So I was an extra on LOST.*
SHERRY [SHERRY BABY]
Remember Tina's and my adventures at the LOST symphony? Tina's friend Sherry quit her job in D.C. and moved to Hawai’i to start a new life. Sherry and I bonded during one of her scouting trips when I took visiting LOST sets around O'ahu, and we quickly became good pals when she arrived in December.
What makes Sherry so awesome is her ability to strike up a conversation with anyone on the street. She's so good at it, either they end up being friends for life OR she ends up walking away with something really cool - a t-shirt, a party invite, you name it. She's also always looking for something new to try (because that's how you meet new people), so when I saw the ad in Craig’s list calling for extras to work on LOST, she was the first person I forwarded it to.
The application was simple: send in two snapshots (close-up and full length) and fill out a form jammed with check boxes (race being top of the list) and fill-in-the-blanks (weight, height, skills). But my life is Not Simple, and although I swore to Sherry I'd apply and I was DYING to be on set, I couldn't work the logistics of simultaneously looking nice AND having someone to take my picture.
I know. Pathetic.
And I continued to be pathetic when, a few weeks later, Sherry rang to let me know she had gotten “the call.” They were filming a “big scene” and needed about 100 extras. She said I shouldn't be too hard on myself. There were still two seasons to go, and they'll always need new extras. Besides, it'd be an 12 + hour work day, and probably wouldn't be fun at all. She felt so bad about me missing it, she actually offered to slap me senseless (but only if it would make me feel better).
THEN she said:
“Well, the girl said they were short and did I know anyone else who might be interested -- do you think that might be something you’d like to do, Amy? You know, just to help them out?”
[I love Sherry when she's evil!]
An hour later, I was contacted by Sally, a very stressed, very friendly rep from the studio. She congratulated me for "making it in," and said I'd be background for a funeral scene set in L.A. [Christian's funeral, she whispered]. I’d need to show up in appropriate hair, makeup (neutral palette, please) and funeral attire (including pantyhose) for a "Beverly Hills doctor’s wife," and did I think that would be something I could do okay? Blinded by my extreme state of "okay," I found myself chatting away about the ironic “fact” that I lived in Hawai’i but had a vast assortment of somber, sedate, expensive looking funeral attire hanging in my closet at that very moment!
I had to ask: pantyhose? Beverly Hills doctors’ wives do not wear pantyhose. Of this I'm sure. Sally sympathized (This is Hawai’i. It is still hot here in March.) but said that pantyhose always looks better on screen, so it wasn’t optional. Finally, she gave me the phone number to call after 8 p.m. (to check my call time just like an aircraft carrier!) and told me to have fun with it!
Thrilled, but panicked I couldn't look the part [I'd be shot, tagged and released if found wandering in Beverly Hills], I dyed my hair and assessed my wardrobe. I did have one very nice black dress, but it didn’t fit anymore [too big - Rockin!]. I didn’t want to look any dumpier than the way God made me, so I hit the outlet mall and picked up a simple, sleeveless, navy dress with no shine and minimal texture.
I tried everything on the night before. With the dress, shoes, pantyhose and bag to match, I looked like I was headed to church (and not for the barbecue picnic, neither). I packed my bag (sunscreen, snacks and a book to read) and called the magic number. Call time for "Doctor's Wives" was 4:45 A.M. I called Sherry, and we talked transport. It's only 16 miles from my house to the studio, but we’d have to drive through all of Honolulu to get there [nightmare probability - 85%]. We figured we’d stick with the standard and give ourselves an hour.
[Yes. An HOUR to go 16 miles. This is normal in Hawai’i.]
THE BUTT CRACK OF DAWN
We arrived at the studio in darkness and with plenty of time to join all the other “Extras: Doctors’ Wives A-M” in the line up. In order to get everything done on time, all of the girls had to arrive early for an anti-tacky screening and wardrobe adjustments. Sherry and I passed makeup fine, and Sherry sailed through wardrobe, no problem. However, when I stepped up to the trailer, the beautiful (and obviously unavailable) man and the 300-pound woman working wardrobe took one look at me and immediately pulled out The Jacket.
Puzzled by the irony of The Jacket, I joined the hair line. A group of unreasonably tall extras in front of me giggled as they inspected each others' wardrobe additions: semi-stylish hats, questionably-sized costume jewelry, and bejeweled handbags. The two women pulling up behind me, however, were quite irritated that they'd "bothered getting dressed up nice." Apparently, wardrobe made them change out of their own clothes and into what they were now wearing. (I got the impression the transaction was not very apologetic.)
The stylist fixed my hair to match The Jacket, and I joined the growing group of extras who were “done.” At the same time, Sherry came out of a different trailer, looking quite fabulous with her stylish suit and freshly coiffed hair. She did a double take at The Jacket and matching hair and quickly told me that E. Lilly ("Kate") was getting her hair done two chairs down from Sherry and that they had traded polite smiles.
I told Sherry that Jack Bender's dog, Lulu, had wandered into the hair line outside the trailer and insisted that I scratch her ears for quite some time before wandering off. Sherry said, “Oh, yeah! I’ve seen that dog on the behind the scenes stuff on the DVD from last season! Did you see Bender anywhere?”
"Um. No. Just the dog."
So we used the trailer potties and headed up to breakfast at the tent.
NEXT UP: It's All Fun and Games Until the Pissy P.A. Yells at You
