West Wing 1

August 17th, 2005
"Mr. Frost" (episode # 7.4)
Call time: 6:00 AM
El Segundo - On location
Leonard High School

I managed to get just over 3 hours sleep before getting up and getting ready for a 6:00 AM call in El Segundo (10 miles from home). After checking in with wardrobe, the background people loaded onto a bus and were taken to a local high school where we settled our belongings and marched over to props to be turned into, protesters/parents/teachers, Secret Service, state troopers, journalists, photographers, camera/boom mic operators or VIP's. Amongst the background we had a musician playing a protester, an ex air force officer/environmental engineer as a journalist and a working L.A. policeman as a state trooper. Takes all kinds.

By 7:30 we were busy shooting a scene where Senator Matt Santos (played by Jimmy Smits), along with Josh Lyman (played by Bradley Whitford) and Louise Thornton(played by Janeane Garofolo) pull up in a motorcade in front of the high school, and walk from the cars to the inside of the front doors. Josh and Louise stop to talk a moment while Santos stops to talk to the previously mentioned VIP's. Then Santos joins them and they walk into the school.

Sounds simple, I know, but the truth is that it just ain't so. First of all, all of us protesters had to be put into position. One of the PA's (production assistants) came over and proceeded to tell us protesters where to stand. We were put into "pro religion" and "anti religion" groups and told to holler and chant real loud when the director yells for background. Then she went away and we stood around waiting for all to start. How silly is that. Another PA came over and rearranged the two groups into four, mixed them beyond understanding and told us to mime the yelling and chanting, so as not to interfere with the sound.

Finally the director is ready to go and the cops halt traffic, and background is called as a 737 passes 20 feet over head as it leaves the runway of LAX. I mean the bloody landing gear is still spinning and you could see little Eddy looking out the planes window at all the funny people standing around the high school. If you ever think it must be a breeze to be an actor, or work in television, think again. We finished that one blasted scene at 12:00 Noon. That is to say FIVE HOURS LATER! We yelled, we mimed, we collapsed because if we had been real protester waving those signs (mine said "STOP Praying on America's Children") we would have dropped them and gone home hours before. By lunch time, my arms were about to fall off, the "press" background actors were scorched, having been in the sun the whole time, and the actors had gotten in and out of those SUV's enough times to qualify as door testers at the car factory.

I got to eat lunch at 1:00 PM and then sat in the shade of the Base until 6:00 PM when I was called to be background once again. This time I sat in a chair for an hour and twenty minutes while poor Jimmy Smits repeated the same scene over and over and over, until the children in the band behind him also had the words committed to memory. By 9:00 PM we were done shooting and by 9:45 I was on our way home. That's 15 hours and 45 minutes after I clocked in. Long day, huh.

Something you pick up on quickly is that everything moves around a set in a rather chaotic manner, and one of the things you here often is "Watch your Back!" You are a participant in avoiding your own injury. You are warned and then must move or be moved.

The crew was great and West Wing is a must to work for again. Which I will be doing tomorrow. Gotta love this biz. I only hope the day is a little under 15 hours this time.