Getting Sick Sucks

I'm not a fan of being sick. Usually I get sick once a semester, but only a cold. A cough that lingers for a week or two and then it's gone. Last semester, I got sick over the course of three weeks. Thick coughs and sore throats. Frustrating, considering that it was right in the middle of the eight-week Spider Baby run.

Well, this time I got sick, but it was in the middle of nothing. No shows, no concerts, just normal life. But instead of being a cough (frustrating, but something I deal with as I go throughout my day), it was much, MUCH worse. Extreme exhaustion. Congestion. Sneezing. And yes, a cough. Not a thick one, but still a pain. And then a bit more exhaustion! Seriously, I've never been so bed-ridden in my entire life. I managed to make it to about half of my classes and other plans, but I spent a lot of time napping and watching TV in bed.

But I'm definitely getting better. I made it through this weekend, at least, without wearing myself out. Didn't do everything I wanted to, but I was there for my commitments. And this morning I shot a scene for my first "talkie!"

Going to USC, which has a huge film program, I've done a bunch of student films. But for some strange reason, they've all been silent films! Even the films that weren't required to be silent (for film festivals or grad programs) just happened to not have any dialogue. But this time I was talking. Which meant I had lines to memorize.

I'm not intimidated by memorizing lines, and this scene wasn't even terribly long. But my favorite way to memorize is through rehearsal, and obviously that wasn't going to happen--we rehearsed for 10 minutes, then began shooting the scene. I knew that going in, so I had to memorize on my own. I made an audio file of me reading all the lines in the scene (both mine and the other actor's), and listened to it on repeat all of yesterday. So I was pretty good, though I messed up here and there. But that's OK, because that's why we take so many takes! Right? Right?

I've been in a lot of rehearsal halls, but not on a whole lot of film sets, especially not working with other more seasoned actors, so I had a lot of fun observing how the other actress interacted with our director and crew. It was a lot of fun period--everyone was friendly and I'm already good friends with the director. The other actress was hilarious and we got to spend some time playing around and trying new things out.

And did I mention that I'm playing a high school student from a Catholic college prep school? I was all decked out in the classic high school uniform, complete with blue tights (which I got ages ago from Macy's on sale--$2 tights for the win!) and a plaid skort! It was fun to be in a legit costume. Definitely more uniform-y than my blue polo and random gray skirt that I'd worn in rehearsal.

Next we film another scene with an especially awesome group of girls (I love the other actresses, they're so fun and hilarious!), then we shoot the musical number! I'm so excited and having lots of fun. Can't wait to see how it all turns out!