Could Do This Everyday: Awesome

If I was on cloud nine at work, I was on cloud seventeen at the fitting. When I first walked into the building I couldn’t believe the size of it. It was enormous yet chic, with shiny silver desktops and low walled cubicles, you could see the entire office which seemed to go on for miles.

In the very back stood a large selection of clothes and a tiny woman scrambling about. If Brad Bird ever had inspiration for his super hero costume character, aka Edna, it was this woman. She was short with a sheet of black hair parted down the middle to reveal her sharp square glasses and curious smirk. Her appearance seemed harsh but she’s was as happy as a clam and cute as a button running around all of us taking measurements.

After I had taken a look at the contract I was to sign I called my agent to see if he agreed with everything it said. While I’m speaking with him, this little costume designer is buzzing around me pinning and making notes. I have my hands up so she can see how the material falls and my right hand is awkwardly bent downwards trying to listen to my agent.
“So in essence it all seems good on my end,” Karim, my agent, was saying. “And we’re very proud of you for booking this thing. It’s really great Katie.”
“Thank you Karim, that means a lot. Now if you don’t mind I have a tiny woman with her hand up my shirt so I think I need to go.”
All parties laughed. Ho yeah, point for a comedienne!

We went through several costumes, each one as dorky as the last. We ended up choosing a pair of khaki high waters, my white graduation flats, with a yellow pollo and cardigan; but what I was really hoping for was the bedazzled bug sweater vest. Alas, that option was never to be.

A few more options were given to me including a v-neck sweater that I unintentionally put on inside out.
This doesn’t look right I told myself looking in the mirror. Something isn’t right about this.

In all honesty I was too excited to figure it out because I kept saying in my head I GET PAID TO DO THIS! PEOPLE ARE DRESSING ME UP! THIS RULLLEEEESSSS!
You know, because I'm a pro now.

When I meandered back in to show the designers, I knew as soon as I saw their faces that I had put it on inside out. I’ve never been one for fashion so this fitting made me a little nervous. I knew I was going to goof up in some way, like telling them my bra size was a 26 B instead of a 36 B (an event that accidentally happened during a fitting questionnaire for Richard III) When I heard the costume department have another big laugh I figured Well at least they're laughing, and not firing me.

When I had been primped and prepped with all the fixings for my outfit, I was presented to whom I assume were the producers of the project. They sat in room situated in the middle of the office. This room was exactly I had imagine a marketing company to be. It was a four sided clear glass room, complete with a large meeting table and high backed swivel chairs. It took everything in me to not stare at their enormous spread of PF Changs order-in lunch and their tower of sodas. I was presented before the producers who nodded their approval before switching their attention back to the pile of Chinese food that wafted throughout the glass room with their enticing scents.

The fitting was finally finished, and I was ushered over to one of the low walled cubicles to sign the rest of my contract. I had to wait few minutes for some papers to be printed so I started to look around. There were a couple of posters detailing what the set would look like and the order of shots they’d be taking. This whole commercial ended up being much more involved than I had expected. There were two back up jazzercisers, a life guard, a kid who looked exactly like Edward Cullen, and a Guido. Because I never received a full script you can imagine how confused I was by the direction this of this whole project was taking.

My eyes finally landed on the board that showed the cast list. And who should I see but the guy from Groundlings as my co-host! I was ecstatic even though I still didn’t know who he was, but I knew Well of course HE got the job! He was a Groundling!

The thing that surprised me even more was smirking awkwardly nect to his picture was my goofy  mug. I wasn't completely sure what that meant in terms of the cast but I knew it had to mean he was the Chet to my Patty.
NO WAY!

After signing the paperwork I said, “Bye, I’ll see you tomorrow!” when one of the production assistance's stopped me.
“Oh you aren’t actually called till Friday.”
“What? Mimi said I’d be shooting Thursday and Friday?”
“No that’s for the jazzercizers, the Guido, the vampire, Chet, and the life guard. But you’ll be in Friday”
“Oh, alright then. I’ll see you Friday!”

When I came into work the next day everyone asked me “I thought you were doing your commercial today?” or “What happened?”
Someone was even kind enough to ask “Did ya get cut from the project already?”

I explained the mix up and that I would in fact be shooting all day on Friday so no need to worry. Sitting at my desk I imagined what it would be like if I hadn’t booked this gig. Having to sit one more more day at this side job. Not to mean that I'm not grateful for it, it's an excellent survival job as most go, but I brightened at the thought that I had finally accomplished something and I would be legitimately "on set" for an ENTIRE DAY!
 Everyone’s problems seemed to melt before me. The receptionist was in a tizzy that the paper for the printer’s hadn’t come in yet, and I was able to smile because in the end I really don’t care! I get to be on set tomorrow!

