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Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 871
|  My "On Broadway" Extra Experience
As requested by Keri, I'll post my story and pictures here as well. Be prepared for a long read...haha. Quote:
May 24th
Call time for us was 10:00am, but ended up getting a little lost and weren’t there until a few minutes after…which ended up being ok. We walked down into the basement of “The Skellig,” the Irish pub they were filming at, and I had to find the woman I had e-mailed about doing this. We found her eventually in the dimly lit basement and had to sign like a release form so they could show our faces on film. They had tables set up all around as well as an area with just chairs. Magazines were placed on the tables for us to read and keep us busy, so I grabbed one and started to read it.
A little before like 12 or 12:30am a guy named TJ, who would be dealing with us, started to tell us about the scene we were going to film. It was going to be the “intermission” scene. He told us about some of the language they use when onset and what to remember. Such words as, rolling, sound, background action, go to your firsts, things like that. He also told us not to bug the actors really because once one person wants a picture so do others and they didn’t want them taking like two hours taking pictures. Which is understandable but I was still determined to find a good time to take on with Eliza! J
We walked up to the front room with the main bar, and I had been in the back of the line so I didn’t have a set position. I was one of the people who was to walk in the room. I walked in and walked towards the back of the bar and the over to the side towards the other doorway. We had to talk to people and pretend like we had known them forever and I even hugged a few random people, haha. We did that a couple times, sometimes not talking just mimicking the words, then one time we had gone back into the hall to wait. I was standing there facing the doorway to the bar, I had the urge to turn around and I did and looked but there was a bright light right there so I couldn’t see a thing. I turned back around and then heard the floor boards creek, which they did a lot, and saw a tiny woman walk past the girl next to me. The woman stood in the doorway for a second and looked in the room and then headed in. I instantly knew it was Eliza. I had met her before so I knew she was tiny and I could just tell by her hair and from just being a fan! (she was wearing a cute teal dress) I was shocked and got really nervous after that, not knowing where she was going to be. I was hoping I wouldn’t mess up thinking about her being there. Anyway, I walked in as usual following my original path and saw her out of the corner of my eye, sitting at the table in the corner of the room. I was just about to walk to the bar where I had before when one of the guys told me to walk behind Amy (one of the other actresses) who had been shooting a scene with an older gentlemen in a wheel chair. So I walked behind him and met a few people right there, I think in front of the camera haha, and hugged and talked to them. I only did that once, the other times, I just stood with a group of people with Eliza sitting right behind me! She wasn’t really paying much attention I don’t think, she was on her two-way a couple times when I looked back, but I was still nervous to know she was right there. My brother started laughing at one point, but I didn’t think much of it…he later told me that Eliza was right, I mean right behind me. Like if I had even moved my arm an inch I would have hit her. I was upset he hadn’t told me she was there, but honestly I don’t know what I would have said. Haha.
We took a little break after doing the scene a couple times, some people went outside and a few of us went back down to the basement, which is what I did and I’ll never forget that decision. So my foot had just touched the basement floor as I looked about four feet in front of my towards the left where the table of food was, which had coffee, donuts and fruit on it. Guess who was standing there getting coffee?? Eliza herself…now this would have been a perfect opportunity to take a picture with her but I didn’t have my camera and didn’t know if she was busy…so stupid me didn’t really say anything. I had split a donut with a girl who knew I was a fan and I think she was hoping that me being next to Eliza like that I’d say something, but nothing came out. Like I said, I really just didn’t want to bug her, it’s hard to explain what I felt. She left after I had left the table and we went back to waiting to film another scene.
The next shot we filmed was one where Eliza was in it! All it was, was when Joey and the other girl, Jill Flint, came in right after the play was over. Eliza was standing in the middle of the room by the table/booth that was there with another one of the actors, Lance Greene, I think. She was just laughing, goofing around having a seemingly good time with Lance. She was so cute! Haha. All we had to do in that scene was clap, make noise and look like we were having a blast!
Later in the day, they were going to take a cast/crew picture to which I happened to be outside to see. At first I didn’t see Eliza and was wondering if they were going to take it without her. Then a long white van with tinted windows pulled up as a man got out of the front seat, and then opened the side door. Eliza walks out wearing jeans this time and said something like, “Did you take it without me…did I miss it?” It was so cute the way she said it, like all concerned they had already taken the picture without her, haha. They took the picture and all headed back in.
