How I Spent the Weekend Before Last

It took two days, a big roll of blackout fabric, one expensive trip to the nursery, two semi-expensive trips to Lowe's, twelve bags of mulch, much sweat and exertion, but Chad & I finally have something approximating landscaping in the front yard.

Chad also tilled up the yard and spread grass seed and nontoxic fertilizer in the front yard. Now we just have to wait for the grass to grow. In the process of digging and tilling, we found several big rocks and lots of little plastic plant markers. One of our sweet, octogenarian neighbors told us that a part-owner of Shoal Creek Nursery lived in our house for several years, and planted the whole front yard like a lush flower garden. Then the next owner of the house ripped up all of the plants and had grass in the front yard. I'd love to see a photo of the yard back in its flowering garden glory.

Coffee, Tea or...

I've been busy, and alternately, recovering from the busy. A week ago, I got to play that 1965 flight attendant after all. According to one of the casting people associated with that movie, the director handpicked each extra based on their photos. The director insisted that I should be the flight attendant and ordered the wardrobe crew to make the dress work. Luckily, the vintage dress was stretchy polyester and posed no problem.

Last Wednesday, I awoke at 5:00 AM to put my hair in hot rollers and drive an hour down the road to the tiny Georgetown airport for my 6:30 AM makeup call time. The hairstylist teased my hair and used about twenty bobby-pins to coax my hair into a 1960s updo. Then the makeup lady worked her magic with liberal use of black eyeliner to make me look 1960s glamorous. Then the other extras and I sat in the big tent and waited for the rain to stop. We waited nearly two hours, because the airport was supposed to be set in Tuscon with a line referencing how hot and dry it was.

When we finally got to go to the airport landing area, we climbed aboard a vintage 1957 airplane to film our scene of disembarking the plane with the film's title character, Temple Grandin, who was played by Claire Danes. Claire climbed slowly up the steps to the airplane. She took her spot and asked where I'd be standing as we exited. She & I talked about how flying seemed much more glamorous back in the 1960s compared to how grueling and unglamorous air travel is today. Claire has gorgeous eyes in person. She is very willowy. One can't help but want to hug her and offer her a hearty meal upon seeing her.

After a rehearsal of the scene, the director decided that he wanted me to stand at the bottom of the airplane steps and say goodbye to the passengers as they left. We shot the scene about fifteen times from different angles and with different cameras, pausing a few times to wait out short rain showers. At one point during all of this, I heard a voice behind me call out, " Dear, your slip is showing." I turned and said, "Thanks for telling me, but why are you looking at my slip?" to none other than Catherine O'Hara. She replied, "I gotta stare at something between takes." Then she called a wardrobe lady over to help me fix the slip. Catherine O'Hara is strikingly beautiful in person. She seemed very nice and good-natured, hanging out with the extras between takes.

We finally wrapped our scene around 3:00 PM and headed back to base camp/the tent to change out of our costumes and hand in our pay vouchers. When I gave my costume back to the wardrobe lady, she smiled and asked if I knew I was singled out to be the flight attendant. I said yes and explained about the concern over the dress not fitting. She told me I looked perfect and that I got a lot of attention from the crew. *blush* Then she congratulated me for doing such a great job. Her very complimentary gushing was the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae on that rainy Wednesday.

Housewife/Actress Needs Vacation

I've been busy. The past few weeks have seen me at auditions, acting workshops, working as an extra, acting in a film director's workshop for the University of Texas and then filming that scene, doing the usual housework/chores and trying to make it to the gym three times a week for 90-minute sessions. The next few weeks of my calendar hold more of the same.

