Becoming a successful actress has always been one of my career ambitions. I aspire to perform as a triple threat in film, television, and on Broadway. Like most performers with the same ambition as me, I have been promoting myself to casting directors, choreographers, and producers on a daily basis. Building a strong resume is a key factor in becoming successful in this very tough career path. I got the opportunity to make my resume stronger by adding a feature film to it. Yesterday morning I received a phone call from C & G Casting that I had been booked as an extra for the upcoming film The Smurfs!!!!!!!!!!!! I woke up extremely early this morning...like 3:45am early...to get ready for this exciting day. I arrived in Prospect Park, Brooklyn around 5:45am and was immediately sent to the holding tent to check in. Once I was checked in, I was pampered by the hair, makeup, and wardrobe departments in order to be camera ready. At 8:30am, all the actors (about 150 of us) headed to the set to begin shooting.
The scene was a launch party for a new cosmetic line, Angelou. I was a socialite invited to this extravagant event. Everyone started outside during the cocktail hour of the party. During this scene, I met Tim Gunn (from Project Runway) and shook the hand of Neil Patrick Harris, who is starring in this film. It was a great opportunity for me to get a behind-the-scenes perspective of how the movies are made. As a Cinema and Media Studies Graduate Student, this gave me the insight to how a director works with the actors and the surroundings of the scene. For instance, we could not film a scene outside until the ducks stopped quaking or an airplane flew over us because the sound department could not pick up their noises.
Two and a half hours later, we headed inside to film the party. Sofia Vergara (star of the television show Modern Family) made her presence known as the C.E.O. of the cosmetic line and boss of Neil Patrick Harris' character. She is BEAUTIFUL in person! We worked on this scene for another hour or so before we took our break for lunch. We returned to the set around 3:30pm where we filmed the remainder of the party scene. The day ended roughly around 6:15pm.
This was one of the greatest opportunities I have ever had in my acting career. I had so much fun on the set. And I must say I had my fair chances in front of the camera. So hopefully I won't be on the cutting room floor...
