Where to begin...?? Part 2

Starbucks Coffee has always been treated as the "enemy" where I am from. I always made it a point to support the local mom and pop java shops, even if it meant driving a little out of the way. Well, this is Los Angeles...and much like the mentally strange, you don't have to drive far to find one. Fortunately for me, there was one open at 5am.

I ordered my triple shot ice coffee, and proceeded to run home for a quick shower, as I mentioned...rather than sleeping, my day was merely beginning. The short film I booked was scheduled to begin production at 8:00am that morning, down in Orange County (which is roughly 45 minutes south of where we live).

Which meant, I had just enough time to shower, brush my teeth, wake Sherri up to start her day, and get back on the road. It's a strange feeling being up for 24 hours, your body gets it's 5th and 6th wind, then wants to shut down, then somehow says "okay, okay, here's your 7th" and so on and so forth.

The film is entitled 'Shades of Grey', and is a film noir piece...which also meant that my character in this film smokes. This helped me get through the drive down there, as I figured I would light up to help stay focused. I used to be a full time smoker, a pack a day since I was 17...but have since quit and haven't picked up a cigarette in 3 years, 5 months, 4 days, well...you get the idea, it's not something you forget about.

So, when I went to light up...I was a little apprehensive, but knowing that these were stage cigarettes that didn't contain any tobacco or nicotine...coupled with the fact that I was veering from lane to lane, I thought I'd better indulge and avoid killing anyone, including myself.

I arrived on location a few minutes early, met the crew, and mainlined another coffee. About an hour after our call time, my co-star was listed as MIA. We tried calling his home phone several times, the director had scouts outside looking for him, everything short of bringing in the bloodhounds. I thought about taking a nap, but realized that would more than likely be my downfall, and proceeded to go outside for some air. The director apologized profusely, and I just nodded...I wasn't a happy camper at this point.

The actor finally arrived another hour later, and explained his situation and that he overshot the exit, doesn't own a cell phone, etc...I was ready to have my 'Christian Bale' freak out moment, but after hearing him out...he seemed pretty genuine and apologetic. We rehearsed for another hour or so, and got to know each other, and finally we were ready to shoot!

I won't bore you with all the details of the long shooting process. Just know that we were there for 12 hours, and the entire short is less than 5 minutes long. That's the beauty of this business, it takes time to set up the lighting, different camera angles, checking playback, etc...

Either way, I told him I needed to be OUT of there by 5:30pm, and NOOOOOOO later, as I had my Vampire show tonight in Hollywood. They were very accommodating, and we worked most of my close up scenes right away to ensure that if I was somehow still alive / coherent by 5pm, they would send me on my way.

5:25pm - recorded a couple voiceover pieces for some earlier shots we did, and that was it. I officially wrapped my first professional short film production!

...aaaaand goodnight...zzzz...huh, wha'? Ohhh, 5 more minutes Ma'...pleeeease?

No sir. Time to get on the road, as I have yet another show to do ladies and gentlemen! The Vampires Masquerade, a theatrical piece about a stage owned and run by vampires. All though at this point, I was feeling more like a zombie.

I fought my way through an hour and a half of rush hour traffic into Los Angeles and made it to the theatre by 7:30, a half an hour before we went on stage. I had just enough time to change into my wardrobe, suck down my umpteenth cup of caffeine, and get out there for the "places" call.

That night was an incredible show...I don't know if it was because I was punch-drunk and hallucinating, or if it was because it was our 2nd to last show...but we were having so much fun that night, improvising scenes, and every actor was just spot on.

Of course, after a night like this...it would be a crime to not celebrate, and so everyone went next door to the other stage and had a mini-cast party...I stayed for as long as I could, but ended up calling it a night "early".

I made one last attempt at driving, and this time...36+ hours later, with a huge smile on my face, feeling accomplished...I was headed home. I slept for a week.