This will be my longest column ever. Count on it. I went back and forth about turning this into a two-parter (or even a three-parter), but finally decided I’d rather this be all in one place, for easy reference. This will be one of those columns you print out. So, here goes. Brace yourself. It all began with a wonderful Your Turn question about life on the set of a TV show. For the richest answer possible, I reached out to a few of my favorite working actors and asked for tips on writing this column. I tried to weave these fantastic responses into a traditional column, but there is something so great about reading the first-person accounts that I’ve chosen to keep ’em in this “interview” format. Hope you’ll enjoy it!
Hey Bonnie,
I just saw you speak at the SAG Foundation Orientation and found it very helpful. Awesome — thanks! Anyways I would really like it if you could please post an hour-by-hour breakdown of a (work) day in the life of a co-star or guest-star on the set of a major TV series. I feel this would benefit me and many others who really want to know the stuff that people don’t ever mention in interviews. When you arrive, how do you know who to see first? What is interaction with the cast members who already know each other like? How outgoing do you really have to be if you’re a little on the shy-but-friendly side like me? I know I’m a strong actor, but I am a little nervous about these things I have yet to experience. (I’ve worked on a film and TV set but have had tiny, tiny parts.) Thanks so much for your help!
The actors below have provided general information, but keep in mind there will be variances based on the type of show (single-camera, multi-camera, recorded before a live studio audience, soap opera) and conditions (on location, soundstage, studio lot). Just remember that EVERY set is unique in style, tone, rhythm, personalities, and expectations. In asking for advice from working TV actors, I sought out experiences from a cross-section of actors, all of whom have been co-stars, guest-stars, recurring characters, or series regulars on all sorts of shows shot in Los Angeles and New York.
Deborah Cresswell has performed recurring roles and guest-star roles on soap operas, sitcoms, and episodic dramas in both New York and Los Angeles. Mitchell Fink went from his first-ever co-star role to regular guest-star appearances on ten TV shows in just three years in LA. Keith Johnson, who had his first co-star experience just three months ago, shared his fresh-from-the-set memories. Emmy Award-winning actor Kathryn Joosten is probably best known for her Mrs. Landingham years on The West Wing, but that represents a fraction of the 75 shows on which she has appeared as a guest-star or recurring character. Shon Little, a recurring guest-star on Everybody Hates Chris and That’s So Raven shared a few gems as well. Blake Robbins, who became a steadily-working actor on the critically-acclaimed series Oz, has worked as a recurring character or guest-star on ten series since relocating from New York to LA. Faith Salie has twice been a series regular and has recurred or guest-starred on another dozen series. Finally, Rachel Scheer shared her moment-by-moment account of her first soap opera principal role.
A Few Basics
“Your first day on a set, huh? A pretty fun, exciting, nerve-wracking, and memorable experience. First things first: Congratulate yourself. One of the hardest steps to take in this industry is that first job!” — Mitchell
“It’s not so different whether you are a one-day co-star or a guest-star. What is different is half-hour four-camera as opposed to half-hour single-camera and one-hour drama.” — Kathryn
“The newer the show, the less smoothly it’ll go. If a show has been around for ten years, they’ve got it down. Also the first episodes of a season are bumpier than later-in-the-year episodes (bad teammates have been fired by then).” — Blake
Before the Big Day
“When you get the job, you will get a call from someone in the production office. They will just introduce themselves and most likely confirm your address so they can send a script. These people are swamped, so make sure you get their NAME and phone number so you can call them, should anything pop up before shooting. After that, usually wardrobe will call to check your sizes. Sometimes a fitting is needed, but sometimes not. Give them your exact sizes. It’s okay if that waist has grown a bit — they don’t care — but they do care if you are trying to hide your real size and then get to set and nothing they got fits right.” — Mitchell
“Your call time is given to you the day before — possibly very late the night before, because they can’t call you with call times until they wrap the day before (that’s part of how call times are determined). Make sure you have a phone number of someone you can reach on set — for that once-in-a-lifetime emergency… or even to let them know you’ll be five minutes late if it happens (and it should never happen).” — Blake
The Arrival
