Show-mance

Learned a new term on the movie set, "show-mance". It's a romance that happens during a show. I shared a sweet, flirtatious show-mance with my co-actor, Matt, who plays my boyfriend Jonathan in the movie. Here we are, two handsome young men, dressed in purple velvet like a pair of princes, standing in the warm summer air on a Mardi Gras float, pretending to kenoodle. Well, I didn't have to dig very deep to find attraction and emotion for Matt. He's quite pretty, whip smart and funny. He thinks I'm a laugh riot. In our scenes, we were very romantic. Not acting, much.

Off-set, we reverted back to our usual selves. He'd put on his iPOD ear buds, and I'd take out my Uncle Vanya script. Any romance we experienced only happened in the context of acting, during the show. Hence, a show-mance.

After 4 nights of long hours, I was wiped out. Took me 36 hours to recover my sleep. I worked 12-hour nights, from 6pm to 6am, bicycling home with the bartenders. Despite the fatigue, I did enjoy the newness of the whole experience. What a great first film experience! Dressing room, hair and make-up people on me, a production assistant shlepping me water and coffee. Thank you Sony Pictures! Everybody was super nice, and only a couple fakey-fake "L.A. types".

Today I rode my bicycle in the French Quarter, and a young woman shouted "hey, you're Prince Charming from the Mardi Gras float!" Recognized! She was probably another extra or lives on the location of our shoot.

"Why yes, ma'am, that's me. That's exactly who I am."

Mardi Gras - The Movie

Last night I did my first-ever acting job on a movie. "Mardi Gras" stars Carmen Electra, some hot young guy from "Heroes", and yours truly. Actually, I'm an extra, but an Extra-special extra, a VIP extra. I have a dressing room! And a name. I play a character called "Jonathan's boyfriend" who has no lines but is important to the plot. Which all means that I get a dressing room, eat steak with the principal actors, and hang out in the air-conditioning between takes.

I get paid like an extra though.

Last night I worked 12 hours, from 5pm to 5am, all thru the night, staging a fake, but very convincing Mardi Gras parade (except the part about it being June.) I rode aboard the Queen's float, standing beside Empress Electra, handing her beads and holding her sceptor. My boyfriend Jonathan and I wore matching purple: velvet Duke's robes, capes, and plumed hats (did I mention the part about it being June?) Empress Electra was dressed like a cross between Queen Elizabeth I and Ann Margaret. Big collar, shapely gams.

Film is an odd acting experience, stop-start. The camera rolls for 10 seconds, they yell "cut", re-set the shot for 20 minutes, then roll the same scene for another 10 seconds. Cut. Totallly different than stage, where you inhabit the life of a character for a continuous hour-and-a-half, and interact with a live audience. Totally different buzz. I was buzzed last night after the movie too, but mostly from the new experience. I was so fatigued I felt nauseous.