Cast Parties and 3 AM Phone Calls

Friday was insane. I had taken the day off work because I wasn't sure if I was going to be sleeping that night and I wanted the option of sleeping all day. But sleeping all day didn't happen...I did make it until about 10, which was impressive I guess. The rest of the day was spent racing around trying to get everything squared away in time for the show that night at 8, the cast party afterwards, and the 4 AM call for the first shoot on the short film.

My character in the film is the opposite of my actual character, and the stage directions (can anyone clue me in as to what the screenplay term for "stage directions" is?) indicate that she is "immaculately dressed and perfectly coiffed even at this early hour"...the early hour being around 3:00 in the morning. I don't do "immaculately dressed" or "perfectly coiffed" in real life and as I was responsible for providing my own wardrobe...I was desperately trying to pull together some options that could fool a camera into thinking otherwise. I had found an amazing pencil skirt suit...but it was blue...and I only have black shoes...and the other wardrobe option I had would work with black shoes...and I didn't want to invest in another pair of shoes if I could make the same pair work with all of the clothing. So much of Friday was spent running around trying to find accessories that would agree with my assessment that black and blue are neutrals that can be worn together if properly accessorized. I know that Stacy and Clinton would agree with me that it's possible. I just know it. I managed to find what I was looking for, and then realized that an "perfectly coiffed top advertising executive" probably wouldn't have mismatched, chewed up, uneven fingernails. So I was able to justify getting my nails done. Then, I had to get my hair in curlers with enough time for the curls to form before picking up my carpool buddy for our 7 PM call for the show that night. Oh, and I had volunteered to bring cheese and crackers to the cast party...which I had intended would consist of delicious cheeses like brie and smoked Gouda...but instead ended up consisting of pre-sliced cheddar and swiss from Target.

So, I was a bit frazzled by the time I got to the theater; but I was ready, and I was excited...and I was tired.

After the show on Friday, we trekked to St. Paul for our first cast party. The party was fun. There is a difference between "going out after the show" and a "cast party" and this was actually the first "cast party" I'd been to since my theater days 13 years ago...and in those days I was single and prone to getting very drunk...so this was a little different. In the course of this show, I have found, to my great annoyance, that I am grossly desperate for approval and validation, and while I love the party atmosphere, within that atmosphere, I tend to want to find a person or a couple of people with whom to hold court. I find it unbearable to just be a silent, observant outer edge of a large group. In a one-on-one conversation, there is opportunity to listen and be listened to, and to feel real and significant.

My cast mate and I left the party around 1, and when I dropped her off at home, I was still trying to decide whether to go to bed or just push through. I needed to be up at 3 in order to get ready for the film shoot at 4. Everyone I talked to said that even 45 minutes of sleep would help keep me from crashing. So I got to bed at about 2 with an alarm set to go off in an hour. I got into the shower at 3 and when I got out, my husband said, "Your phone was ringing, and I think you have a message." Sure enough, there was a message from the film director saying he was sorry for the last minute notice, but the shoot for the day was cancelled and the project was going to have to be postponed because he needed recast. Apparently one of the actors had jumped ship on the project around 3 AM on the morning of the first shoot. I wasn't entirely disappointed about being able to crawl back into bed.