Of course I didn’t say this out loud, but it made the stress of this day much easier to swallow. Especially when my boss approached me in a very serious manner saying, “there are no sodas left in the fridge.” This very “important” task was a breeze when I thought, I finally get to do my dream job tomorrow! While filling up the sodas in the fridge (the fridge that was only half full, and not COMPLETELY empty as my boss so gravely took note of) I hummed a happy tune.
These meaningless tasks were much more bearable with the thought of the next day.

When I got home, my roommate had bought a tray of fried chicken in celebration of my booking. She’s always been thoughtful like that. The next morning I got up and an ungodly hour of around 6 AM and showered. I couldn’t help but think If I worked at Starbucks I would have already been working for an hour by now. I hummed another happy tune. Fresh and clean I packed my things and headed out the door and wound up getting to set a little early.
 About forty minutes early. That's a lot of "early" in actor time.

The gate-man stopped my car and asked “Can I help you?” I didn’t know how to respond so I said, “Um. I’m an actor?” He looked a little doubtful and I was tempted to say “I haven’t been to make up yet” but he waved me into the parking lot before I had the chance.

Since I was so early I called my dad because I couldn’t contain my excitement and I figured he would be the only one awake at this awful hour. Luckily he was out and about walking Angel, our dog. We talked for a bit and while I kept saying how excited I was I could hear his voice catch a little.
“I’m just... so proud, that you get to do what you love.” I started to tear up as well. Hopefully one day when I’m on a big movie set I can look back at this and say “Oh how cute we were for being proud of my little Internet commercial.”

But since it is my first and only official gig thus far, I'm still allowed to tear up at the thought of my dad saying how proud he was of me. And not just me but my sister as well. We were reaching for our dreams and our finger tips were finally brushing the surface of them.

When it was time for me to head in I said a long and loving good bye to my dad. I walked into the studio to find it bustling with activity. It was clear that the crew had already been there for a few hours prepping and getting ready for the day’s work. It struck me as intimidating because all of these people were working huge heavy set pieces and lights that depended on me getting my lines right. That’s when it hit me.
I never got a script.

The only lines I knew were the ones I had said in the audition. And even those were a little hazy as I hadn’t said them since a the beginning of the week!
Oh no, I’m letting all these people down. What am I gonna do?!

Just then, a PA came in to show me where I would be dressing and where “holding” would be. (Holding area is where an actor waits, out of the way of the crew, before they’re brought on set.)

“Awesome, hey quick question,” I asked timidly, “I never got a script, do you guys have an extra one?”
“Here you can have this one, there haven’t been any changes since the audition so everything should look the same.”

I skimmed through it, and he was right. Other than the scenes I had never seen with the vampire, life guard, and jazzercise crew; all my lines were the same. I allowed myself to relax, and breathed easier after that. I had some time to kill before make up and wardrobe arrived so I ran through my lines over and over and over, until I was completely confident in what I had to do.

Feeling more prepared I looked around a little more. There was a sign that said we could enjoy free wifi, YES! I proceeded to bombard my Facebook and Twitter accounts with my excitement, which I'm sure was bothersome to people, but I could really care less.

As I was sitting in holding posting pictures and annoying anyone willing to read my status updates, one of the crew members pointed me in the direction of the crafty (food services), also known as my favorite part on set.
I was one of the first peole in line at the crafty and boy did they have a spread! There was fruit, cereal, oatmeal, bacon, sausage, bisquits, tea, coffee, water, energy bars, and so much more! I loaded my plate up with healthy foods, because I didn’t want to get nervous on set and end up stinking the place up, if you know what I mean.

While I was eating the Edward Cullen guy came in and asked to sit with me. I of course said, "Sure!" We talked for a while about how great of an opportunity this was, how timely the pay check would be, and how exciting everything seemed.

“And this is a great spread of food isn’t it?” he asked
“Heck yeah! They even have bacon!”
“I didn’t even see the bacon!”
“Yeah,” I replied, “I didn’t get any because I was afraid I’d be farting all day.”

Too far there.

I glanced up at the vampire look-a-like and was afraid how he’d respond. He paused and thankfully he chuckled a little. I made to leave when another guy asked if he could sit with us. He was a serious looking with a turtle neck and leather gloves. It had been cold that morning, but not overly so.
Begging to switch subjects I asked the new guy, “Do you get cold easily?”
“No.” He replied definitively.
Fake Edward and I glanced at each other, at this strange stunted answer.
“Oh,” I said, “You just look so wrapped up. I mean I get cold easily too, but that’s because I was raised in Arizona.”
“I’m wrapped up,” he paused ominously, only making eye contact with his bowl of oatmeal, “because I, am a hand model.”

I could tell vampire kid and I were trying to appear like we were more interested than we were. The way this guy said he was a hand model made it seem like we actors should be in awe. The vampire kid was much better at feigning interest while I tried to suppress fits of giggles.

“Cool, so you’ll be modeling the phone then huh?” vampire asked.
“Yes, I will” he replied importantly.
“How did you get into hand modeling?” I inquired, ever so innocently.
“Someone noticed my hands,” he said.
“And recognized you for your talent?” I semi-joked. He didn’t quite catch the sarcasm and responded, “Yes.”
I had to excuse myself as his highness was making my suppressed laughter surface in small hiccups.

