So, last Monday I found myself in Stoke-on-Trent for another short film. Well, I didn’t just find myself there, I woke up at a semi-reasonable hour for a Monday and drove myself up there, facing my biggest enemy, the M6.I have spent many an hour on that dastardly motorway and I had to reach Stoke by a certain time so I didn’t want to be thwarted that day. I eventually managed to drag myself from my bed, and thankfully as I would be having my hair and make-up done once I arrived, I didn’t have to make much of an effort in the looks department. I had been told to dress in lots of warm clothes as it wasn’t the hottest of locations, so I donned two pairs of tights under my normal attire and hoped for the best.
Despite a small hold-up on the motorway around the Birmingham area, the journey up was quite smooth, if a little dirty, and with the help of my trusty sat-nav, I ended up in the right place at the right time. Hoorah! The location was an old abandoned pottery factory called Spode. I guess that means something to pottery fans or Stoke locals, but I had never been there before and it looked like every other general factory that I have encountered. All I knew was, it was cold.
After a quick hello to the crew, I was ushered over to another building that had electricity(!) to have my hair and make-up done, 1940’s style! I was slightly startled by my appearance at first, too much make-up tends to make me look like a drag queen, but I trusted the girl who made me up, and it looked pretty awesome on camera! I donned my office wear and waited to be called over to do my thing! I wasn’t called for a while, as another girl who was supposed to be there dropped out right at the last minute, leaving them no option but for me to play both roles, meaning they had to work out the logistics of filming me so that two of me could appear on screen at the same time.
We made our way over to the room where we would be shooting and I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold in all of my life! As I was playing office girls, I was clad in only a blouse and a pencil skirt. Thankfully I had chosen a padded bra that day! Even the lighting didn’t warm up the room. It was actually warmer outside than it was in any of the buildings. Yep, another film in arctic conditions, why do I agree to these things??
Once I got started I had lots of fun. I had an old-school typewriter to play with, files to sort and write in, I felt like I was a real office worker! At one point during the shoot I really felt that it was my job and that it was incredibly important! Haha! I won’t give anything away about the film as hopefully I can post links on here when it’s all finished, but I had so much fun and again, thanks to everyone involved.
I was saddened that I didn’t get to play with the other Wild Things that day but it was another credit on my CV and a fabulous day. The only thing that ruined it was getting diverted 20 minutes from home and driving extra miles for nothing! Anger!!
I know that acting isn’t the most tiring of professions but I think that my body was working extra hard to stay warm on Monday, and with the added driving for hours, I was stupidly tired at the end of it all. I was so grateful to have a late start on Tuesday. I rocked up in Bedford at about 11.10, and did some work with Theo on our mother-son bonding!! Only one more Wild Thing turned up that day as one was doing some other work that he couldn’t get out of, and our final Wild one was poorly, so we ended up finishing early too. The director had thrust some flyers in our hands so that we could do something productive with our day, but we decided to go into Bedford town first to have a little wander about and have a hot chocolate before we tackled the task!
We had a lovely time getting to know each other a bit better over our hot beverages, and went for a little walk around the shops to see what bargains we could find. I had remembered that Matt, the very clever prop making man, had found a Wild Things bobble head toy in Poundland so I wondered if they would still have any in stock… we went in! We didn’t emerge for at least half an hour! We got so excited by all of the cheap products! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to Poundland before, there’s nothing new about it, but the Christmas delights were just too tempting! We all spent a few pounds in there and were very chuffed with our purchases, none more than me- I found a Christmas film, ‘The Christmas Shoes’. A few years ago while on tour, I bought a Christmas film from Tesco entitled ‘The Town That Cancelled Christmas’ and it was the worst film ever. I looked at the case of ‘The Christmas Shoes’ and though that it would be of the same level. I bought it for a laugh.
The rest of the week was pretty much spent running the show. We did as best as we could on Wednesday, as we were still missing Wild Thing Tom, but we muddled through, and he was back on Thursday so that we could play properly.
Before our final run on Friday, I attempted a line run with Theo for the opening scene of Max with his mum. Every time we play the scene we both end up laughing and we don’t know why. We spent about ten minutes going over the same lines with the same result, constant laughter. At this rate we were going to be sacked. But something happened to us during the final run and we nailed it, not even a smirk! Finally! Actors doing their jobs properly!
We had an early finish, and I made it back to Kettering just in time for Fame rehearsals, attempting our first full run of the show… it went surprisingly well! I was absolutely shattered after the week though, and couldn’t wait for Saturday to begin… I was going to have a long weekend, not having to be back in Bedford until 10.45 on Tuesday, bliss! :)
I had a fabulous weekend of not doing much at all, (apart from watching 'The Christmas Shoes' which was not what I was expecting! I sobbed my heart out! Don't watch it!!) and my Sunday evening was made by the arrival of an email from Mutant Candy Films saying that the music video I did a few weeks ago is now online!
So here it is for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbCSC3c68a4
Nxxx
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