Chapter 41

Our plane touched down on LaGuardia airport around 5 p.m., Tuesday.

'LaGuardia, smallest of the four major airports serving the New York Metropolitan area, is located in Flushing Meadows and is the one closest to the heart of New York City. Located just 8 miles from downtown Manhattan with access via I95, the airport's four terminal buildings offer 72 aircraft gates, and there is a free shuttle service to transport passengers between terminals. A garage for short-term parking is located in front of the central terminal and there are surface lots near all terminals. A long-term parking lot is located between the Central and US Airways terminals, and other long-term parking is available in off-airport parking facilities. Arrangements for ground transportation services can be made at counters in the baggage claim areas of all terminals. Helicopter services are available.'

I looked up from the airport brochure that I had picked up and begun reading out of boredom, and promptly dropped it in the nearest garbage can. I really didn't care how many gates the airport had, or how many parking lots it had either. We had been waiting at the arrival gate, since we walked off of the plane twenty minutes ago, for a representative from one of the advertising agencies who was supposed to meet us and bring us to our hotel. So far he, or she, was a no-show.

Mom, as frustrated with the wait as Carol and myself, finally said, "Let's go to the baggage claim area and get our luggage. We should be able to find a cab that'll take us to the hotel."

The plane had been a little early arriving but the extra time had already been used up. We followed the signs that pointed to the baggage claim area and found our suitcases going around and around on the conveyor system. Every one else had apparently claimed their bags already and a baggage handler had just started to take our cases off of the delivery system when we reached him. Mom showed him the claim checks and we gathered our suitcases into a pile just as the Public Address system announced 'Mrs. Susan Ramsey, please pick up a white courtesy phone, please.' The announcement was immediately repeated once more as Mom told us to wait with the luggage while she went to find a phone. The baggage handler pointed to where she could find the nearest one.

Carol and I stayed with our luggage and watched as she went to the phone and waited until the call was routed to her. She returned to us several minutes later and said, "That was a Mister Rizzo. He's the one who was supposed to meet us. He wanted to tell me that he's stuck in traffic because of a four-car pileup with a tractor-trailer. He hasn't been able to get a cell-phone connection because they were stopped under an overpass. The traffic is just starting to move now, and he expects to be here within ten minutes. We might as well wait for him."

So we continued to wait in the baggage claim area for Mr. Rizzo. Since this was a business trip I was dressed in my usual 'business' attire and I received a lot of stares despite the knee length coat that I wore. Perhaps it was because there were so few women in the terminal wearing skirts, or perhaps it was because I was wearing sunglasses inside the terminal building and it had already turned dark outside. Whatever the cause, I just ignored the looks and engaged in small talk with Mom or Carol.

Mr. Rizzo finally arrived about 15 minutes later. We got a skycap to take the suitcases to the limo and followed Mr. Rizzo outside to the car. The temperatures seemed to be well below freezing as we stepped out of the terminal building. We hurried over to the car and I could feel the wind's icy fingers as they reached up under my skirt and caressed my nylon-covered thighs with their frigid touch. Fortunately I was wearing high heel boots that extended almost up to my knees. Inside the car, the heater was blasting out hot air and we warmed up quickly once we were in and had closed the door.

Mr. Rizzo didn't join us in the back once the luggage was in the trunk. Instead he got into the front passenger seat and turned halfway around so that he could talk to us. As the limo driver pulled away and merged into the traffic leaving the airport, Mr. Rizzo again began to apologize for his tardiness. Once we got past that, he began to tell us about New York City and the roadway system. By the time that we got into downtown Manhattan, we knew more about traffic congestion in New York than we ever expected to know, or wanted to know. We also received a street by street identification as we rode. After a few blocks we deduced that all of the streets were sequentially numbered and Mom asked Mr. Rizzo to forego calling out the street names unless we came to one that was really significant such as 42^nd Street.