I'm tired. I want to go away to a nice hotel somewhere quiet for a few days (maybe weeks) where I'll sleep a lot and read some books. While I'm gone, I'd like for a professional handyman (or handywoman) to patch the sagging trim work around the carport steps, replace the carport door, repaint all the exterior doors and shutters from black to "blackberry jam", install an electric dishwasher, build custom cabinetry and drawers in the kitchen to replace the 55 year-old cabinets and drawers that will be damaged when the electric dishwasher gets installed, replace the columns around the front porch & carport, repair all the cracked concrete in the carport and repair the rotting wood trim on the corner of the carport roof. While I'm gone I'd also like for a professional landscaper to level the yard (front and back), design and install an irrigation system, plant lots of pretty native/drought-tolerant plants, artfully place some big boulders along the front and busy-street sides of the yard and build a raised bed in the back for my veggies that are outgrowing their pots.

Just call me when it's all done, and (maybe) I'll be ready to return home. Thanks!

Friday Night Lights, Take 2

I worked as an extra again yesterday for "Friday Night Lights". (I have got to watch that show this year!) Another lady and I got plucked from about twenty other extras to stand with actors who actually had lines at a scene featuring a real estate open house. I got to say a line too! It was, "No. Not yet." Exciting stuff!

Super-cute (but not as cute as my husband) actor, Kyle Chandler, said "hi" to me as we passed in the doorway to the open house. I've liked him ever since he was on "Early Edition".

After my scene was done, I had to clear out of the camera range, but was not allowed to leave yet. A nice crew lady gave me a folding chair that said "cast" on it. I got to sit in the room with the sound guys and watch the monitors of the different cameras. The sound guys even gave me a headset so I could hear what was happening on set. I felt like a real actor, and not just "background".

I think that FNL gets such good reviews from critics because the use of natural lighting whenever possible and the multiple camera views of each scene make the show look real, as if you're there. I also love that the scripts are somewhat loose on this show, allowing for a bit of adjustment for the situation and realism in the language.

Just before sunset, the director told us we were wrapped and sent us back to base camp in big, white shuttle vans. This second go-round on FNL was nicer than the first.

But They're Real

I got a call today from an HBO production shooting in Austin. The Casting Directors liked my look and set aside my photos for consideration for a role as a 1950s era flight attendant. This is one of those phone calls actors dream of getting! And the movie stars Claire Danes, who I've loved ever since she played Angela on "My So-called Life".

Anyway, I'm confirming some information for the casting lady over the phone which includes my clothing sizes. People in the 1950s were generally smaller than people today. My shortness is working for me, as are my small-ish feet. My pant size, dress size and shirt size are all fine for the vintage costume pieces. Then the casting lady asks my bust size, and I tell her. She says, "Really? Are you sure?" I confirm that I had a professional fitting for new bras recently (after all that weight loss) and that, yes, that's my bra size. She then says, "I think that takes you out of the running." I'm crestfallen and watching my role as a 1950s flight attendant slip away. I blurt out, "but they're real. It's not like they're crazy implants. I can mash them down with some ace bandages or something." The casting lady goes on to say that she's sure they'll have something else for me, and that they'll be in town shooting until Thanksgiving. Don't call us, we'll call you, and all that.

Sigh...

I Love Facebook

My acting workshop teacher wrote a scene last week called "I Hate Facebook". After the scene was performed to a warm response with lots of laughter, our teacher informed us that he actually deleted his Facebook account last week, because he hated it so much. He went on to say that he loved MySpace, but that hardly anyone but seven-year-olds use that site anymore. He & I will have to agree to disagree. I love Facebook, and hated MySpace. I was a slow adopter to online social networking, only joining Facebook about a year ago. I had my doubts early in the game, and scoffed at people who had hundreds of "friends" on Facebook. However, I love reading my friends' status updates, viewing their photos and following links they post. It's a fun way to stay in touch with people. Then when I see one of my friends in person, I can ask about the audition they aced, or the ailment they suffered, or the vacation they took, etc...

I just read this great article in the New York Times Magazine from Sept 7 about how people can totally digitally know each other via Facebook and twitter. Read it for yourself and we can chat about it in person or online.

