitted to be extras (read: movable props) for scenes from an upcoming project movie? TV show? TV movie? that apparently Queen Latifah is behind. I’ve done extra work before and NK has been featured in a few commercials, so we figured it’d be easy money and a fun experience. Also, I always drag NK along for “fun” adventures. See: Summer of Joanna, 2002.

Call time was originally slated for 11am, so we figured we’d be out of there in time for Screen on the Green Thursday night. Wrong. After changing our call time to 4:30 uh-oh, and telling us to expect to be there until 12 or 1, oh dear gawd, we got scared. Actually NK got scared, I just figured we’d be out of there by 12 or 1. I should have been scared.

At the start of the most horrible cocktail party ever.

We arrived on set in the Terminus building and after wardrobe approved our outfits, we sat in them for a good three hours. Maybe four hours. We got our hair done, make up touched up, and then we sat around some more. They fed us. Then they moved us to a different place to sit around and wait. We were split up at this point. Around 12, I figured they wouldn’t need us all for these scenes and they’d let us go. Boy was I wrong. 4 hours later, we were still burning the midnight oil.

Extra work is an interesting job. It’s really not hard, but it’s really tiring and boring. You stand on your feet over and over again and are expected to give 110% energy over and over again. Except instead of the actors (principal talent) who are given plush slippers and water in between takes, you’re herded around like cattle and told to shut the eff up. Like I said, you’re basically a movable prop.

When the camera is rolling, you have to be quiet. But you’re supposed to be talking. And dancing. Quietly. With a lot of energy. Even though you’re tired. And hungry. Around 2am, they brought us back to holding to get a snack and water when they should have been handing out energy drinks.

NK and I contemplated leaving several times during the day but if you leave, you don’t get paid. You don’t get paid a ton, but we kept figuring we’d be wrapped soon and “surely they won’t keep us past 2” turned into “surely we’ll leave by 3” which turned into “is it really 4?” and finally “seriously? birds are chirping.”

We finally got released around 6am. I heard a couple people say that they had been up for 24 hours straight. I went home and took a nap only to awake in time to catch a matinee showing of SATC2 and then get some work done. Totally backwards, I know. A couple hours before we left, one of the crew members took a liking to NK and said, “you’re my favorite, Teri!” After apologizing for calling her by a name she is not called, NK answered, “It’s okay. I was asleep.”