The Gift of An Adventure – Part 1

Believing that people come into our lives for a reason – to either make a difference in our life, to make a difference in their own life or, in extraordinary circumstances, the changes will go both ways.  I may never know if this new adventure I am on will make a difference in the life or lives of another person, yet I can tell you now that it is making a difference in mine.

Having recently become involved in being a background extra on movies to supplement my income, I was surfing a few casting groups around mid-August and stumbled upon an indie film looking for a woman who could play the role of a mentally ill patient.  Reading that posting gave me chill bumps.  Referencing that casting call here now has the same effect.  I remember thinking to myself, "I don't have to 'play' the role of a mentally ill patient.  Been there.  Done that. Several times.  Forget the t-shirt, I have an ECT-affected brain and Vagus Nerve Stimulator as souvenirs."

What I have NO experience doing is ACTING.  Specifically SPEAKING on film.  Being a background extra is about being quiet on set, paying attention at all times, following directions, and pantomiming.  Not rocket science, yet the days ARE long and you REALLY do have to pack an enormous amount of patience in your pocket because 97% of your time is spent doing absolutely nothing – and you are still expected to absolutely silent and invisible, yet within reach.  (1% spent snacking + 1% drinking coffee + 1% urinating + 97% doing absolutely NOTHING = 100%).  I digress.

The 'speaking' aspect of the role is what gave me great pause.  So I slept on it.  The next day I applied for an audition.  Four days later I was a member of the cast.

The original script, per the writers, only referenced the role of the mentally ill patient yet they liked a woman, who auditioned for them for a different role completely, so much, that the character was given a speaking roll and the script was revised to include it.  Subsequently the woman cast as the mentally ill patient –  whom the script was rewritten to include – dropped out.

The role of the mentally ill patient was cast a second time and the woman, having recently endured her own mental health crisis and the subject of the film was too painful for her at this time,  relinquished the role within the first week.  (My heartfelt prayers go out to her and her family/support system.)

The writers were frustrated at that point, and rightfully so, because the main character in the movie, who plays my son, is frantically and desperately shaking a branch of the family tree in search of answers,  and the person with the answers is the character of the mentally ill patient.

That is a little bit about how my current adventure came to be.

We started filming yesterday at a cottage on a beach and I will be leaving shortly for day two.