When We're Crazy-Rich

Chad and I have several shared verbal tics, one of which is to muse about things we'll do or have "when we're crazy-rich" as in, "when we're crazy-rich, I don't want a giant house, but it should have a big area for parties and two bedrooms with big closets and two bathrooms and solar panels on the roof and sun tunnel lighting in every room except the master bedroom, because when we're crazy-rich we'll sleep late everyday."
* happy sigh as I envision this house *

When we're crazy-rich we'll also have:
a long vacation touring England, Scotland & Ireland
a tiny apartment in Rome for extended stays -- Io amo Roma!
two kayaks and somewhere to store them
a Toyota FJ Cruiser to carry the kayaks to the lake -- Maybe there will be a more eco-conscious version of this vehicle by the time we're, you know, crazy-rich.

When we're crazy-rich, we'll continue to donate money to the following, but on a crazy-rich scale:
Emancipet
KLRU / PBS
Unicef
Capital Area Food Bank of Texas
Caritas of Austin

That's Me Right Behind the Stars

Last Tuesday when I was on the set of the movie that's probably going to be a Lifetime movie, but not definitely, the extras casting lady pulled me aside and said the director wanted to be sure I'd be back for a scene shooting later that night. The very nice casting lady could have been pulling my leg, or maybe the director said something like, "ask that girl in the yellow top to be sure and come back tonight." I'll never know.

Later that night I did go back for another scene. I was delighted when the first assistant director (AD for short), a sweetly efficient teddy-bear of a man, pulled me and another actress out of the bunch and positioned us directly in front of the camera. He and the director had us scoot up a few inches, back a few inches, look this way, look that way, and then they dropped little sandbag Xs at our feet to mark the spots where we stood. Then we were dismissed so that the principal actresses could step into their shot. I simply served as a stand-in for lighting purposes. Ouch.

Fortunately, I returned for two more scenes later where I was very likely recognizable in the shots. Yay.

Last night, I went back for yet another scene, set in a small-town Texas roadhouse. The first few shots, I doubt that my own mom could pick me out of the crowd. The third shot (third time's a charm!) I was getting a crash course in the Texas-Two-Step dance when the teddy-bear of a first AD, asked if he could borrow me for a moment. I gladly agreed to get away from my overzealous dance partner, even if it meant I was a stand-in again. Imagine my delight when I was seated directly behind the main actors for the pivotal dramatic scene in the movie! Why yes, that's me reacting to the big news that actor C. Thomas Howell reveals! *Remember no spoilers here. You have to watch the movie when it comes out.* Yay! Oh, and that's also the back of my head in the final scene where all the principal characters are lined up at the bar.

In my humble opinion, C. Thomas Howell is a super-nice, super-funny guy. He was juggling billiard balls and cracking jokes between takes for our amusement. During a scripted scuffle with another actor, CTH was very respectful of the other actor, making sure that he was comfortable with the staged shoving.

Last night's schedule didn't see me hit the hay until 4:00 AM, but it was worth the missed sleep.

That Movie I'm Working On

It turns out that the movie for which I'm doing a few scenes may not be for Lifetime after all. I got this update from the casting director today:

"Please Note: This project is not being made by Lifetime. It is an independent feature that will be presented to Lifetime by a Director who has had other films picked up by Lifetime."

Drats! This movie better get picked up by Lifetime. It's part of my five-year career path to be in a Lifetime movie. Whatever will I do if I have to deviate from my (totally random) five-year plan due to circumstances that are beyond my control? (She typed sarcastically.) But, seriously, it would be cool to be in a Lifetime movie.

I won't be posting any spoilers here, but the movie is looking great from what I've seen on set. Totally Lifetime worthy. Maybe even a little too good for Lifetime.

Yes, That's Me in the Lifetime Movie!

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of hearing Bonnie Orr, an Austin screenwriter and producer, speak at a Network Austin Film Mixer. Among many interesting stories, she shared her latest project with us, a movie she wrote for Lifetime network. Though I hate to admit it to most people, I love me some Lifetime movies once in a while. My favorite Lifetime movie ever has to be Tori Spelling's "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?" about a deranged stalker boyfriend and a brave mother who helps her daughter (played by Tori) break free from her oppressor.

