Numb3rs

* The picture below is television makeup, for the TV show “Numbers”. I’ll do a writeup later, I am TIRED! Long day…



* So I got the call from my booking people, who said, “Are you available on Thursday?”

I was like, “sure, what’s it for?”

“You’ll be the victim of a serial rapist…” she kind of mumbled quickly, as if afraid I wouldn’t want to do it. Obviously she hadn’t seen my most recent bank statement.

“Sounds great! I’ll be there!”

* I show up at the studio an hour early, just because it worked out that way, and looked around for some coffee. There was construction going on everywhere in the building, and I hopped over cords and taped-down cardboard in search of my ebon nectar. There was none to be found, and noplace to get any within walking distance of the studio, so I changed tack and went to sign in with the AD.

* I there encountered one of the most actively unpleasant people working in television that I’ve met so far. I’ll call him Mister Ice, because he glared through half-lidded eyes at me and the other actors with something that could only be described as unbridled contempt. All answers to any questions we might have dared to ask were acid toned grunts of negation, and throughout what would be a long, long day of much sitting around, he never offered any information as to what was going on or what would happpen next. When we all sat down in the communal area to await our call, he physically turned his chair away from us and faced the wall in silence. This was one cold dude.

* But aside from Mister Ice, the other people were fun. There were three other girls and four guys who were there to play suspects. Since the male character was a serial rapist, the guys all kinda looked the part: rough, grizzled, and a little crazy. There would be no joy in Mudville this day for any who stepped up to the plate with flirtatious behavior, but we had lots of time-passing conversation.

* I was soon called in to wardrobe, where they looked over my tank top and denim skirt (I was told to dress down). They switched out the top and commenced to dirtying me up. A woman took a big black cylinder and drew fake oilstains all over my shirt. Then she made a little poultice of fake dirt wrapped in pourous cloth and patted it all over my shirt, skirt and socks to make it look like I had been rolling around on a floor somewhere.

* More waiting, then off to the makeup trailer. The guy doing hair was someone I had worked with on Monster In Law, and we chatted about this and that while a nice lady who looked exactly like Donatella Versace did my makeup. She applied lots of little cuts everywhere and then spent a good amount of time on the bruise on my cheek. More cuts, then on to my legs and arms. By the time I was done, it looked really brutal. (The photos here were taken about nine hours later at home. They kinda wash out the detail, plus the makeup had separated a little by then.)

* I am pretty “Method-y” as an actress, which means it helps me to really experience whatever’s going on rather than just imagine it, and also that I really get into the mindset of whatever’s happening. Now this was an incredibly minor part, a victim who would be lucky to be onscreen for an instant in a photograph, but all the same as I sat in the makeup chair and looked at my face all beaten and bloody, my eyes started to get red and rim up with a hint of tears. Not so much because I was actually sad myself, but because that’s what a girl who had just been through that experience would probably feel. It was the missing part of the costume, and my body just seemed to want to supply it subconciously. I got that under control and hopped out of the makeup chair and back into the sunlight outside the trailer.

* After this intensive makeup process, one of the other girls risked inquiring where we checked our forms to get the extra pay for prosthetic makeup. This was met with an angry, “You don’t get that, this makeup isn’t that heavy.” Ha! But it was only a few extra dollars and I didn’t feel like arguing.

* We were told that we would not be provided any kind of lunch or craft services by Mr Ice (this is very unusual), so as it was now lunch time, we went to the studio canteen to grab a bite en masse. Of course, at a movie studio they are used to seeing people in makeup, but usually working actors are fed on site by craft services or catering, so seeing a gaggle of bloody and beaten women step into the brightly-lit cafeteria caused a bit of a stir. I’m sure some appetites were affected. But I got my egg salad sandwich and coffee and we had a decent meal.

* After many, many clueless hours of uninformed waiting, we went up to be photographed and inspected by the director (who had specifically chosen me from my photo!). All went well, and at exactly eight hours past my call time (so as to avoid paying overtime) I was released.

* All in all, this was probably one of the less fun days of work I’ve had, but it’s a new show so I’m sure things will smooth out. I’d have to say the #1 bring-down was Mister Ice, but that’s a people thing vs. a production thing. I’m looking forward to seeing the show. Watch out for a pale, dark-haired victim photo, it will probably be me!