BAD ACTING

REEL

        Carrie began filming her ABD show, The Hit List. I realized my feelings of envy did not compare to Leah's. The Hit List lit a fire under Leah's ass, and she decided to focus on updating her reel. Leah planned to add new footage and she asked me to film a scene with her.

        Leah wanted to film at a laundry mat. I believe this location to be Leah's main focus for filming the scene.  The characters were two friends discussing the light topic of choosing to have an abortion.  The scene could have taken place anywhere, but Leah was obsessed with this run-down laundry mat. 

        Leah selected the piece because she had previously studied it at the Young Actors Studio a year before I moved to LA. Leah's character wanted to know if she should get the abortion and my character helped her reach a decision. The scene was a comedy.

        Leah's parents spent over $20,000 on the scene. They rented out the laundry mat for rehearsals and the shoot date. Her parents hired Karen to coach us, along with a director, and a whole crew. All of this to get nice HD shots of Leah looking pretty in a run-down laundry mat. And to show off Leah's comedic and dramatic range as an actress.

        Leah and I practiced every day for a week. Then we coached with Karen. Karen worked easily with Leah. I, on the other hand, needed a lot of work. Karen made me stop and start over after each line. I felt like a complete fuck up. In the middle of our second coaching with Karen, Leah and I went outside to take a break. I pleaded with her to get someone else to film the scene.

        "I suck, I'm wasting everybody's time."

        "You don't suck."

        "Yes! I do!"

        "You just have to listen to Karen."

        "I'm trying."

        "I know, you're doing great-we will get there."

        "Whatever."

        "Not whatever-acting is hard. I want you in this scene. I promise you we are going to rock it. Just trust me."

        "Ok."

        We returned into the studio and finished the coaching.

        Two days later we started rehearsals at the laundry mat with the director. He blocked the scene and we worked with the cameras. Leah's shots filmed first. My shots filmed second. Everything would be pieced together in editing afterward.

        For Leah's shots, I stood there folding the laundry and saying my lines back to her. During my shots, we needed to fold the laundry and move our blocking the same way in the same spots. Leah caught on to the blocking fast, but I did not.

        Rehearsals. Brutal.

        I felt like an ass slowing everybody down.

        At the end of our first rehearsal, the director took Leah aside and I listened, eavesdropping on them, waiting for him to tell her to replace me.

        "Where did you find this guy?"

        "From Karen's."

        "This is his first time on set, yes?"

        "I think so, yeah."

        "How old is he? 15?"

        "I think he's 17."

        "He is less nervous than earlier."

        "Yeah, he's shy."

        "Are you going to Sean's Friday?"

        "Probably."

        "Let's try it again."

        We rehearsed until it started to get dark, and Leah and I left. I stayed the night at her house. The next morning we arrived back at the laundry mat at six am.

        The second day of rehearsals. Not so bad. I hit all my marks and felt too tired to be nervous. We ran it so many times the day before my body moved on its own. Programmed like a robot.

        The third day we shot the scene for real.

        The camera focused on Leah for the first few hours. I slowly eased into the shoot and when my turn arrived I took a breath and told myself.

        This is real. There are no cameras. You are just doing laundry.

        I didn't suck. The director even said good a couple of times.

        We finally finished.

        "That's a wrap!"

        Driving back to Leah's, I waited to hear her thoughts on the shoot.

        "I'm glad we shot at the laundry mat, I think it'll look good."

        "Yeah, good scenery."

        "Thank you for helping me out."

        "I hope I didn't ruin it."

        "Shut up, you did fine."

        "I was probably better than you."

        Leah laughed.

        "Probably."