While Tori Spelling is not in Bonnie's new movie, the movie is filming about an hour down the road from Austin, and is making good use of local talent. I got to work as an extra yesterday. First I sat in a library doing research at a computer. Which meant that I had one web page open checking emails and chatting with friends between takes, and then switched to another web page about British Royalty history when the camera was rolling to make my "research" look legit. The Lockhart, Texas library that we filmed in yesterday was beautiful with hardwood floors, stained-glass windows and tin-tile ceilings. Everyone on the set was super-nice, with the notable exception of one ego-driven rude person who earned themselves an equally rude nickname. I swear I am not responsible for the nickname, as I try to remain professional and polite on set. I recognized several people from that indie movie I worked on this summer, and I knew two other actors from my acting workshop. I'll be going back a few times over the next two weeks for other scenes. I even get to cry on camera in some upcoming scenes. Yay! My superpower is crying on cue. When it comes to acting, for me crying is easy, but laughing believably when there's nothing funny is difficult. Try it now, wherever you are, laugh really loud. See? It's difficult. And if you're at work or out in public, you're probably getting funny looks now. Ha ha.

I'll post a link when the movie comes out. Maybe I'll even have a little viewing party. We can play "spot Jenn's elbow" and "where's the back of Jenn's head" as we watch.

Chain Letter Brings Books!

A few weeks ago I received a chain letter from my pal Kristen in Tennessee. I groaned and thought, "I don't have time for this nonsense." When I read the letter and handwritten post-it note, I realized that this was not the typical bad-luck-befalls-any-who-break-the-chain kind of chain letter, but an informal book club chain letter. I sent one book to the person listed on the back of my letter. Then I sent the letter on to six people with Kristen's name and address on the back of their letters, and so on. I have already received two books! Neither of which I've read, and both of which look very good! Thanks, fellow bibliophiles!

Janie's Fall Wardrobe

Janie models her new daisies on an orange background collar for fall. Who's a sweet, pretty girl? Janie is!

Smells Like Fall

This morning Janie and Sonic wanted to hover in the doorway rather than committing to going outside or staying inside, so I turned off the AC and left the back door open. I'm a permissive pet-mom in that way (and in many other ways).

As I sat on the deck with my morning Diet Coke under the shade umbrella, there was a light breeze. It was pleasantly sunny, as opposed to the burn-your-retina sunniness of most summer days. The air felt cool, even by 10:30 AM. That's when it hit me, the smell of fall. It was in the air for just a few minutes. Oh reverie! Fall air!

Then some big truck went bumping along that busy, numbered street we live next to, and I smelled truck exhaust.

I highly anticipate the real start of fall, when that clean, leafy smell invades the air more constantly.

Another Reason I Love Half Price Books

Most trips to the Half Price Books store on North Lamar Blvd at Koenig yield gems such as vintage Nancy Drew books, reduced price chick-lit books, quirky stationary or cash. (I sell our old video games, books, DVDs and CDs there.)

Yesterday low blood-sugar, allergies and ennui collided to render me uselessly cranky. I went to Half Price Books as a pick-me-up treasure hunt. After wandering the store and striking out in the Nancy Drew search, angels sang and a light shone upon me when I spotted Party Girl on the DVD rack. This movie stars the lovely and talented Parker Posey as world-weary party girl looking for her purpose and finding it in the library! This DVD is no longer manufactured and hard to find. I nearly wore out the videotape of this movie. When Chad & I (finally) made the switch to DVD only player (no more VHS) last year, my tape of Party Girl was no longer relevant. But I kept it, because I love the movie so much. Party Girl is my movie-woobie, like Linus' blanket or Lucy's duck, I need this movie near me. And now I have it in DVD form.

Thank you, Half Price Books. Thank you, Hollywood Video for going out of business and selling your library of movies to Half Price Books.

Who Wants a Cuddly Kitten?!

