Adam and I are rich and famous now, and you may feel free to suck up to us and schmooze us as much as you like. I won't mind, promise. I will always remember my friends and family, no matter how wildly popular and busy I become due to new stardom.
But Anna, you may ask, this seems so sudden - how did this lightning-quick rise to fame come about? Well, let me tell you.
Yesterday during work hours, I get a call from a local casting agency. He says he's just calling all the hostels in New Orleans to try to get attendees to a free concert by Shawn Colvin. I'm not fooled. There weren't any other hostel-types at the "concert", so I'm pretty sure my reputation and background as an actress somehow found it's way into their office. They've probably seen "Ferryboats" on GPTV.
Anyways, the guy on the phone says he's looking for extras for the filming of a concert for the TV show Treme, which is very popular down here since it's all about New Orleans after Katrina, and local people rebuilding their lives. (You can read about the show here, on Wikipedia) "It's a free concert at the House of Blues" he says, "the only catch is that it starts at 6:30am."
Me: "6:30am?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "Not 6:30 pm?"
Him: "No."
Me: "Would you consider pushing it back to 9am?"
Him: "..."
He didn't confirm my time change request then (I felt fairly confident in asking, since I was already pretty sure they were desperately hoping to get me, specifically, on the show), so we rounded up a couple of willing hostel guests, Mark and Mina, and dutifully set our alarms for 5:45am. It came waaaay too quickly - Adam didn't get to bed until 3am because of bleepedy-bleep guests, and I was late to bed myself. Oof.
We planned to call a cab and split it between the 4 of us. We had unfortunately forgotten that the Sugar Bowl (Congrats to Ohio) was the night before, and it took 30 minutes and 3 cab companies before a taxi showed up at our door. We were a little nervous about missing our big debut as stars.
Turns out we needn't have hurried. We get to the House of Blues on Decatur Street and the security dude sends us to Tipitina's Bar, right around the corner. When we get to the check-in counter, and explain who we are (and why our names are mysteriously not on the list), the lady says to come back in a couple hours - The guy on the phone had actually pushed the filming back to 9! Not the best communication on his part, but we were relieved that we hadn't missed anything.
We grab some muffins and coffee and blueberry scones, and scope the place out. Lots of people are waiting around everywhere, all of them holding pink and white papers.
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| Bored yet hopeful extras |
We ask someone what the papers're for, and are informed that you gotta have one of those forms to get paid. My ears perk up - pay? That's a little bit more like it! Mark is already on his way back to the check-in table, and asks the lady if we can get on the list as paid extras, too. She tells him she'll have to wait and count how many they have, but by the time I walk over (coincidence?), she says Sure, we can all sign up for pay.
BA-DA BING! We didn't know how much the pay was, but any amount was better than nothing. While we're filling out forms at the counter, the wardrobe lady comes over and looks us over. She immediately notices my star potential, and asks if she can get me a fancier top. I'm especially pleased when she brings over the choices, and 2 of them are lovely shades of green. After the costume change, she whisks Mina and myself over to hair and makeup, where I get some touch-ups, and Mina gets a fab makeover. We're all feeling super swell at this point.
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| Glam |
Then people in charge (PIC, from now on) start making announcements: "These people here, those people sit, make sure you've seen hair and makeup, etc, etc."
I was slightly concerned when the PIC call for all the people designated as Bulldog Group. 40+ people are led out of the holding room, presumably to head out and begin filming. I was obviously wondering how we'd been left out, but my fears were for naught : the PIC came back a few minutes later and announced they needed 20 more people. Adam, Mina and I started winking furiously and smiling charmingly and were chosen this time. We marched triumphantly thru the rain to House of Blues (HoB, from now on), to begin the acting that would change our lives.
Small aside here: the HoB is a realllllllly awesome music hall, and hosts a lot of famous bands and musicians. Neither Adam nor I had seen inside, and were happily impressed. It's large (lots of rooms with stages) and atmospheric and ecclectic. On it's website, you can take a virtual tour and see some of the venue rooms, etc.
Once we're inside, we begin waves of filming. Wave after wave, take after take. We grab our props (beer bottles) and file into the music hall. We pantomime happy talking and drinking. We file back into the holding area and return our props. The PIC order us back into the hall. More miming and takes.
Steve Zahn is in this scene, and despite not being able to talk with him or the director, he walks past Adam and I several times, and I think there's a real possibility for a fabulous professional friendship there. Adam won't be jealous, because we're also going to chum up with Lucia Micarelli, the violinist who accompanied Shawn Colvin.
Adam takes this opportunity to flirt shamelessly with me and try to make me blush as much as possible. Every shot during the scene has us in the (far) background, Adam touching my hair, whispering the letters of the alphabet in my ear, or leaning suggestively towards me. Brazen rascal. Or maybe this was the best way he figured to stay awake. I have no idea how he stayed so animated for so long, running on 2.5 hours of sleep. *Shudder* I need my beauty sleep.
Anyways, it's closing in on 11am, and we FINALLY get to the concert part. This turns out to be the same song, over and over, sometimes all the way through, sometimes in little chunks. It wasn't a bad song, mercifully.
This is where my big break comes.
We're all in the holding room, and the PIC count out 20 people to go to the front of the stage. Frustratingly, they pass us over. Just as I was beginning to doubt my importance in this filming process, the PIC come back and pick 20 more, this time Adam and I are included in the count. For a large portion of the show, Adam and I are 2 people back from the front center, swaying convincingly to the music and fake sipping our fake beer. Well, mine was water, Adam got some nasty real stuff. We watched them pour it from cheap cans into the empty, recycled bottles. (Eew.)
By 1:30pm, every extra in that room is acting their guts out, because no one's had anything to eat since 7am and we're all hungry, dog-tired, and head-achy. I think it might have been my finest acting ever, actually. It's never been so difficult to clap & yell enthusiastically before.
When the shoot finally wraps up, we all file back to Tipitina's to turn in our paperwork. Because I had a costume piece, we were able to skip the massive wait, and get out of there in a few minutes. It's at this point that the big news comes: in a couple weeks, we should each receive a check in the mail for $100.
OUR BIG BREAK!
And that clinches it. Before the check, we were just extras on the rise to stardom. Now, though, we're rich AND about to be celebrities.
So be sure to tune in to the HBO show Treme, when the 4th episode of season 2 airs in April. You're looking for Anna with jeans, black t-shirt and sparkly green sweater wrap, drinking a heineken, plus Adam wearing a blue long-sleeved t-shirt, drinking a Miller high Life. Pay extra close attention during any shots when Shawn is playing when the camera is looking out at the audience.
If you want autographs, just send a SASE to us at the hostel, and we'll be happy to oblige. Or you could just come visit us. We'd be happy to introduce you to some of our new show-biz friends...once we figure out how to get in touch with them and make them aware of our monumental contributions to the show.
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