“There are three things you’ll need to know: where your trailer is, where the set is, and who’s responsible for wrangling you. Once you check in with the person who’s wrangling you, make sure that guy knows where you are so that you’re not causing anyone any stress.” — Keith
“Show up and say, ‘I’m so-and-so.’ They’re expecting you. They’ll guide you. Once you’ve done it once, it’s no big deal. It’s just that first time you’re sure they’re all staring at you, thinking, ‘What’s HE doing here?'” — Shon
“There’s never a problem knowing whom to see. If you’re not asked by three 22 year-olds in jeans and headsets what your name is, then find someone with a headset, tell him or her your name, and ask where you should go.” — Faith
“Arrive early. If you have a 6am call for a drama or a 10am call for a half-hour it will still take you time to get through the gate and find the place you are supposed to park. It can take up to 20 minutes to get in and walk to your stage. If you have trouble getting on the lot — this happens more than you’d care to know — it’s usually that the computers don’t have your name, or they have it spelled incorrectly, or the gate man can’t read. Some lots (Universal, Warner Bros.) have phones near the gates where you can call the production office of the show. When you got your call time from the AD the night before, he left a phone number with you. It’s his cell. Keep that number with you. If it’s not 6am, you can call your agent and they can call the production office. If any problem arises — poor behavior by someone, a shoot situation you don’t feel comfortable with regarding safety or dress — call your agent first.” — Kathryn
“At 12:40pm, I drove onto the lot. The security guards both recognized me — I had been on the lot four times in the past two weeks (one was very kind when I returned for my callback: ‘Hey, you made it back!’). They got my name, gave me my pass, waved me on. At 12:45pm, I went through a metal detector, then signed in at another security desk, and got buzzed through a set of doors.” — Rachel
“If you’re going to a location shoot, the first issue is parking and getting to the location. You’ll park away from the location with everyone else (cast, crew, and background), and you’ll ride some sort of shuttle, van, or bus. When you get off the shuttle, you’ll need to check in.” — Keith
“When you arrive at the stage, location, or set, the first thing you do is ask anyone where the 2nd AD is, or the 2nd 2nd. On a really big show, the 2nd 2nd usually runs base camp and is outside somewhere near the trailers. On a half-hour, you are looking for the 1st AD who is somewhere on the set. The 1st is usually standing at his roll-around desk. (There are usually two or three of them — the 1st AD and script supervisor each have one.) Find one of the ADs and report in. He will show you to your dressing room or trailer.” — Kathryn
“Honeywagon is the name for the trailer or dressing room you have been assigned to — a trailer that is comprised of several small rooms — depending on the budget, the provider, the size of your role, etc. There can be anywhere from two to eight rooms on the trailer. I’ve usually seen about five or six. Generally, they are about 6 x 8 feet or thereabouts, and have a bench/bed, a small bathroom with toilet and sink (or sometimes the toilet is the only thing in the bathroom and the sink is in the main room), a TV and stereo, a mirror with a counter, a small space to hang costumes and clothing (roughly like a motel room would have), sometimes some cabinets or shelves. There is a metal staircase leading up to the door, which usually has a window with blinds or shades you can open or not, and there is USUALLY one small window on the opposite side of the trailer (but not always) also with blinds or shades. However you look at it, the basic comforts are there. The honeywagons are powered by generators, so you always have A/C or heat (which you can control separately in your own room). On SOME occasions, a co-star honeywagon may have four or five rooms, and one or two additional bathrooms that crew can use. (The original term honeywagon stems from the wagon that EMPTIES portable bathrooms — and somehow came to mean the dressing room/changing room trailer.)” — Deborah
“From 12:47pm to 1pm, I wandered up and down looking for the studio number on my call sheet… huh… I gave up and asked a bunch of sweet production guys from The Price Is Right — who were moving huge scenic backdrops of exotic locales — where I should be. I stopped outside the door pondering if I should just walk in. I walked in. Turns out they were taping but the light wasn’t on outside the door. I asked someone to point out the Stage Manager. I waited until they finished taping the scene, checked in with him, and got my dressing room assignment. He called wardrobe to let them know I had arrived. (I had a brief meeting with them and a follow-up call the prior week.) He also told me to go to hair and makeup after I met with wardrobe.” — Rachel
