All My Stars Aligned

Chapter 1

It's a new day. It's a new year. It has got to be better than last year's shit show. I'm certain it will be better.

After a brief moment to collect my thoughts, I step into the black car that will take me on the half-hour drive to Queens.

As much as I love the New York scene, the drive was forgettable. Maybe because I was too nervous, it is my first day of shooting after all. A lovely, bizarre, little hopeful show called Dickinson, which might be one of the pioneers for the brand-new Apple TV+.

Huh. Way to shake off your nerves, Ella.

Sitting in make-up, the nerves haven't subsided. Today will be the first time I get to meet the rest of the cast. They have intentionally avoided a screen test or any sort of chemistry test between me and the lead, Hailee Steinfeld.

From my research (read: extensive interview binge on YouTube) of Hailee Steinfeld, she seems like a chill, fun person to be around. Well, they wouldn't have cast her as the lead if she wasn't fun to be around, right? From my (two-time) experience as a lead, you've got to have this special energy to lift up the rest of the crew and cast. A good production always has a good lead.

So I'm not at all worried about that. She has been in numerous movies, she has an Oscar nomination under her belt.

What I am slightly worried about is: will she like me? Will they like me? What if we have nothing in common?

We're shooting two scenes today. The first one will be me and Hailee. And the second will be with the rest of the Dickinsons.

Sure, I've got this.

I thanked God that I didn't have to wear a corset for the first scene. Corsets are the one thing I despise about this particular job. But I have to say, they do make me look good in those dresses. Another plus is I feel like I'm instantly taken back to that era whenever I'm in a corseted dress. So, less work on my part.

After putting on a very comfortable undergarment, I was led to the soundstage. I was kind of disappointed we didn't get to shoot on site. On Google images, Old Bethpage was very pretty. But alas. I'll eventually get to see it in the days to come.

"Ella!" A familiar voice greets me right as I enter the building. Our showrunner, Alena Smith is standing behind the big lights aimed at the stage.

She looks excited, and I wonder if I do too. I mean, I'm very excited but I still haven't calmed my nerves.

"Alena, hi." I approach her and give her a long hug.

"Exciting day! Are you ready?"

I can only give her an assuring nod.

She squeezes my arms. "You'll do great. Come on, let's meet David and Hailee, and the rest of the crew."

"David! Hailee! Ella is here." Alena announces to the people grouped on the other side of the stage, they were in the middle of a discussion. They all turn around, and I can see Hailee and David Gordon Green, the director, slowly smiling at me.

David gives me a hug, "Okay, Ella. Today's gonna be a great day."

"Hi! Nice to finally meet you!" Hailee hugs me right after.

"Oh my God, likewise. I've been binging your interviews. Is that weird?" I pull away, cringing.

Hailee looks like she's about to say something, but then she laughs. "No, no. I've been doing the same, girl."

David speaks to the crew, "Rehearsal in 5 minutes, guys. Then we'll start shootin'."

Before the rehearsal begins, everyone was introduced. Then David gave us a few directions. His directions are, to put it simply- unconventional.

Right before he calls action, the lights dim, and the set gets very dark all of a sudden. They'd turned on a big fan seconds before, and I'm trying to keep my hair away from my face. We're supposed to try on men's clothes.

The scene concludes with us laying on the bed, fully clothed with men's suits.

"Cut!" David calls. "Alright, reset."

David approaches us. "Go crazy, guys. This is supposed to be surreal, so no limits. I mean, if you want to look at the camera and be all meta, do that."

I nod my head. "Okay, yeah."

David walks away. We get out of the men's clothes. Then a woman approached us, someone from props. She shows us fluffed-up pillows, they are proper thick pillows.

"If you feel like it, you can rip these open." She says enticingly. "I'm gonna put them right over there."

Hailee and I look at each other, furrowing our eyebrows.

After everything is reset, David calls action again, and this time, the cameras are rolling. We commence the scene, trying to follow David's directions.

Clothes are tried on, fake moustaches are drawn, top hats are thrown, and then I decided to rip open the pillow.

With the big fan blowing harsh winds, who knew physics would take over?

Feathers are flying everywhere. Some got in my clothes, crevices, and a lot of it got in my mouth. Wow, that pillow was really packed.

I look over at Hailee, now covered in feathers. Her laugh, hearty and sincere. It makes her eyes look really cute. She looks over at me, raising her eyebrows as her laugh gets bigger. Somehow I just know what she's feeling right this second. And at that point, I know I'm really going in the right direction. It will be a good year.

With feathers all around, it reminds me of the only Emily Dickinson poem I knew of before joining this show.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—

Notes:

I don't really know where this is going. And my writing is pretty moody, so I wouldn't get your hopes up yet. I'm sorry if I can't deliver. Don't worry, I'll be more disappointed in me than you ever could.

Check me out on Twitter and Instagram -> schmuckschmitty