As we arrived at the hotel, a doorman hurried to the limo to open the door for us. I wasn't anxious to get out of the warm car but it was only a quick walk into the hotel so I pulled on my gloves and braved the elements. The wind must have been magnified as it whipped though the narrow canyons created by the tall buildings because it was worse here than at the airport. I seriously began to wish that the job had been in California. Perhaps May would have been a nicer time to visit New York City.

After checking in we were escorted to a nice one-bedroom suite. The bedroom had two full size beds, and the sofa in the living room converted to a bed also. We had a complete mini-kitchen that was only lacking a table, so any meals that we prepared would either have to be eaten while sitting at the small serving counter, or eaten in one of the two main rooms. There was a small round table with four chairs near the window in the living room. Since the purpose of our visit was to make money for the college fund, Mom had decided that these accommodations would suit us for our stay. A suite with two bedrooms would have cost twice as much.

Mr. Rizzo gave us the agency's schedule for the next three days. Basically it said that the limo would pick us up each day at seven a.m. to take us to the studio where the first commercial was to be filmed. He gave me a tiny script to review, and then left us. We spent the next hour unpacking and getting everything organized for our stay. We decided that Carol and I would share one bed, while Mom took the other.

While Carol looked through the Dining Out Guide that we found in the suite, Mom looked at a city map that she had picked up at the airport and located the restaurants. I sat and read through the script. There actually appeared to be about a dozen different commercials in it, although they were all pretty similar. I guess that they wanted to actually see it portrayed different ways before deciding what they would use, or they wanted enough footage to edit it different ways and make different length commercials.

When Mom and Carol had selected a restaurant we got ready and left, once more feeling the icy fingers of the arctic cold front that was passing over and through the city. The doorman hailed us a cab and we reached the restaurant in only five minutes.

Carol and Mom had decided on a Chinese restaurant specializing in Cantonese and Szechuan dishes. I ordered the Kung Po Shrimp Ding, Carol wanted the Spicy Scallops with Vegetables, and Mom ordered the Shrimps Fried Shanghai. When the orders came we all shared with one another. All of the dishes were excellent. They seemed so much more flavorful than the Chinese dishes that we got back home. I wished that I could eat more but I filled up quickly. I was so full that I couldn't even eat my fortune cookie so I wrapped it into a napkin and put it into my purse. Mom asked the waiter to wrap up the food that we couldn't eat and we took it with us back to the hotel.

Once back in the hotel we watched television for a while and then went to bed. Mom called down and asked for a wakeup call for 5:30 so that we would be ready at 7 o'clock.

*****

The phone woke me up in the morning. I wasn't next to it so Mom had to answer it because Carol hardly stirred with the sound. I got up quickly, put on my robe and slippers and hurried to the bathroom. I ran a bath as I used the toilet, and then settled into the tub, while it was still filling up, and began washing. I had just shaved my legs yesterday but I checked for stubble anyway. With only one bathroom we would have to be as quick as possible if we expected to get out on time. As soon as I was washed I got out, drained the tub, and left the bathroom. Mom was the next one in. Carol was just stirring. She was sitting up in bed rubbing her eyes.

"What time is it?" Carol asked.

I looked at the clock. "5:50. We have to leave at 7 o'clock. If you're coming, you'd better get moving."

"I'm moving. Is Mom in the bathroom?"

"Yep."

Carol got up and went into the bathroom while I finished drying off and began dressing. I knew that Mom would want me to wear a very tight outfit for my first day so I put on a chemise and corset. I tightened it down as much as I could and then sat down to put on my basic makeup.

When Carol came out of the bathroom, she helped me with my corset while she waited for Mom to finish her bath. I finished getting dressed and then got out of the way by leaving the bedroom. I sat down in the living room and read through the small script several more times.

We were ready to go when we got a call from the lobby that the car was there, so we grabbed our coats and purses and headed towards the elevator. Outside, it seemed even colder than it had been last night. Fortunately the interior of the car was very warm.

