Extra! Extra!

The Fox Theater holds a special place in my heart, as well as the hearts of all Bakersfield locals. My favorite memories of the theater include my dad taking me and my sister to see "Horton Hears a Who" for Dr.Seuss Day, going to see my rock legend Pat Benatar perform, dressing up like a flapper to go see the season 5 premiere of Downton Abbey, and catching cult classics for a dollar during the summer.

This week, while I was taking notes in history, my mom sent me a link from our local news saying the Fox Theater would be turned into a set for an unnamed Hollywood movie and they needed extras to come and sit in the audience for a couple of hours. Naturally I thought it would be something fun to do, but the more I thought about using my day off to sit in a theater for four hours, the better binge-watching Twin Peaks sounded. Then my friend Taylor called asking if I was free that Monday, and I already knew why.

Taylor and I met when we were Silly Girls in Beauty and the Beast together, and have been friends ever since. We go to different schools so we don't get to hang out a lot, but whenever we do we always pick right back up where we left off. Since we're both theatre kids, we always support each other at our shows and watch musicals together. We take pictures, sing songs, tell inside jokes and just generally have a good time. So really there's no one I'd rather be an extra with then her.

So Taylor picked me up about 30 minutes before and soon we were waiting in the line that was already wrapping around the side of the theater. I guess they were running behind schedule, so we were stuck in line for way longer than expected, but Taylor and I kept ourselves busy by catching up on each others lives. We talked about formal and the dresses we were going to wear, the shows she was doing that I "had to come see!", Christmas presents we got, and how we survived finals. Before we knew it we had moved into the art-deco interior of the lobby.

After stocking up on some Red Vines and Twix bars, we went into the theater and an sunk into some seats in the back. We sat for a minute until a man with an official looking clipboard asked us to come sit in the front row. Once we had moved and everyone was seated the man who had moved us up front climbed up onstage and introduced himself as an assistant director, and handed the microphone to the director. This guy was exactly how you would imagine a director, wire-rimmed glasses and scarf and all. He told us that we should get comfortable as we would be there for a couple hours shooting a concert scene.

Oildale: The Movie was about a girl from Oildale who competes in a singing competition so that she can win money and bring her grandfather, a retired veteran, back home from an assisted living facility. The director explained that we were shooting the the big concert scene where all the contestants would perform one last time and we were there to watch and go crazy after each song. Since we were sitting right up front, we not only got to see the performances, but the all of the planning and teamwork that goes into shooting each scene. After the first hour ,waiting to cheer got mind-numbingly boring but watching the production team work, planning out shots in their heads, collaborating and then moving people and cameras around to make it happen just made me realize how much I want to be in movies, and that maybe being behind the camera is more for me.

Two hours in, they let us take a bathroom break, and Taylor and I saw tons of people from school and theater, all hoping to get their face in a camera shot. Bakersfield's a fairly small town, so it wasn't really surprising to see reporters from The Bakersfield Californian sitting on the staircase in the lobby taking notes, or the cameras across the street from 17 KGET. After our ten minute breather, the assistant director ushered everyone back into their seats and we finally got to see the actors actually come out and perform their songs. The songs were catchy, though not my personal preference. Since it is based in Oildale, it makes since that the music would have a much stronger country influence. Taylor and I jammed as much as we could without distracting the camera man in front of us. The crew was constantly running back and forth down the aisle, up to the stage. While the people next to us found it annoying, an aspiring actress and filmmaker like Taylor and myself chose to see it as all just part of the experience. However, it was a school night, and though we were entranced in the world of movie magic, the clock started approaching nine o'clock, and we started to get a little anxious. Taylor and I were no quitters, and stayed later to shoot some of the earlier singing competition scenes. After what seemed like an eternity, the director yelled "That's a wrap!" and everyone tried to get out as quickly as they could with their legs half asleep.

All in all, it was a really interesting experience and I'm glad I spent time with a good friend. My favorite things about Taylor are that she's always ready for anything and her lighthearted bubbly nature. Even sitting quietly next to her for a few hours is an adventure. The movie wasn't the Hollywood blockbuster that The Bakersfield Californian hyped it up to be, but I preferred it that way. We got to witness a real collaboration between artists that you probably wouldn't get to see on a bigger set. The screenwriter was backstage in the wings the whole time giving notes to the director, who would tell his assistants, who would make it all happen by talking with the camera and lighting crews. The crew would then move to where they had to, or adjust something and then the actors came in giving their 100% effort every time. Everybody knew everyone else's names and they worked together like a well oiled machine. I was personally inspired and I can't wait to see the outcome.