Being Testy

Sped off from the last day of "Section 8" to get to the set of "Being Lisa" I made it and was only a half an hour late of my call time (7pm). The crew was still in the planning stages so there was quite a bit of waiting around and we didn't shoot until 10pm. By 8pm I was just about tapped out and I went to go and rest in my car. It was a hot and muggy evening and speaking of muggy, I didn't want to get muggied by anyone if I were to fall asleep with the windows down. So I had them cracked and my sun roof opened. I am not the type of person who can fall asleep in this sort of situation, in a car, on a street in downtown Sac, cars zooming by now and again, let alone the heat and humidity but I was so beat that I managed to slip in and out for about 15-20 minutes. The other hour or so was spent fanning myself and thinking about how perfect the conditions were to obtain a little known somethin' somethin' called The West Nile VIRUS. My exhaustion would take over and next thing I knew I was being startled from sleep after some jerk roared by in some monster truck. At this point I wondered why I had signed on.

I would get up now and again to talk to the crew about their shooting schedule so I could get a read on how long the night was going to be. I was hoping to hear, "We're shooting your scenes first and then you'll be out of here and we won't even need you tomorrow because we'll wrap everything up tonight". I never heard that though, instead I heard, "You're in just about every scene being shot throughout the night and I will need you to come back tomorrow because it is the same situation" I remember after hearing that I smiled and said, "Oh, ok. I'm going to lay down for a bit in my car, just call my cell phone if you need me" I turned around and my eyes welled up with tears. I made my way back to the car, cell phone lightly beeping now and again due to low battery. I felt like my cell phone, drained.

Once we started shooting I remembered why I wanted to be a part of this project in the first place, the story line was fun and progressive, the director Becca Louisell is so sweet and talented as is Stephen, the cast was a total kick and they were phenomenal actors. Amara, whom I met on the set (played "Lisa" one of the two principals) was so beautiful and a big sweetheart. I had the best time chatting with Gene Hoisington, a local Sacramento actor whom I totally admire, and played the role of the "Chef" in this project. The back bone of the crew was Allison and Angela, we (or maybe just I) got a kick out of watching them get the show on the road. Just barking out orders, time, direction to cut scenes if possible etc. You could tell that without them, things might not have been wrapped as quickly, It was quite a production.

So we started shooting at around 10:30pm which is when I started to get a headache and my neck was killing me. I was pleasantly surprised to see one of the extras that I had cast for Kindred, Anne Mox. I spent a lot of time near her during the shoot and she has such good energy, which I really needed.

We wrapped at around 1am and off I went. On the drive home I prayed to have a better attitude the next day and I also prayed that I wouldn't come down with anything (yeah, like West Nile! No, more like a cold or a flu, as I felt like my bodily defenses were down). I asked myself, "now if I wasn't thoroughly exhausted tonight how would the shoot have gone?" My answer was that it would have been a blast and it was! I came to the conclusion that I really didn't need to bring any negative energy to such wonderful people and such a neat project.

Night #2 on set was FANTASTIC. I felt like an entirely different person, I wonder if anyone else noticed? Ron Brokenbrough was there to keep me company and we ended up recruiting him as an extra! I was so grateful for how differently I felt that second night, boy what a difference a little prayer and a good night of sleep makes.

Here is me as "Waitress" in Being Lisa