Extra, Extra!

I used to be an actress. I went to drama school in Manhattan for a year. It was TOUGH. I thought I’d like it (I always liked playing make-believe as a kid), but there’s a lot more to standing on stage in front of an audience. You really have to market yourself. About the time I realized this, I decided I didn’t want to continue this kind of career, anyway.

I did have a few exciting parts in some smaller plays, and I was cast as an extra in a feature film. Ever hear of “A Christmas Rose”? From what I remember being told of the story, it was about a dysfunctional community brought together by a little girl (kind of like Pollyanna), but the little girl is hit by a car and near death. If I remember correctly, an angel (played by Della Reese) comes to help the little girl and tries to help the community’s problems. It starred Randy Travis, too. This was way back in the late 1980s that it was filmed. The movie never got to the box office, though. It was shelved for a long time, until the producer sold it as a TV series, “Touched By an Angel.” Funny, huh? I didn’t earn anything from the stint. It was just a day’s work and it was exciting to be exposed to the movie-making experience, to a 17-year old girl.

Movie makers are always looking for extras. Sometimes they pay, sometimes they don’t. If you have good connections (a friend of a friend of a friend) who hear of someone looking for casting extras, you’ve got your chance. But sometimes, if you are serious about starting a career, you need to link up with a group or an agent. Agents are very expensive, so most people join casting groups, like drama, theatre