Go. Go. Go!

“So, um, Briney. Could you, on Wednesday, Coco’s friend who works with the Guangzhou TV needs a foreigner.”

“I’m sorry, What?”

“Um, Coco’s friend is filming something on Wednesday and could you…pusht….pusht… you know?”

“Nnnooo?”

“Wait a minute.” a couple minutes later. “She needs you to walk in the scene, you know?”

“Oh! She needs me to be an extra in a scene?”

“Yes.”

“Sure thing. Sounds like fun.”

And that is how I ended up in a taxi on my way to film a TV show on Wednesday afternoon. I was dropped off at a building I couldn’t read at a metro stop I had never been to, and I was waiting for a Chinese person to find me… Well, at least I am easy to find in a crowd here. About thirty minutes passed, and I was getting a bit nervous think she couldn’t find me. Suddenly, two people came into my line of sight, and they were making a beeline toward me. “Are you Breet Chappell?” “Yes, sir. I’m Britt Chappell.” After the initial greetings and standard formalities, I was told that the gentleman who had accompanied the director to pick me up would be my guide for the day. We walked a couple hundred feet up the street to an open area where people were selling artsy things on the ground. Upon our arrival to the filming location, I was told what I was doing. I was not an extra. I was acting. o.o Well, that was unexpected. I had even packed a book in my bag so I wouldn’t be bored on set, but… apparently, something important had been lost during translation.

The director explained that the filming that day was for a documentary on my guide’s life. He had been an art seller on this street and one of his first clients had been an American woman. She had given him a pamphlet to an auction in New Kensington and bought some jade. So, guess what I had to do? Yep, reenactment. I had to peruse the trinkets being sold, select a piece of jade, pay, and hand him the pamphlet. I was told, “stand here” and my cue to start the scene was “Go. Go. Go!” in rapid sequence. “Walk slowly.” “Hold the coins closer.” “You buy a piece of jade.” At the end, my guide gifted me with the jade that I used in the shot; a lovely pendant for a necklace. The director and my guide seemed to like me, and everything went quite smoothly.

The whole time I was just giggling to myself. I love watching documentaries, but I always laugh at the cheesy actors who do the reenactment segments…now, now I am a cheesy actor. Oh goodness. The filming drew quite a crowd and a couple takes had to be re-done because of bystanders standing, crowding, or walking through the shot.  It took about forty-five minutes for my filming segment to be over and I could leave. Surprisingly, for an introvert, I was not nervous in front of the camera. Maybe, because I get watched nearly every moment of my life here, the camera was no big deal. Who knows? But, let me just say, I had fun. My hands were freezing and my hair was a wind-whipped mess, but I and my fellow cheesy actor were laughing together and my guide and the director were so kind. Truly, one of the most off-the-wall experiences of my life. I think it even outranks private yoga classes at work. (more on that subject later.) Have a stupendous day, everyone!