Still later on that night we finally got put to work, I went up with three other people to film a scene, so we got up there and I was placed at the bar…but not facing the camera. You might see the back of me head, haha. I looked around after being placed there to see if maybe Eliza was around somewhere then I heard a familiar voice and looked over to see Eliza standing like ten feet away asking is she needed to come in this scene, sadly she didn’t. It was funny because she was just looking so intensely at the director when he was explaining everything! She went back to this little like whole in the wall where they had a table. We shot the scene a few time, it had Joey in it and another guy I think, I wasn’t paying much attention. I was to busy being the “extra,” and not paying attention to the camera, haha. Eventually, we were done, and Eliza was still sitting at the table to which we would have to pass. I said that I was going to say “hi” to her if she liked looked out way, but she ended up talking to the person sitting in front of her so obviously I wasn’t going to say anything and interrupt them.
We thought we were going to have one more shot to film but it was getting late and wasn’t going to happen so we were sent home at like 8:30pm.
May 25th
Call time was 11:00am, so I planned on waking up around 7:30am or so. My alarm went off once, I pressed the snooze button and then again, and the third time I was going to hit the snooze button, guess who I heard on the radio? Haha, Eliza! It was kind of funny to go to bed thinking about the day and then waking up to her voice. I missed most of the interview, I only heard the last like two minutes, where Eliza talked about “On Broadway,” and how she was having so much fun filming it!! J Anyway, got ready and we left. BTW, Eliza talked about getting the cover of Improper Bostonian (the magazine) what’s funny is that they were actually taking pictures for that in the basement the day before…I saw some of the cast go down there and take pictures, but no Eliza. She must have done it another time, hopefully!
The first scene of the day was a scene at the bar right before everyone was about to see the play. I again was towards the end of the line, haha, so I was told to go towards the back by the bar. It was actually a really great spot though, and this is kind why! When I started walking over to where I was suppose to I saw a familiar face sitting at the table to my right as I walked in. It was Mike B. (Eliza’s friend), so I looked at him and he looked at me and I smiled. Then I’m not sure how I got the courage and why I said it, haha, it just came out, I said, “Hey Mike.” He looked at me kind of surprised and a look of like, am I suppose to know you? Haha. I told him that I met him and Eliza in Boston in October. He shook my hand and asked me for my name again, I then mentioned for some reason again, haha, him being in the Progressive commercial. He kinda of smiled pretty wide, he was excited that knock on wood it had been airing for like a year! He then asked where again we had met in Boston, so I told him the Wizard World thing, at first I don’t think he remembered and just as I started to say the convention, he did too. He will be in the movie had like a one liner about what kind of drinks he wanted! We had to clear that area out since, Mike O’Malley had to get in there to ask him about the drink situation, so they told me at one point to walk to the other side of the bar, I think I walked in the view of the camera…time will tell I guess. Then a few seconds later I had to walk back, haha. Did that a few more times, Mike then asked if I could get him some water, so I walked to the bar but no one was paying attention. I think the director had gone over to them and maybe Mike had mentioned he wanted water or something like that, so then he told me he was all set…that someone was going to get him some. So I threw away the cup since he didn’t need it anymore. During some of that time, since again, we had been standing there for awhile, Robert Wahlberg, who plays the bartender, was standing next to me getting ready to walk into the scene. He came back after the rehearsal and said, “Someone touched my ass, who was it?” Everyone looked around and I pointed to guy sitting at the bar, and he replied, “Oh it’s ok if it was him,” or something like that. He was really funny, right as they’d cue the Irish music, he roll his head and shake it from side to side and then start jumping up in down. It looked like he was getting ready for a fight…at one point he even started to do that an Irish jog. It was hilarious!
I had went outside after the scene was over and saw Mike B. come out and wanted to maybe take a picture with him. So I walked over hoping his phone wouldn’t go off again, and I asked him if maybe we could take a picture if he wanted and wasn’t to busy. He said yeah and we started to take the picture when he said, “So, you’re an Eliza fan?” I said, “Of course!” We talked for a minute or two about Eliza and how I had gone to the WW Boston convention just for Eliza and that’s how I found out about filming there. He then asked if I had seen her yet and I told him the day before but I was to nervous to go up and ask for a picture because I didn’t want to bug her. He told me that she was good about that kind of thing and I agreed. He told me she would be there shorter when I asked him and then his phone must have gone off, I think he was waiting for a call, so he said, “I’m sorry.” I mentioned it was ok and walked away so he could talk. He’s a really nice guy and it would have been cool to talk to him a little more, but it was fine! He wasn’t there later that night, so he must have had to go do something.
