My First Acting Experience

This past weekend I had my first foray into the world of acting.  I called it an experience because I didn’t get paid.  But that didn’t take away from the fun and learning I had at my first acting experience.

As I’ve said before, Patrick and I have been browsing Facebook groups for local acting stuff.  On Friday he tagged me in a post where a local production company was looking for actors.  The ask was for 2 women, 40+ and 60+ to play a mother/daughter combination.  At first I wasn’t going to apply (because I’m not yet 40!) but I did anyway.

It turned out that Leigh Ann from Curious You Productions hadn’t had anyone from the older demographic contact her and she was short on time.  So I got to play the daughter and I worked with a lovely lady who played my mother.  I think the original thought was for Claire (my “mother”) to play the daughter and have another, older woman for the eldest part.  At any rate they seemed happy with our work.

Originally the shoot was going to be on Sunday.  That’s an easy day for me to work with as Patrick’s mom almost always takes the girls to church in the morning and then we meet up with them for dinner.  That leaves the day free for us to get groceries or do work that’s hard to do with kids always bugging you.  And this week Patrick had a job on Sunday so my day was completely free!  Of course that means they needed to bump up their timeline – can I go Saturday instead?

Here was my Saturday layout: Emma goes to a birthday party for 10am.  Rose and Patrick go to the airshow in Trenton (likely all day.)  Pick up Emma at 12:30, and go to Skeleton Park Arts Fest in the afternoon.  And then think about going back to see Sloan play at 8pm (which is bedtime for Emma after Rose at 7pm.)  Can I fit in a late morning/early afternoon shoot?  Well I did manage to.  I had to bring Emma which was great, really.  It gave her a chance to see what goes on (small scale) at a shoot for video purposes.  After our debacle with Mode Elle I would love to get Emma into this sort of local production stuff.

first actingCurious You is a 2 person team who basically work from their home or on location.  They were super friendly but also very professional.  I feel like it was a perfect way to get my feet wet with my first acting gig.  All the shots they did were neck down as we were supposed to be portraying people older than we were.  That means you won’t know it’s me when it’s available to view, but it also means no speaking and/or facial expressions required.

As a new actor everyone I worked with yesterday was very kind and supportive.  It was suggested I try my hand at community theater.  I’m nervous about that.  And it often is a really large time commitment.  Claire said she’s still new to the theater world and is currently portraying a mean character.  She seems to really enjoy it.  Maybe once Patrick is finished renovations at his mom’s, and maybe after summer is through I’ll look into it.

When we were finished I suggested to the “crew” that Emma would love to be involved in this business, and if they have need of kids please think of us.  That suggestions was actually well received so I was quite happy.  I would love to work with Curious You again – especially if there was a little compensation for my time!

Overall I had a great day.  The weather was hot and steamy, the apartment we shot in had a great cross-breeze (and a cat to help entertain Emma), and Skeleton Park Arts Fest was great.  I did not get back to see Sloan play.  I’m a little sad about that but I was beat by the time Emma and I got home in the later afternoon.  Rose and Pat didn’t get home until her bedtime and she just wanted to crawl right into her bed.  It was a great day overall and both kids enjoyed their activities.  And I enjoyed mine!

*June 29/16 Edit: The video is now up on the website.  The link is here.  I am in the quick shots of people with no heads.  I’m wearing blue jeans and a beige-ish sleeveless top.  And my name is at the end.  Very exciting!

If anyone reading this is interested in working with me (or Emma), check out my About Me page and Emma‘s page for more information, and then contact me!

~Jess

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8 Comments

  1. aww well done on your first acting job! No matter how small, a step in the direction you want to head in, is a big step indeed, so congrats!! Glad you enjoyed it, and fingers crossed for both you and Emma for the future. #puddinglove

    1. It was great. Fun to watch the husband/wife (I think they were married) team work together – they have a great banter while trying to get the best shot. I’d love to work with them again. Thanks for the comment!
      ~Jess

  2. Oh, that sounds so exciting. Well done on your first acting stint. Community theatre sounds fun as well but like you say, that would a big commitment but I really enjoyed working in theatre when I saw in school. Always had a blast. #bigpinklink

    1. Thank you! I did have a good time – the link to the video is now live so I’m going to edit my post to add it in there. 🙂 I’m still torn about community theatre, but it’s not far from my mind. Thanks for the comment!
      ~Jess

  3. Well done on your first role! Nice that you got to take your daughter with you so that she could see what was involved. Will pop over and watch the video 🙂 #PuddingLove

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