The driver snaked his way through the canyons of buildings until we reached a nondescript building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The driver told us to take the elevator to the second floor and walk straight ahead.

When we stepped off the elevator, we were confronted by a long hallway. We walked down to the very end and entered the door that was there.

A receptionist, busy doodling on a large note pad, looked up as we walked in. In a very nasal sounding voice, she said, "Miss Ramsey?"

I nodded.

She picked up the phone, punched a couple of buttons, said, "She's he'ah", then replaced the receiver and said, "Mista Clement will be right out." She returned to her doodling and totally ignored us. I almost laughed because this whole scene could have come straight out of a number of bad movies.

Several minutes later an over forty, slightly balding man, came into the reception area from a rear door. Looking between Carol and myself he said, "Miss Ramsey?"

"I'm Crystal. This is my sister Carol, and my mother Susan."

"I'm pleased to meet all of you. I'm Ned Clement. Sorry that I didn't recognize you. I'm not familiar with your previous work and I just got the call last night after the other director came down with a serious case of the flu. I have his notes and I know what the agency is looking for. If you'll follow me we can get started with things."

Mr. Clement led the way through the door that he had come out of and down a hallway to another door. When we walked through that one we found ourselves in a large open studio. There were two cars and an SUV parked there. My first thought was 'How did they get in here?' And my second thought was 'Aren't we on the second floor?' My questions were both answered as we continued past the vehicles and I saw the special elevator car that was easily large enough to accommodate the SUV. I realized that this must be a specially reinforced building, or at least this floor was.

We continued walking until we came to a dressing room area. Mr. Clement said, "Here's your dressing room, Miss Ramsey. As soon as the wardrobe people are through with you, we'll have a meeting to discuss the shoot."

"Thank you, Mr. Clement," I said to his back as he walked away. Mom, Carol, and I went into the dressing room. It wasn't anything special, just an enclosure with several chairs and a table. We took our coats off and sat down.

We had only been there a couple of minutes when a wardrobe person showed up. "Hi hon, I'm Reggi. My full name is Regina. I need to measure you so we can get your duds ready. Are you wearing a corset?"

"Yes. It keeps my waist trained."

"Well, it'll have to go. It'll show under the clothes in the pictures."

I stood up and removed my blouse and skirt. Mom stepped behind me and loosened the lacing enough for me to unhook the busk. As soon as it was off Reggi began measuring me and writing down the information. She was done in about five minutes.

"That's all for now, hon. I'll start making the alterations and we'll have a fitting in an hour. So that you don’t have to keep getting dressed and undressed there's a robe in the closet. I'll tell Clement that you'll be out in a few minutes."

As she left, Mom went to the closet and got the robe. I put it on, checked my makeup, and grabbed my script before leaving the dressing room. As I stepped outside, a young woman approached.

"Mr. Clement is waiting in the conference room. I'll show you the way, Miss Ramsey."

I followed her back the way that we had come in. One of the doors off the short hallway was the conference room entrance. Mr. Clement was waiting there, as were six other people. He introduced me to everybody and I sat down as he pointed to everyone around the table and identified them. Two were from the studio, three were from the ad agency, and one was from the manufacturer.

"Miss Ramsey, we'll be shooting both film and stills. We'll do the film first and then the photographer will shoot the stills before we set up for the next shot. Let's do some readings now."

Over the next hour I repeatedly read through the script, with the agency people telling me how they wanted the dialogue delivered. It seemed like we discussed every single word and exactly what the inflection should be. I hoped that I would remember everything when it came time to shoot. A number of times, though, one of them would start to tell me how to do something, stop and then decide that the way that I was doing it now was better than what they were about to suggest. The worst part was when they would disagree on how I should deliver the lines. I would just listen while they argued until a consensus was reached.

After an hour we broke so that I could go for a fitting. We would reconvene on the set, after the fitting, to work on the movements and dialogue again.

