What: Playing Club Member 27469418389032 on How to Make it In AmericaWhere: 1Oak
Who: Hundreds of aspiring actors and a few paid ones
During this stint to try new things I made the terrible mistake of applying to be an extra on the new television show, How to Make it In America. This was prior to having a full time job and I had the notion that this would “mix it up” a bit. Having no understanding of the process that goes into making a television show I thought it would be a fun and exciting experience.
Wrong…I was so wrong.
After applying through Craigslist, I received several phone calls telling me where and when to meet. I was required to bring two outfits for a night club scene.
I showed up to a holding area at 11AM and waited in the thirty person line to have my outfits checked for approval. There were over one hundred extras, all of whom appeared to be in their twenties. I sat at a table with several other twenty something’s where I found out that they were all actors, or actors in the making. Each one of them told me about other shows they had done (Gossip Girl, CSI, Law and Order). Some had moved to LA for a while, couldn’t make it there and moved back.
After an hour of waiting in the holding room I found a few other people who were not dead set on becoming actors. There were a couple laid off investment bankers and a few unemployed young adults who had just graduated college.
Finally, they told us it was time to go to 1Oak, a popular nightclub that was a few blocks away. I hesitate to use the word popular since I have only witnessed tools and late night fist pumpers frequent this establishment. The drinks are overpriced, the people are going to be looked at, and the overall environment is not that appealing.
All one hundred of us walked down the street to the entrance of the club where we were paired up with a member of the opposite sex (apparently homosexuals do not frequent this club or are in this show). I got paired up with a lovely girl who had dark Italian features and absolutely interest in being an actor either.
Once inside the club all of the ‘actors’ were vying to be in the front near the paid actors of the show, Lake Bell and Jason Pendergraft. My partner and I steered clear of the commotion and tried to get to the back of the club so we could sit at a booth. Naturally, the director picked us to be in the front of the scene where we would be on camera. We rolled our eyes at each other dreading this. It became increasingly worse when we realized we were going to be required to dance the entire time. Not only did we have to dance, but in order to shoot the scene there cannot be music, so we were dancing to silence, I have never felt like more a fool. To top it off, all the extras glared at us for being chosen to dance in front. They knew we had no interest in the industry and apparently were not shy to resent us for our ‘luck.’
The scene involved Lake and Jason having taken ecstasy and Jason kissing two other “featured extras”, one of whom turned out to be a male…so I guess some homosexuality crept into this club. The director went around looking at the extras through the camera and when he got to me said, “Bad face.” A few foul words came to mind, but I refrained (something rare for me). The other extras assured me it was my skin tone paired with the lighting. Regardless of what he meant, I’m not offended, although I do have a few thoughts on his show that are about as positive as his comment.
Lake was somewhat peppy and telling all the extras “Good job, you’re doing great!” It appeared to be her way of talking down to everyone rather than building them up…at least in this extras mind. She incessantly gave the directors tips on how to shoot the scene which I found wildly amusing. Last I checked she is an actor (at least by the standard that she is paid to speak words), not a director. After the 8th take, the director said “I think you are getting the hang of it,” to Lake, Jason, and the two featured extras.
Getting the hang of it??!! I thought, it has been 8 takes, what the hell? Aren’t you supposed to be professional actors? This is ridiculous.
The only thing that turned out to be more ridiculous than the acting was the food they served at lunch. It was the equivalent to a high school cafeteria, one that Jamie Oliver should make healthier on his new Food Revolution television show.
After a brief lunch we were required to go dance again for a total of 8 hours. Eight hours of dancing, while a great cardio workout was terrible. My feet ached, I was sweating profusely, and I was exhausted. At this point they asked who would be willing to shoot another scene of everyone lined up outside the club…I ducked under a table…no really.
Finally I was free to run for my life. Never again will I be an extra, never. The show aired on HBO a couple weeks ago (it is episode 5), I am in the scene twice for half a second each, and while it was short lived, my face looked fine, good even. The entire scene itself could not have lasted more than a minute; even though it took over 8 hours to shoot…Maybe they weren’t getting the hang of it? And the outside of the club was never shown, those poor extras that stayed.
A new thing I just recently did was shot a pilot for a reality show series. I will blog about that when I am not under contract to not discuss. Seriously, what am I thinking?
Goals Accomplished:
1) Being filmed for television is new
2) Aching feet, sweat, and glaring eyes are not comfortable
3) Learned that I never want to be an extra or act for that matter
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