Wife, Mom, ACTRESS?

There are some interesting things on my resume, but actress is one I never anticipated making the list...Until NOW!

Yes, I am now a bona fide {sort-of} actress....HAHAHAHA!!!

I know what you are thinking, "what is she talking about", but for the last two days I have been filming a commercial in Evansville, Indiana for Deaconess Woman's Hospital.

How did this come about you ask?  Well, about a month ago, my friend, Shelby, texted me and asked if I would be interested in being a pregnant model.  A sister company of hers is a talent agency and was looking for a pregnant model.  I laughed but thought, "hey, maybe I can at least get some maternity pictures out of it." 

After sending a few pictures of my pregnant belly to the talent agent, I didn't hear anything for a few weeks. 

Last week I got a phone call from Helen Wells {the talent agency} asking if I was still interested and if I could send an updated belly picture.  The next day she called me back and said, "by the way, what kind of acting experience do you have?"  NONE...that is how much...NONE!!!

Naturally, I said, "why do I need acting experience, I thought this was a photo shoot?"

Her response was, "oh...no, it's a commercial.  I am sending over the script, can you read it and come in tomorrow to do a quick shoot so I can send it to the client?"

Now here is my acting experience....I was in a commercial for Imagine Schools, but that was just me in my classroom and an interview responding to pointed questions.  I told her I used to sing the National Anthem at sporting events {just my field hockey games} in college.  She said that was good enough, that she could work with that....WHAT!!!

Well, I must have faked it well enough on the 3 minutes of tape she sent to the client, because they still decided to use me...

And that is how it came to be that for the past two days I have been the "talent" {or so they keep calling me, none of them know I have never acted before, so we will just keep that our little secret} on this commercial.

Day 1:

-Show up for hair and make-up {fun, Lori the make-up artist was a blast}
-They go through all the clothes I brought and decided to use what they had anyway.
-Get into wardrobe

{I thought I would be SO nervous, but everyone there was SO nice and normal that we moved into filming without so much as a deep breath and I was having fun and in character before I even knew what was happening}

Scene 1~ I am at a board meeting with three other professionals {all of whom are real actors} and as we are looking over business numbers, I begin to feel slight pain in my stomach.

CUT- 15 takes from 2 different angles later we were done...WOW, that was fast and painless...and I don't think they even noticed that I had never done this before.

-Go back to hair and make-up
-Debate over the next wardrobe change
-Decide on a blue nightgown {yes ladies, a BLUE GRANNY NIGHTGOWN}

Scene 2~ I walk into the bathroom in the middle of the night with pains in my stomach still.  I lean over the sink and look in the mirror in pain.

CUT- 15 takes from 4 different angles and we are done...WOW {the director said my discomfort was VERY convincing...he has obviously never been pregnant before, it is never too much of a stretch to fake it}

-Back to hair and make-up
-Hang out for a while and wait for my t.v. husband to show up
-Hang out with him and Lori for a while and wait until the camera crew is ready for us in the next scene

Scene 3~ I sit on the edge of our bed and turn the light on.  Still in pain. Shake the husband awake and tell him I still don't feel well.  We discuss where we can go in the middle of the night and agree to go to the new hospital.

CUT-15 takes from 3 different angles and it's over...WOW...It wasn't even awkward being in bed and waking up my t.v. husband!

Here I am getting my ring touched up during the "bedroom" scene...Nice nightgown huh!

-Back to hair and make-up

-Wardrobe change {well they just put a robe on me and made me look FRESH}

Scene 4~ Breakfast scene for the day after we come back from the middle-of-the-night hospital trip.  I get to sit at the breakfast bar while my "husband" brings me a muffin and fruit and we are so relieved and happy that the hospital made us feel better. 

CUT- About 20 takes later {we either laughed too much or I kept saying, "that was really great" which it wasn't and I was supposed to be saying how great the nurses were....it was the end of the day, and I'm not an actress, give me a break...and he was worse than me, laughing and what-not} it's a WRAP FOR THE DAY...WOW...That was fast and easy and unexpectedly FUN!!!

Day 2:

-Show up at the hospital

-Get hair and make-up done

-Get into my hospital gown and hop on the ultrasound bed

BEST PART OF THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE!!! I got an ultrasound for 45 minutes!!!!  We could see our baby girl in 3D and 4D and got a whole bunch of awesome pictures for free!!!!

Scene 5~ Still a little distressed {which was hard because the ultrasound tech was so nice and so excited that the baby was looking so cute, so it was hard for all of us to act concerned} and getting an ultrasound to check on the baby.

CUT- 30 takes 6 angles and a whole lot of ultrasound pictures later we are done....WOW...THAT WAS AWESOME!!!

Here I am getting the ultrasound

Actually having a lot of fun on Day 2 at the hospital!

Scene 6~ Stay in the bed, but now I am hooked up to a fetal monitor.  This nurse was really convincing.  We had a very serious conversation about heart rates way longer than either of us cared to, but we got done in about 10 takes!

CUT-10 takes later, done...WOW...so fast!

Here I am hooked up to the fetal heart rate monitor.

Scene 7~ Now a doctor is looking over the heart rate with me {she kept laughing and asking me how I could be so serious and that being an actress must be so hard she didn't know how I did it...HAHAHA}

CUT-20 takes {she was laughing a lot} we're done...WOW...so easy

-Eat lunch

-Hang out at Starbucks for 2 hours while I wait for my last two scenes

-Back in for hair and make-up

-Get my hospital gown back on

Scene 8~ I have just checked in to triage and the nurse is taking my blood pressure.  I am nervous since I have just arrived in the middle of the night and am having pain. 

CUT-20 takes {she was WAY too happy at first so they had to coach her into character}. 

All of the nurses were so super sweet and bubbly at this hospital that I would totally go there if I lived in Evansville, but for the sake of shooting the commercial it was a little hard because they were all too happy for the script haha. 

Blood pressure nurse, Debbie, takes the cake though.  She was so sweet.  When I was trying to describe to her why I came in {for the commercial} I said I was experiencing pain in my side and I was under duress.  She asked me how long I had been feeling the pain so I said that morning {in the script} and she thought I was being serious so she got concerned and said, "oh my gosh, do we need to take you to triage right now!"  She takes her job very seriously and I felt I was in good hands!

-Back to hair and make-up

-Wardrobe change into yoga pants and zip-hoodie to 'arrive' at the hospital in the middle of the night.

LAST SCENE FOR THE DAY!!!!

Scene 9~ 'Husband' walks me into the hospital, nurse greets us and puts me in a wheelchair and off they wheel me down the hall.

CUT-20 takes {the background nurse was struggling a little bit...she kept looking at the camera and smiling} and...

THAT'S A WRAP!!!!!

It was a great experience, something to check off my bucket list {even though it was never on it} and a fun little memory.  The people I worked with were so kind and friendly and now I can't wait to see how convincing the commercial turns out!  Good luck to the editors:)