On The Set
Have you heard… Oh, sorry… Happy New Year. Now where was I? Oh yes, have you heard about those Actors who roll up onto a set with nothin’ but their personalities? They might have prepared their lines and got them down just fine, and they might have just what the Director needs for the gig, even invented a few extra lines and jazzed up some business in their scene, but believe it or not, there are a couple of REALLY IMPORTANT things you should have with you at all times on the set.
Okay, I’ll bite… what are these things? Oh, & Happy New Year to you. As you say, I have my lines down, what else do I need? I’ll meet other Actors and maybe size them up while I ask them mundane and boring questions like “What have you been up to?” to which I’ll receive equally mundane and boring answers. I’ll go into make-up – no, first I’ll go into wardrobe, then make-up, get that sorted out, maybe get a coffee and breakfast at the caterers van thingy, sit down and wait. Right?
And then you wait… and wait… and wait. Then someone else who’s waiting will sit next to you (because they’ve never met you before and this is their first shoot and they’re nervous and they’ve heard so much about you) and you’ll talk and wait and joke and have more coffee and, oo, that chocolate muffin would go great with that coffee… oh, I’ve finished that coffee, better pour another… wait, wait, wait, wait WAIT ONE SECOND!
This stuff will get you right off the subject. The subject is Work. You need to be centred and focussed and relaxed and ready. You can’t be hyped up and ego driven. It doesn’t work that way.
I’m waiting! What is the magic ingredients, for crying out loud!!!
A good book and a bottle of water.
What! That’s it! This is your magic formula? A book and some water!!!
That’s it. Drinking 3 cups of java ain’t gonna help. And palling around with some other schmuck instead of being ready is definitely gonna harm you. And at 6PM when you’ve been waiting for your last scene by shooting pool at the table you found on the premises, and you notice you’re so very tired at the exact instant the Director calls for you to get to your mark, and the bloke who was quiet all day and sat under a tree with a book and a bottle of water, who was always in ear and eye-shot of the Director or 1st A.D; who always seemed to be aware of what was going on…
Yeah, yeah, you’ve made your point. I don’t do it that way. I like to be loose and alive and not boring. You know, who gets the work by being a goddamn wallflower anyway? I mean, when I’m on set, I like to be up and out there, and it always helps my impro skills and….
Yes folks, it’s true. I’ve worked with this before. These are the ones you should avoid at all costs. Your work is too important.
Pray, Prepare, Perform.
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