My fellow animal-lover and acting pal, Tracy, rescued four sweet cuddly kittens and their mama-cat from a raccoon attack. (Bad raccoon!) Tracy is keeping the mama-cat, but would like to find great homes for the babies. She says,

"They are very sweet, friendly, playful and loving . They get along great with other cats. Not sure how they react to dogs. They are 10 weeks old. They are fully weaned and eat Kitten Chow and Canned Food. Litter box trained. They are wormed and de-flea’d and ready to find loving, happy homes."

Let me know if you'd like Tracy's phone number to set up a kitten meeting. She has three boys (two gray-black puffballs and one orange striper) and one girl (a tortoise shell beauty).

If Chad and I weren't already housing three cats and a dog, I'd take one or two of these cuties, but we have a delicate balance in the fuzzy department right now. One more cuddle-monster might tip the scales in favor of the wild kingdom and send the fur flying.

Top 5 Reasons I Yearn for October

1. The cooler weather. Recent sub-100-degree days have offered an enticing preview of fall.

2. More willingness on my part to go outside, so I can repaint the trim that the previous owners of this house chose not to finish painting. It's on the roof peak. I spotted the incomplete paint job when I was watering our neighbors' plants back a few months ago. It's been bugging me ever since. I also want to repaint the shutters and doors from black to purple. Yep, purple. The paint color's proper name is "blackberry jam".

3. Gardening season! That dustbowl of a front yard is going to get a major overhaul and another baby tree. The baby tree we have out there now is lonely.

4. My birthday. The one day out of my year when tater tots and cupcakes are an acceptable meal.

5. The BYOP party! It's gonna be fun! I love carving jack-o-lanterns! Save the date of Saturday, October 25.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Yesterday I joined the ranks of many other central Texans who have served as extras on the television series Friday Night Lights. Set in the small fictional town of Dillon, Texas, the show revolves around high school football. I have never watched it. But yesterday I dined at the Dillon country club (actually Green Pastures Restaurant here in Austin) at the table next to the Garrity (football booster dad and head cheerleader daughter) clan and their guests. Janine Turner (of Northern Exposure fame) played a trophy-wife to some dude I didn't recognize.

I've often reported that I prefer the thrill of performing live to the hurry-up-and-wait repetition of film. The physical rush of acting on stage sometimes feels like my heart might jump out of my chest and I might pass out, which can be unpleasant at first, but feels invigorating once I find my rhythm and remember my lines.

Last weekend when I was serving as background scenery for my friends' sitcom pilot, I had fun. Between scenes I chatted with my pals and met some new people that were friends of friends. The sitcom guys were very gracious and said "thanks for being here" many times. In contrast, I didn't know anyone on the set of Friday Night Lights. The FNL crew mostly seemed annoyed at having to talk to us, rather than thanking us.

Yesterday started on a pleasant-enough note with the wardrobe lady liking my dress and the makeup lady complimenting my expert ability to apply liquid eye-liner. My car was chosen to be parked in the lot at the "Dillon country club" for which I was paid an extra $10/the equivalent of two-and-a-half gallons of gas.

Once we got to the restaurant, the boredom began. All of the extras had to wait in a small, stuffy room while the crew finished setting up the main dining room. Yawn. After 20 minutes we were herded in cattle-style and shown to our seats. I confess that I took a certain seat at my table on purpose by telling a man that "we should sit boy-girl-boy-girl" when I really wanted to sit facing out into the main dining room. My calculated move paid off as I watched the principal actors file in later and sit directly in my line of sight at the next table. For three hours, the other extras and I pantomimed conversations and pretended to eat. There are NO sounds allowed when the camera is rolling except for the main actors delivering lines. We had to be very careful to avoid clinking noises from glasses or silverware. The food had to be re-plated and picked up after every scene to be delivered again later, so we could NOT eat anything but little nibbles of our dinner rolls. My table mates were all talkative attention-mongers (actors, sheesh!) while I preferred to sit quietly between takes as directors and crew members walked around telling us to stay quiet and making the shhhh! sound/gesture. All the shhhhh-ing sounded like air rushing out of giant tires.