“Someone will bring you sides (the script pieces that are being shot that day. With a cover sheet with everyone on the set’s name and job description — valuable and worth saving for so many reasons) and the order in which stuff is intended to be shot (THIS CHANGES for too many reasons to go into — hungover series regular could be one — but it’s good for you too know the original plan). Behind that cover sheet are the sides — your lines!” — Blake
“Your contract may be on the table in your trailer along with the sides, which are miniature pages of the script that will be shot that day. The first page is a mini call sheet. Save it for your files. It has the company info on it. You should have brought either a duplicate of your passport or a copy of your driver’s license and Social Security card for the paperwork.” — Kathryn
“Your deal memo and pay sheet should be in your trailer. If the paperwork isn’t there, it’s in the administration trailer (which is somewhere… a PA will know where).” — Keith
“About this time you’ll get your contract. Make sure it’s what you thought. If not, ask. Call your agent or manager. The contract on TV is almost always a SAG boilerplate contract that tells you how much money you’ll get, where they’ll send your pay (c/o your agent, perhaps), how you be billed on the episode.” — Blake
“Be ready to fill out your paperwork (contracts, tax forms, etc.). Then just chill. You will do more sitting around and waiting than for any other job in the world, so bring a book, magazine, cell phone… something to keep you busy and active.” — Mitchell
The Prep
“If you did not have a pre-scheduled wardrobe fitting, your call time was inclusive of your wardrobe fitting, and the PA will tell you to report to wardrobe as soon as you are settled in. She will also tell you that they will pick up the contract later, so please sign it (all copies) and leave it on the counter. So you trot over to the Wardrobe Trailer, get the fitting, and they tell you to go have a cup of coffee and they’ll put everything in your room. If you had a wardrobe fitting prior to your shoot date (some shows have wardrobe fittings ahead of time, some don’t), then your wardrobe will already be hanging on the little closet rod, accessories pinned or tied to the hanger in a plastic bag (earrings, cufflinks, tie tacks). Ladies’ stockings (brand new) will be provided, and are usually on a visible area of one of the counters or shelves.” — Deborah
“From 1pm to 1:30pm, wardrobe came to my dressing room. He had some choices, but decided he liked what I was wearing. DANGIT. I wanted something supercute. Can’t the babysitter wear supercute? Oh, well. He had a huge bag for me to carry and gave it to Props so it would be on set when I got there.” — Rachel
“They will give you a quick idea of how soon they’ll need you in hair and makeup, or if you’ve got a little time. There’s almost always a meal going on in TV land — if not there’s always craft services — my advice is pace yourself on the food… most likely it’s going to be a long day.” — Blake
“By 1:30pm, lunch was over for makeup, so I went to see them and stopped by the dressing room of the boy I’d be doing a scene with and introduced myself. We chatted. He was adorable and professional. I got made up. Makeup decided the babysitter should look natural and young. DANGIT. I wanted airbrushed and glam. Can’t the babysitter be glam? Sigh. We chatted about his background. He’s been in the biz FOREVER! I skooched down the room to have my hair done by someone else. He asked me if I wanted my hair up or down. I said I don’t care. (Just make me look gorgeous!) He went over who was in my scenes. Since one girl in my second scene had her hair up, he decided I couldn’t, so we did a half-down ponytail type thing and he whipped out a curling iron to make my curls look prettier. I was SO FREAKIN’ lucky because hair knows how to deal with curly hair. He said one of the series regulars has hair like mine and she’s taught him shortcuts. I went back to my dressing room and waited.” — Rachel
“So you’ve waited and waited and you’ve gone through the works (hair and makeup). Sometimes they want you in wardrobe before you go through hair and makeup (it affects how they’ll do your hair and makeup). Also it’s less likely you’ll stain your wardrobe putting it on after hair and makeup. Usually wardrobe will help themselves to your room and hang your clothes. Once you put these clothes on you are responsible that they look they way they did when you put them on. Don’t spill your lunch on them! If those clothes don’t magically appear in your room in what feels like a reasonable amount of time, gently mention to your PA/second AD friend (after all, you memorized his name) that you don’t see your wardrobe. Don’t go ask for it yourself. Film sets have protocols and chains of communication.” — Blake
“The PA will come tap on your door if a shuttle or van needs to take you from the honeywagon to set. Sometimes, you are simply within walking distance — but they may still give you a five-minute tap when they’re ready for you.” — Deborah
The Work