We then shot a scene were we just walked past the camera and into the room where the play was being held…did that a few times, but no Eliza.
At one point I was outside again, because it was such a beautiful day and it was far better then sitting in a basement! We were all just kind of hanging out talking when the white van, that had been talking cast and crew back and forth to I’m assuming the trailers down the street, parked in front of the door. Then little Eliza came walking out and opened the door and hoped in the front seat. They sat there for a minute and then took off.
Eventually, we went back inside to shoot a “play” scene, like our reactions to it and such. Soon after getting in there and getting settled, Eliza came walking in. she went and sat in the corner where they had chairs set up for cast and crew and I couldn’t really see her but I think she was reading something…maybe a script. I really don’t know. After we did all of those reactions scenes it was time for the good part!
We walked out for some air, since it was getting hot in there and they had to set up a few things. We talked to everyone around when I thought I saw someone familiar come out of the door. I didn’t quite look right away because I was talking with someone when I felt a tap, the girl who knew I was a big fan of Eliza’s pointed out that she was right there…I looked and what do you know, she was! She was standing on the little ramp I knew I couldn’t hold back this time asking for a picture. My brother walked up and she looked at him as I trailed slowly behind and then she looked at me as I was walking closer. My brother began asking her if she would take a picture with me and she looked my way again. I made she sure knew that only if she wasn’t busy. She said sure and walked down the little ramp towards me. She put her arm around on my shoulder and I put mine around her. It was really dark since it was at night maybe around 9:30pm or so, so it was hard to see in the camera screen. My brother said something about it and how he could see it, so I walked over to tell him it was fine and not to worry it’s just hard to see. I looked back over at Eliza and one of the crew girls started talking about how cute her niece and nephew were and Eliza said it was because of her sister-in-law who is Dominican. Someone had handed her a CVS bag and then looked at me again and said, “I’m sorry!” I told her it was ok, probably about the only thing I could get out of my mouth, and she put her arm around me and then said something about how she didn’t want the CVS bag in the picture, haha. So she walked around me to the other side and had the bag behind my back so you couldn’t see it! Haha. We took the picture and I told her thank you and that I really appreciated it, she said your welcome. I really wanted to talk to her more, but they were getting ready to start filming again so we had to be quite. Plus, I really don’t know how much I could have said to her and I really didn’t want to bug her anymore. I think she was waiting for a car to take her to where the trailers were. So I just kept looking up at her once in awhile, while she talked to some crew and looked at the monitor they had out there. A few minutes later a car came to take her away.
In the down time waiting for things to get set up, Eliza walked over and onto the stage that was set up, straight ahead. She was sitting down on a chair by the table, since the stage was set up like a kitchen. She was laughing, which I swear is contagious and you can hear from anywhere you just pick it up over everyone else talking, haha. Lance was sitting down at the table across from Eliza and taking her picture of her making faces. A few I think were her putting make-up one and her posing for it. It was so cute and funny to watch, but I didn’t really stare I wanted to but that would have been weird! Haha. They rehearsed the scene and then Eliza had went back behind the little stage and came out a minute later wearing her teal dress, haha, they rehearsed again or they might have even filmed it I forget. But after that shot she went back behind the stage and came out wearing a black sweater over the dress and said that she was really hot with it on, from what I heard anyway. She went back next to the guy and they filmed it a couple more times. They had to walk off stage, we would start to clap, the lights would dim, then the lights would come back on and we’d stand up while the cast would then come out. They stood in a line and took a bow as the looked around and Joey and Jill would come out to greet the rest of the cast. Eliza was so cute, smiling from ear to ear as she bowed. It was really cool to see her acting, even if it was a fairly small scene.
We walked out and I thought we would be back in, but they didn’t need us anymore, so I was kind of bummed because I was hoping maybe I’d see Eliza on the stage and quickly tell her good luck on her upcoming projects or something…but I couldn’t. Plus, her friends had just gotten there not to long before so I obviously wouldn’t want to bug her when she was with her friends!
But that was my experience, something I will never forget…it was really fun. And Eliza there was a huge perk!! She was really nice and I don’t think that I could ever say enough good things about it…she’s amazing! I just wish I wasn’t so star struck and in aw over her so that I could have said a little more to her. It’s the curse of being to shy! Sorry about any grammar mistakes I wrote this out from what I remembered and was to lazy to fix it. Haha.
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Hope you enjoyed!  |
06-01-2006, 06:08 PM