After the film crew shot each scene they needed from five different viewpoints, the crew and principal actors were whisked away in waiting vans. The other extras and I had to sit semi-quietly for thirty minutes and wait for the dust to settle before we were allowed to return to the casting office to sign-out and hand over our pay vouchers. Watching a show get made takes the glamor out of show business.

Maybe this season I'll actually watch Friday Night Lights so I can point to the teal out-of-focus blob at the Dillon country club and exclaim, "That's me!", but I hope I'll have better things to do.

One Step Closer to Dream Job

Regular readers (hi Grandma) and friends know that it is my dream-job to act as a sitcom-mom in a popular series for about five years, then maybe go off and do some Lifetime movies. Guess who was just cast as the mom for a sitcom pilot? ME! And it's a paid role. (Not that I act for the money, but money for work is a nice bonus/validation.)

Disclaimers: This sitcom may never see the light of day. If this sitcom gets picked up by a network, the network will likely recast all roles. If this sitcom does not get picked up by a network, it may be produced as a web series, or may just die quietly like so many sparks of creative-genius before it have.

I spent the past weekend working as a featured player (nice name for extra) on this same sitcom pilot. We filmed from midnight until sunrise at a restaurant after it closed each night. (Sound stages are awfully expensive. The owner of this restaurant is a mutual friend who let us use the place for free.) I know the writers of this sitcom, and think they are a great group of talented, smart, well-connected young guys who will go far. I am happy just to be a part of their dream. In turn, they are thankful for my willingness to give up a few nights of sleep to be background scenery (an extra) in the restaurant scenes for their pilot episode. One of these writers called me tonight to offer me the (paid!) role of the mom. Which means I'll be losing some sleep next weekend too for the nighttime filming.

Yay! I am so thankful for this great opportunity, and so thankful for the sense of encouragement that this role gives me in the grander scheme of things.

Sing It, Sister!

Last week as I was out running errands, I looked ahead from my stopped position at a red light and saw a young woman standing on the concrete median between six lanes of traffic. She was NOT holding one of those sad signs begging for money. She had on earphones and was singing, or maybe lip-synching, and gesturing passionately. I assume that there was music coming through the earphones, but maybe not. Maybe there was just music in her head. Hopefully the music wasn't telling her to do bad things. I was at the red light long enough to see her finish a song, take a little bow with a flourish, and start another song. I totally stared at this really confident/kinda crazy girl as she performed. I didn't dare roll the window down to see if I could hear her actually emitting any sound, because I was a tiny bit scared. As my friend Jenny says, "don't mess with crazy, because crazy always wins."

Of course, maybe the girl at the intersection wasn't crazy. Maybe she lost a bet and had to perform to settle the score. Maybe she was getting paid to be out there, like the time I dressed up as Batgirl and walked around Sixth Street for that scavenger hunt. Maybe her performance was a homework assignment from her summer session of Psychology 301, like the time my Psychology professor instructed the class members to do something socially unacceptable, but not dangerous, and then write a one page paper about people's reactions. Hey... maybe it was for a Klondike Bar!

What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?

This following is excerpted from an email from a pal I met at an acting workshop. Go to the Klondike website and vote for her video! Details:

"Recently I had the pleasure of working with my friend and colleague Q Manning to create the following spec commercial for a contest currently being hosted by the Klondike bar company. The piece in question stars myself and a 4'x4' Klondike bar monster (voiced by the lovely & talented John Gholson), and can be viewed here:


Jen Blair's Klondike Video

It is imperative (IMPERATIVE!!!) that you VOTE VOTE VOTE for us once you view the commercial, as a substantial cash reward hangs in the balance! The site requires one to "register" in order to vote, which is a bit of a pain in the @$$ (apologies for this)...nevertheless, your love, support, and good juju (in the form of a vote for "5 Klondike Bars") would be greatly appreciated :-)"