“On a half-hour, if this is the first day of the shoot there will probably be a table read. Dress somewhat in character. By that I mean don’t wear shorts and a halter-top if you are playing a nun or a suit and tie if you’re playing a homeless bum. Keep in mind that the table read is your last audition. It will be the first time the writers get to hear you say their words. The regular cast may not give the reading their all, and may just be reading… but don’t you just read! Give it the same as you did in the audition. After the table read, you may be told when your scene will be rehearsed — maybe not. You may remain in the studio watching or go back to your dressing room. No points either way. You can visit with other actors who stay in the studio. There will be no crew or extras until the day before you shoot. There may be stand-ins. The director will rehearse the show, working out blocking, etc. After lunch, around 3pm, the writers will come back and watch a run-through. Two days from actual shooting, the suits show up for the afternoon run-through. These are producers, studio execs, etc. Don’t try to mingle with them. Just stay out of the way. Camera day is the day before shoot and involves nothing but working with the crew and camera placements. It is boring and long. Stay nice and do what you are told. Shoot day starts late and usually involves either doing each scene twice or doing the whole show twice. There is an audience present. The studio floor will be very crowded with camera, crew, and suits.” — Kathryn
“Know where to sit on set. The PA or 2nd should show you where guest cast sits. (Don’t move your chair. They picked that spot specifically. The other chairs are for people that can fire you!) Very discreetly (unless invited), try to spend some time watching the monitors and sort of always give yourself an apprenticeship in TV directing and writing and acting.” — Blake
“Between quick takes, unless you are dismissed for some reason, you will have an area to wait — and everyone from stars to gaffers will be drinking coffee, working crossword puzzles, playing cards, any number of things. For breaks between scenes, you are usually sent back to the honeywagon, as major setups have to be done, and there is no need to sit around the set — in fact, you will probably be underfoot if you stick around.” — Deborah
“Whether it’s one-hour or single-camera comedy, most importantly: Never disappear. Always let the AD know where you are. Make your phone calls on your time, when your rehearsal of your scene is over. Bring books, crossword puzzles, knitting, etc., because you may have long waits. I have a shoot bag, which has all my stuff in it. It’s a little airport bag on wheels that I keep in my trailer to take to the location with me. It also has duplicate passport and Social Security card copies.” — Kathryn
“Around 2pm-ish, I got paged back to the soundstage. My dressing room was far away! The Price Is Right guys were moving small cars onto their soundstage and I heard lots of clapping and shouting coming from there. They paged me a second time as I was walking in the door… oops… walk faster. The director of my episode introduced me to the three other actors in my first scene, ran through some line changes (I had one), gave us our blocking, and released us. Seriously, it was that fast. I went back to my dressing room and waited. They were taping the scenes in script order, so I monitored the action on the set via a closed-circuit television in my room and worked on a scene for class, attempted to read a script. They announced the scenes taping and what was on deck and who would be needed, so at least I would have more warning time to get to the stage. Somewhere between 2:30pm and 3pm-ish (I had totally lost track of time) came an announcement over the loudspeaker that my first scene was on deck. I waited until close to the end of the scene taping, walked over, and waited behind the cameras. Props gave me the bag. We walked through it once. The boy and I stood outside the door waiting and chatting. A long-time star of the show came over to ask if I was the babysitter. She was sweet and very welcoming. They must be used to tons of these people for small roles, every day in and out, never to be seen again. We taped it once; I got a redirection from a disembodied female voice coming from a mic somewhere in the dark… not the director… AD? Producer? We taped it again. That was it! I managed to not screw up two lines, knock anything over, or trip on anything. That’s pretty much all you can ask for with these kinds of roles. Back to my dressing room until my next scene.” — Rachel
“Know your lines COLD! Inside and out, backward and forward. There will be so many things to distract, confuse, baffle you. Don’t let that screw with your ability to remember your lines. It will help you give a much better performance and get rehired. Know your lines! Can I say it any clearer? People get on set and can’t remember their freakin’ lines all the time. Leave that to the series regulars! They’ve got many more lines to remember and many more obligations to the show that would cause them to not know their lines (also possibly a drug habit or something). You don’t! So, know your lines!” — Blake.
