How I Became an Extra

I’m going to go all the way back to the beginning on this one. I’ll try to be as brief as I can, but the path was a fun one and I hope to impart some of that mirth while relating this story.

In college, I discovered the theatre…as a technician, not an actress. After sampling carpentry, sound, and props, I settled in on lighting. My first gig as a Lighting Designer was also my first gig as Master Electrician and Light Board Operator. My boss had faith in me and coached me along and I must say that that ballet turned out great.

At that point, I’d become the ultimate lighting tech. I’d work on any show…sometimes for free, because I didn’t have to worry about rent. I still lived with mom and dad. But my love for the theatre was what brought me to the Los Angeles area because there just wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity where I came from.

So, in college, I continued my lighting career, landing a job at a manufacturer of lighting filters. This was my first real job and it also gave me my first exposure to the world of TV and film. It was my job to find out who was filming what and go there to talk to the crew. It was sort of a sales job without the hard sell. And I got to hang around on set, watching and learning. It was great.

When that job’s description changed, I switched gears and went to work at a small studio as their Lighting Equipment Repair Technician. I loved it. But then September 11 killed the economy and I ended up out of a job.

A bit angered at the entertainment industry, I left to work for a company that manufactured racing engine parts. But I always felt that I was in the wrong place.

My husband needed a hand at his agency, so I went to work for him. Well, sort of. He’d started a subsidiary company and that was the desk I occupied as the office anchor. It was great because by this time, Jen and I were working like crazy on Lover’s Talisman. I wrote quite a few scenes while I was ‘at work’…because there wasn’t any other ‘work’ to be done.

Eventually, I blew the whistle on that, wanting to get back into the entertainment industry somehow, too. But I had zero contacts by this point. All the guys I used to know either had different phone numbers, moved out of state or switched professions themselves. And it’s nearly impossible to get in unless you know someone. So what was left? Background Acting, of course.

All one has to do is sign up…So I did. The pay sucks big time, but non-union, there’s lots of work to be had…especially if you’ve got a huge wardrobe like I do. I’m a thrift store queen and can costume up in clothes from the 1960’s through right now. From homeless to ultra-rich. I’m not a fashion fiend…Jen can vouch for that! I just like clothes.

So, I started going out on shoots and discovered that there’s plenty of down time. In other words, I could still keep up with Jen on our writing. And on a day-to-day basis, I met all sorts of interesting people and got all sorts of story and character ideas. Each day’s work was more like an adventure than anything. For me, it was the perfect job.

I got started at the end of January 2003 and worked like crazy until we started heavy editing on Lover’s Talisman in July. Then, Jen and I were really hittin’ the writing and I couldn’t go out on as many gigs. That obviously gave me more time on my hands in between working on Magic In The Works.

My goal by this point was to get into SAG [Screen Actors Guild] because the pay was better and I could work less in order to write more. Well, luck was in my favor because I have three pre-1975 cars and Starsky & Hutch was in desperate need of one of them. So much so, they were willing to give me SAG vouchers to work on the movie. I jumped for joy when I got that phone call!!! I’d worked on it a couple days in April, but when they called me near the end of production, it was a totally different thing because I was being paid union rates. And those second two days ended up being a turning point for me in more than one way.

That following week, I visited one of the casting agencies that had booked me a lot on Carnivale. Armed with photos of myself and my cars, I put on my best smile and placed the photos in the hands of a casting director. She was so happy, she nearly fell out of her chair. She was casting Anchorman, which also took place in the early 70s. I ended up working at least one day a week for the next 9 weeks and managed to make enough money and SAG vouchers galore to get into the union.

That was September 2003 and I don’t think I’ll ever give up on extra work. It’s certainly not for everyone. The hours are very long. The conditions get questionable from time to time and there’s just nothing like spending a freezing cold windy night in a thin short-sleeved dress while the crew is wearing down jackets and telling us extras not to shiver when the cameras roll.

Yeah, we extras are the bottom of the food chain, literally, but I swear we’ve got one of the hardest jobs on set sometimes. Some days are spent waiting in boredom for 8 hours only to work for 1 and then go home. Others are fifteen hours of walking back and forth doing what I’ve come to call background pinball across frame all the while trying not to look like the same person each time we cross frame. Every day is different and for that, I’m so glad!

If anything, I hope my adventures in Hollywood make for good reading. No matter how crazy, they are all true. Some are so weird that I couldn’t’ve made them up even if I’d tried! I hope you enjoy.