“I’m not tired in the least

Five more minutes please…”

-Meaghan Smith, Five More Minutes Please

I’m jealous of actors.

I really am.

They always seem like they’re having so much fun.  Ever since high school, I’ve been envious of their damn exclusive cast parties that always sound like the very best time in the entire world.  You might say I could have joined the drama productions, but you see I suffer from cantsingordanceitis, a tragic affliction that predominately targets very white, soulless gingers.

Anyway, actors.

In any project I’ve ever done, they always seem to be having so much fun (certainly more than me). I tried to tap into that by giving myself the lead role in Meridian (the ego on that guy), but without letting go of the reigns, it kinda backfired.

Alyssa, Mike, and Kel took me from my dark world of jealousy and bitterness and into the light.  I know I said I’d be sharing a tale of woe regarding this Star Wars production, but I gotta say, those three knocked it out of the park acting-wise.  I can’t actually remember them needing more than two takes (though they must have, right?), and (like I said before) had no trouble at all pushing imaginary buttons,  talking to make believe robots, hitting the jokes, and otherwise selling a location that wasn’t there.

The first night of shooting, which was pretty much everything in the contest entry, went super smooth. I found myself having just as much fun watching those guys act as I did with the whole moulding a creative story thing (that just makes my heart sing).

The second night was all lightsabers and crash mats.  It was pretty physical stuff, and Mike and Kel had colds so bad they thought they were gonna die.  Mike even suggested rescheduling, and I did something I never have before.  I browbeat them all into getting it done.  It just seemed like everyone was tired and grouchy, but I bulldozed through it. I’ll admit I didn’t know how messed up Mike and Kel really were til later.  They were swinging faulty lightsabers at each others’ heads and flipping in the air.  Hell, without her glasses, Lissa beaned me in the elbow with her first baton throw, and nearly tagged the camera with a bad bounce on the second.  It was a hectic, seat of the pants mess, and a couple of shots were almost forgotten.

The point is, I don’t think the cast and crew had a ton of fun that second night.  They did an incredible job, and the end result certainly eases a retcon into that memory, but I suspect that day my bitterness towards hedonistic actors caused me to drag them down to my level.

It’s a guilt that I’m living with…

and I more than paid for it in post…