“Know your lines and give it your best shot every take. You don’t get to ask to do it again. If you hear no feedback, then you’re fine. Don’t ask: ‘Was that okay?'” — Faith
“They hired you based on your audition! That’s what they paid for. So let that inform what you do on set. (I’ve seen many actors just throw out what they did in the audition for some brilliance they’ve since discovered. Well, that wasn’t the audition that was hired!) Directors on these shows have been hired too. They tend to direct co-stars and guest-stars very differently than they do the series regulars. Series regulars can make sure they never work on that show again. Also if you work well with a TV director, it can lead to many more jobs over the course of a lifetime.” — Blake
“Watch recurring cast or series regulars. Are they keeping up with their continuity with props or is someone coming over between takes and resetting things? Follow their lead.” — Shon
“Coverage is all the footage the director thinks he needs to assemble that scene in the editing room. It consists of wide shots (sometimes the master shot), close-ups, push-ins, tight shots, inserts (shots of the actor picking up the gun). Every show has its own look and feel — handheld look, lots of cuts, very few cuts — that will give you an idea of the coverage you can expect. I have had diva actors not act with me when the camera isn’t on them (the best actors tend to be there for everything). Usually the director works wide to tight and the closer we get to the performer’s face, the less forgiving it is if you’re not giving the best performance. Working wide to tight helps warm the actor up… but always be ready for the curveball on a set because decisions usually have to be made according to what they think will cost the least amount of money to get the show in the can.” — Blake
It’s a Wrap!
“So that’s it. I gathered my stuff from my dressing room, said goodbye to the boy I did my scenes with and went upstairs to the CD’s office to sign my paperwork.” — Rachel
“Whether it’s one-hour or single-camera comedy, at the end of the shoot, the director usually announces this is your last day, something like, ‘Let’s say goodbye to so-and-so, who is leaving us today,’ and the crew applauds. You may feel free to thank the director on either a single-camera or a half-hour.” — Kathryn
“When you are done, say goodbye, thank everyone, and move on.” — Mitchell
“Don’t return wardrobe to anyone. Just leave it in your trailer. I thought I was helping them out by taking my cop uniform on Everybody Hates Chris back to wardrobe and they started asking me for my voucher. They expect extras to bring back their costumes. You leave yours in your trailer where they expect to find it.” — Shon
“When you’re done with your work, you will sign out with production. Don’t leave set without signing out! Big mistake. If you’ve signed out and then it turns out that they still needed you, it will fall on the person who signed you out. Otherwise, your head will roll.” — Blake
“Oh, and hang up your wardrobe at the end of the day. It’s good karma.” — Faith
“It was 5pm-ish when I waved goodbye to security and drove off the lot. First day on a soap, over and out!” — Rachel
About Professionalism and Personalities
“This is a relational business, but it is a business. Don’t get too chatty or presumptuous. Let your work be the first thing people think of when they think of you as an actor, not some derivative thing that you did on set.” — Blake
“Be pleasant to EVERYONE — from craft service to stand-ins to gaffers. They are a family and word gets around quickly if someone acts like an a-hole. Be very nice to hair and makeup (especially if you’re vain, like most actors congenitally are). Be prepared that you are a cog in the wheel. Don’t expect series regulars to give you the time of day — even though they should because you are a human being, you are a fellow artist, and it is only by the grace of god (or good representation or a good hair day or their step-uncle is Spielberg) that they are not in your shoes — because most won’t.” — Faith