It was a good excuse to leave as it was now time for me to get into hair and makeup. My hairstylist and makeup artist quickly became two of my favorite people on set. Not only were they hilarious to chat with but they were amazing at their jobs. One of my favorite questions they asked me before they got started was “So we’re just making you look like you were in the audition, minimal makeup and cheesy hair.”
Um I put a lot of makeup on that day…

“I think they want me to look as dorky as possible, so hot mess please!”
And off they went! Part of me wished I was doing something a little more elegant because I knew they would have made me look flawless. Between takes they’d rush over to spray my hair or berate me for how chapped my lips were. It was weird having so much attention! But at the same time, I’d much rather they be concerned about my “dorky beauty” because Lord knows how much I pay attention to that every day.
Don’t type that.

While getting teased and shellacked, I finally met my co-host Mark. I immediately felt right at home.
This must be what it feels like with two co-stars! This is so cool!
We’d go over our corny lines and ad lib here and there. Mark was hilarious and constantly had me breaking in rehearsal. I began thinking of all the crew around me and I quickly started talking myself out of laughing all the time. I didn’t want to waste anyone’s precious time.

Before they brought us out for lighting and a short blocking rehearsal we got on the topic of Groundlings. I told Mark that I was still in the program and awaiting writing lab. He gave me a few hints and tips saying the “Lab is hard, but you have to just trust that you know what you’re doing and have the confidence to keep going. A lot of people stop or shut down because the criticism can be pretty harsh. Just know that you’re funny and you’ll be fine.”

We talked about cast members and opportunities that open up as soon as you pass certain levels. It was amazing to get an insider view of how the whole company works. I finally understood why so many people were desperate to get through the program when all I had wanted to do was up my skills in comedy and writing. It gave me a good reason to reflect on my time at the Groundlings and just how much I needed to utilize their prep classes if I wanted to advance any further.

The time finally came for us to be on set and get to filming. The rest of the eleven hour day was a blur. I was in my element and having the time of my life. I feel like I learned more there than I ever did sitting in a class and hearing these film terms tossed around.

To be on set and actually getting paid to be there forced me to learn quickly what everything meant. Enunciation is important, but popping your p’s makes the sound woman/man go nuts. Our sound woman was an adorable eight months preggo, who looked like she would pop any minute. Mark and I had fun whispering into our microphones (sound only she could hear) muttering things like “hey I know you’re pregnant, but could you please lift this metal bench for me?” or “hey, I know you’re pregnant, but I’m really tired of walking. I need a piggy back ride pronto. Thanks”

The whole crew was amazing, and I couldn’t ask for a better first experience. We all joked and laughed. Threw in ad-libbed sequences that would end up being cut, but didn’t stop us from cracking each other up. At one point we had one of the crew members turned a display table with his fingertips just barely showing as we motion towards the phones. You have to look closely but you can see them in one of the shots. Every little “flub” in the commercial was planned including a banner that falls in one of the last shots.

On one take the director asked me to be doing some busy work before I said my lines. I jokingly offered, “oh you mean like beat box?” He laughed and then looked at me seriously, “Can you do that?” I nodded I could.
His smirk said it all. And before next take he lowered his voice so only I could hear him, “Let’s do that!” Before anyone knew what was happening, sound and video were rolling, there were lights and the “Action!”

I looked around calmly then bust out in my most gangster beat box set. Then I abruptly stopped like I heard my phone ringing. I held this position for a second, and everyone was completely silent. I thought I had just made a complete ass of myself when the director finally yelled “Cut!” And an explosion of laughter erupted from the entire cast and crew. Everyone kept saying, “We did NOT expect that to come out of you!”
Whew! I forgot no one can some much as sniffle until the director says "Cut!"

When the day was finally starting to wrap itself up we did “the martini shot.” This is the last shot filmed for the production and it’s a very big deal. Once we had that one “in the can” we took pictures and shared our thanks with everyone. There were even some people from the LG company who stopped by to watch and share their congratulations on the fun shoot. It was clear this was a chance of a lifetime, to have such a fun cast and crew was an opportunity rarely had. When I handed back all my costumes and apparel I thanked everyone for their hard work and attention. I was absolutely glowing when I drove back home.

Later that night I went with a few friends to Monrovia to a coffee house where my friend Faith was playing and singing. As I ordered my cup of coffee and sat down to listen to her jazzy tunes I couldn’t help but think over and over “I could do this every day.”

Thank you for all the support and encouragement. I can't imagine what I'll be like when I book my next big gig. Thank you to my agent The Polygon Group for getting me the audition, to Mimi Webb Miller for casting me, and for Moxie Pictures for their amazing crew and production! Thank you for making my first official gig Amazballs!
 Sincerely,
The Goof

 Click here to see the LG commercial