This job was for an episode of “Suddenly Susan” starring
Brooke Shields. I got to the audition about 20 minutes early and was shocked
to see the amount of people there at the dance studio to audition. I signed
in and was given a number close to 300.
They brought us in 50 at a time to teach us the dance routine.
The choreographer was Otis Sallid, a wonderful person and choreographer.
The routine they taught us was great. After we had all learned it, they
had us audition 8 at a time, 4 in front and 4 in back. Then we’d reverse
lines and would do it a second time. Once we were done, they named the
people they wanted to stay and thanked the rest for coming. That was the
first cut.
After getting through everyone, they brought all of us they
had kept back in and had us dance again and then they made more cuts. They
kept doing this until they got down to about 35 of us. Then they had us
all line up and just stand there while they made more cuts based on our
look. Finally they made their decision and I was lucky enough to be one
of them.
I showed up for rehearsal at Warner Brothers Studio’s where
they tape the show. Our portion of the episode went back in time to a 1906
San Francisco Saloon so we rehearsed and filmed it in an old western town
on the Warner lot. The whole idea was that once Brooke started singing,
the entire saloon would go crazy and eventually break into this wonderful
dance routine with Brooke.
We were driven to the set and when I walked into the saloon,
there was Brooke rehearsing with the choreographer. I love my business
and the people I get to meet and work with so much, I’m like a kid in a
candy store. I’ve always liked Brooke and was thrilled to get the chance
to meet her. Over the next week I had the chance to talk to her many times.
She is such a sweetheart and very down to earth. It was a real pleasure
working with her. Her husband, Andre Aggassi the tennis star, was also
on the set a few times and so I got to meet him as well and he was also
very nice. The two of them seemed so much in love, it was very sad to hear
about their divorce.
We rehearsed for three days, Monday through Wednesday and
filmed all night Thursday and Friday from 6pm to 6am. When we started rehearsals,
Brooke was a little timid at first because she’s not comfortable dancing
but by the time we filmed she just went for it and did a great job. I remember
our last rehearsal with her. The director, the producers and other production
staff all came to see a run through of the number. We were getting ready
to start and Brooke turned around to a few us and said, “I’m so nervous,
they’re all watching me and I have to do good.” Needless to say, she was
great but it just goes to show that we're all human.
When we started rehearsals, the saloon was just an old dirty
room. But each day it was being decorated and each time we came in to rehearse
the saloon was looking more and more like an authentic saloon. During the
rehearsal process in the saloon, the choreography, blocking and positioning
were changed many times which is pretty normal. You just learn to go with
the flow and do what is asked. By the third day we had everything pretty
much set.
Then it was time to film the scene. The director of this
episode was Alan Rafkin, however the dance scene was to be directed by
our choreographer Otis Sallid. Alan Rafkin shot all the non-dance scenes
in the saloon first. They saved our big dance scene for last. It was a
three-camera shoot and we danced all night long. They just kept moving
the camera’s around to get all the different angles and close ups they
wanted. It was a lot of fun. While they were setting the cameras up for
each of the next shots, we’d all just hang out and talk, including Brooke.
She didn’t have any of that star attitude and was just like one of the
gang.
If it was a long break, we’d just go to our trailer. One thing about
working in television and film is that they always pamper us. We each had
a really nice trailer, for our dressing room, to hang out in when we weren't
filming. We had tons of food all the time and then they'd also cater in
meals for us. Each time we'd stop filming a piece of the dance, I'd have
someone to wipe the sweat away, someone to fix my hair, someone to clean
my shoes and someone to wipe my pants off. My pants would get dirty because
I'd slide in on my knees for the final pose. It’s a rough life but someone…..well
you know the rest!
Unfortunately, we didn’t get to film all things we had rehearsed
and that the choreographer had wanted because we ran out of time. The producers
were very concerned about the budget and trying to get everything to move
along. We had already been working longer then had been anticipated and
so cuts had to be made so that they could get us off the clock. By this
point we were making time and a half and getting close to double time.
That’s a lot of money going out and with budgets tight, we had to just
finish up without any of the fun extras.
This was one fun week. It’s always hard to leave but the
shoot was over. So I said my good-byes to everyone and left with lots of
wonderful memories.
Singing on the high seas..
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