“Be nice to EVERYONE! From the PAs to the makeup, from the caterer to the transportation person. EVERYONE! This is you on your best day and believe me if you think that being shitty to a PA or the wardrobe person won’t get back to someone and prevent you from working on the show again, you are wrong. These people are family. They respect each other. Not to mention, being nice to people might cause the makeup person to take a little extra time with you in the morning or in between takes to remove some shine before the next shot. IF you are not so nice, then they might just let that go.” — Mitchell
“There is a natural camaraderie amongst people who work together constantly, of course, but you will USUALLY find that everyone is very friendly and welcoming from the PA to the wardrobe folks to the makeup and hair teams. They immediately try to make you feel at home. But of course, people are people. People have bad days; a set shooting can be running behind schedule — anything. So, in that regard — people being people — there may be OTHERS who are shy. The STAR could be shy. Everyone is an individual. When I was on Gilmore Girls, Alexis Bleidel (Rory) rode to set on the same van with me, as my scenes were with her. Others were in the van as well. She is mildly shy (read her bio on IMDb for some background regarding that), but she warms up.” — Deborah
“Feel the energy. Is everyone uptight? Are they running late? Is it loose and fun? Don’t have the wrong energy for the set. Be a pro, walk around like you belong there, and deliver a great performance based on what you did in the audition but now dealing with the other actors and some great direction, and the energy of now doing it for real — you know, that performance energy that kicks in.” — Blake
“Don’t expect anyone to introduce themselves. They have too much to do most of the time. So when you see the director, you take the imitative to say hello to the director and then just chill and do what you are told to do. When your other actors arrive, some are nice and some are not. Be prepared either way. I usually opt for saying hello and introducing myself. Do not be a fan! You are a pro. You belong here, so don’t be a fan. Act as if you do this all the time. Relax and just treat this like a pro.” — Mitchell
“You have to remember that they cast you and that means they want you there. The hard part is over!” — Shon
“There’s no need to be intimidated by experience on a set. It’s okay to be humbled by it, but not intimidated. As with anything else, there’s a first time for everyone, and the regulars (especially in the crew) will understand your feelings of trepidation. You should approach the situation with a sense of fun. And you should also remember that you belong there — you’re not an outsider. You’re a professional, and you’ve been invited to be a part of the production. Remember that. Act like you belong.” — Keith
“Treat it like you have been invited into a large family’s home for the day (or week) and this family is really close. So be polite and respect that this is their home and they live here and you are just a visitor. Respect their rules and their processes, as it is their home.” — Mitchell
“Just chill out. It’s really no big deal. The hard part was getting cast. Show up, be nice, reciprocate behavior (if someone is chatty with you, then chat back; if people keep to themselves, then do the same). And don’t be nice to everyone because you think that down the line, the PA will be showrunning CSI: Des Moines in 2010. Do it because it’s the thing to do.” — Faith
“We don’t get paid to act, we get paid to wait (get used to it). Be ready to act and be brilliant when they are ready for you. This is the difference between a professional and someone who is not: Almost anyone can act well, given a perfect set of circumstances. A pro can act well regardless of the circumstances.” — Blake
“Bottom line: Have fun, be professional, listen, and just be prepared for anything! And, if it’s your first job, bring a camera. When no one is looking, take a picture of your name on the trailer door. It only happens once!” — Mitchell
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000434.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.