Wednesday is for Wardrobin' (and other tasks)

I'm booked tomorrow on a "period piece" so I had a fitting today. I was the first fitting of the day, and the wardrobe lady was as nice as she could possibly be, and because I brought great energy to her, she thanked me for starting her day off right. We talked about doing what we love, and being smart about it, and being grateful for all of the opportunities. It was a great fitting.

The main reason I hadn't been putting myself "out there" for "period work" is my hair. I haven't been maintaining my color of late, and the last time I cut it, I just took the razor to it with the 1" guard, so it's still pretty short, although "even"... and I just wasn't sure if I could even GET rollers in it.

But yesterday there was a notification that they were looking for my "type" for a fitting today and work tomorrow. I start my new job at Warner Brothers next week, and in the meantime, I need to just keep working anywhere I can pick up a gig. So I called to submit for the period piece.

It only took thirty* phone calls to get through, and after a brief discussion regarding the length of my hair, I got booked! So this morning, I went to my fitting, and when the hair lady saw me (after the wardrobe chick was finished), she took a couple pictures of my head to shoot over to the guy on set, saying that she'd be recommending that they set a wig for me. She was unhappy with my roots, more than anything. But we also talked about the possibility of me setting it in rollers, and she gave me a few youtube links to watch, but really, my primary concern was not burning my fingers trying to wrap this short length around an iron or hot rollers, which is how I always did it back in the day on Mad Men.

So I left there and headed to Target, to see if there would be an instrument that was a small enough diameter for me to get the job done. Came home with a full set of velcro-type rollers, did what I could to set it, and then proceeded to launder our normal wardrobe while my hair set.

"Before"

I think the hair people should at least be happy that I'll arrive in rollers, and that the big hair shown below is what they'll likely have to work with (at least to start). And my call time's not until 9:00 a.m., which means I don't have to get up at Dawn's Tramp Stamp just to set my hair! Win-Win!



Once all the laundry was mostly complete, I took the rollers out. Stephen got home and gave me a funny look, because he hasn't seen big-haired me in quite some time (like, since before we got married).

Now, we've just got to figure out some dinner, and our Wardrobin' (and other) Wednesday will be complete!

"After"

*If thirty calls to book work seems excessive to you, let me make you aware of a sad truth about our industry: since having gotten our new phones and our "unlimited" plans on SATURDAY (of last week), I have made 107 phone calls to one casting director before reaching the "thanks for calling, but I'm fully booked" message, and then 221 to another before being turned down, and then got through on the first try to a third CD before being rejected. There is a lot of rejection in this industry. Most of the BG actors I meet in holding on set are spending all of their free time calling the lines and calling the CDs. It's not uncommon for an individual to call ONE casting director 500 times before finally getting through. If you want to do what I do, you gotta have a thick skin and be tenacious. Without an unlimited calling plan, it is impossible, and it's probably the main reason I wasn't booking as much as I would have hoped to, back when my minutes were limited and I was resting on my laurels, as it were, knowing that I'd book the work based on my past relationships with those casting directors. It certainly ain't all glamourous fun and games! But I do love it, and I am so grateful for the new job and all of these day-player gigs.