Welcome to The Dollhouse

A few days back a notice came across one of the many Boston-area theater or movie or acting or interesting project e-mail lists I'm on from someone looking for extras for a movie. Not just any extras; poker playing 1930s gangster extras. I really wanted in, so I moved a few things around on my schedule and dropped an e-mail saying "Hi — my name is Scratch and I am a 1930s gangster".

As it turns out, the movie was being made by modpixie, who knew exactly who I was because she had done some volunteering for The Boston Babydolls in the past (and now looking at her profile I see we've got more than few friends in common). I got a couple of organized e-mails giving me all the details, and Saturday morning I arrived bright and just a tad too early for my taste at the Armory Center for the Arts in Somerville. (By the way, if you're planning on opening an arts center anywhere near Boston, will you do me a favor and not name it anything with an "A"? In the past few weeks I've dealt with The Arsenal Center for the Arts (in Watertown), The Arlington Center for the Arts, and Arts at the Armory in Somerville. Enough already.)

Pulling into the parking lot, I nearly ran over my good friend Spiky Em, who as a professional writer probably doesn't have a personal blog, although you can read her thoughts in the Boston Globe's "Go To It" blog and other places. Turns out, in a bit of type-casting, Em would be playing plucky and intrepid 1930s type reporter, Dot Dare in our little film.

And it is a little film... it's a trailer for a movie that's never been made (and doesn't intend to be). It's all part of The Brattle Theatre's annual Trailer Smackdown, which is going up in mid-July on an evening I'll be performing in The Wrathskellar, which was a downer because I wanted to get all The Boston Babydolls to dress up in their best 1930s glam and come on out to see the flick. Well, flicks. OK -- trailers.

Despite the fact that the finished trailer is going to be something like three minutes long there was a full day of shooting planned, and in the best Hollywood tradition we were shooting scenes out of order. The first scene we shot was The Gangsters chasing Dot Dare and Tess, our once and future gun moll, down the street with bad intent. Don't worry; they lose us with the old "Duck into an Alley" maneuver. We did a couple of rehearsals to make sure we got the timing right and then a few takes. Somewhere around take #3 or #4, the gunsel a few steps ahead of me tripped on something and went down hard. Me, running full tilt maybe ten feet behind him had a very long second in which to decide whether just to trample him or try and avoid him. I put on the brakes and tried to cut wide of him. In retrospect I probably should have done one or the other -- or tried to leap over him -- but the combination of two different sudden changes knocked me off my feet as well. I took the fall in the right sequence of hand, forearm, and hip, just like I was taught, but it still hurt like hell. Tonight my joints are reminding me I'm not as young or resilient as I used to be and there may be an impressive bruise.

The rest of the morning was fun -- and impressive. For a small project, there was a lot of professionalism and professionals. There was a lighting person (who may also have been production manager), the directrix/camera-woman, a genuine sound guy with a boom mike, and a still photographer. There was a detailed schedule and list of shots, and even a craft table with donuts and coffee. We could have used this crew when we were shooting the pilot for The Grind.

Most of the action took place around a poker game, with brash and intrepid reporter Dot Dare sauntering in and joining us at the table.  There was also some shooting, some screaming, and some scenes of Tess in lingerie... but I don't want to give away the plot.

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished result and I hope she wins. I'll put up a link to the final film some time after it shows at The Brattle (contest rules).