Reggi was waiting in the dressing room and talking with Mom when I came in. I needed a short break so I sat down with them. Mom had a tea for me and it was very welcome after talking for an hour. I took a ten-minute break to enjoy the tea and then we did the fitting. There would be three costume changes for the shooting. Reggi pinned the costumes where the final alterations would be made and I went back out to the sets to work on the shooting.

Mr. Clement showed me where I would start from, and where I should end up. Two female assistants were recruited to act as stand-ins for the male models that would come tomorrow. We spent almost two hours working on the first setup and then broke for lunch. A caterer brought in a small buffet of cold cuts and salads. Mom fixed a couple of plates and brought them to the dressing room. Carol went through the line also and picked up a few more things plus some fruit for desert.

At one o'clock we started rehearsing with the other vehicles and spent the entire afternoon with them, taking just two ten minute breaks. By the time that we broke around five, I was ready to collapse. Fortunately I had spent most of the day in the comfortable robe instead of the corset and tight clothes. We would start shooting tomorrow.

The limo was waiting in front when we emerged from the building and it took us back to the hotel. I had had to put the corset back on in order to get dressed and I looked forward to relaxing for a while before we went out to dinner. I was so tired that I actually took an hour's nap, but awoke feeling much better. While I had slept, Mom and Carol had selected tonight's restaurant.

Everyone is familiar with Italian or Chinese cuisine, and most have eaten in Japanese restaurants, but how many have eaten in an Egyptian restaurant. Not too many in my hometown, I'd bet. The food was definitely different. I got some kind of a rice dinner that had chunks of lamb and pine nuts. It was called Hashwa. Mom ordered the grilled marinated lamb and vegetables that was listed as Shish Kebab. I had had that before, but made with beef. Carol ordered the Djaj Mishwee, which is Grilled Marinated Chicken and Vegetables. After our orders arrived we shared our meals so that we all go a taste of everything.

We also had Tabooley, a Middle Eastern salad, and Marquk, which is a flat bread baked on a grill. For desert we had Bakalwa, a stuffed filo pastry, Ujwee, date filled bracelet pastry, and Ma'moo, which are butternut cookies. The entrees were very spicy, but tasty, and the deserts were wonderful.

It was only a little after nine when we got back to the hotel but I was beat so I got ready for bed and slipped under the covers as soon as I could. Mom went to take a bath and Carol went to the living room to see what was on television. I don't remember anything after that until the phone rang at 5 am.

*****

The studio was alive with people when we got there at 7 in the morning. Where there had been about a dozen here yesterday, there were three times that many today. We went to the dressing room so that we could put our coats and purses away, and after that I went to the place where the makeup people were waiting. They worked on my hair, face, and hands for over an hour. When they were done I went to get dressed, with Reggi's help, then back to makeup for a quick touch up. Finished at last I went to the first set.

The male models were in the studio today and we did several run throughs as we had done them yesterday using the female stand-ins, but Mr. Clement and the people from the agency weren't satisfied with the way that it looked. We spent over an hour trying slightly different variations until we found one that they liked. Then the makeup people came in to touch us up so that we could start shooting. We did a number of takes until we got one that they liked and then we started doing some variations in case they looked better on film. In between some takes, Reggi would move in to straighten something or other, or one of the makeup people would pop in to touch something up. When we finally finished with film shooting, the stills photographer moved in. We spent another half hour doing the stills as the film crew set up with the next vehicle.

When we were finally done on the first set we got to take a twenty-minute break. I went to the dressing room and removed the dress since I would have to change for the next set anyway. I relaxed and enjoyed a cup of tea with Mother and Carol until someone knocked and announced that we would be starting again shortly. A few minutes later Reggi came in and helped me get into the dress to be used in the shooting on the second set.

We kept at it until we were done on the second set and then broke for lunch. The caterer had brought in a buffet again but it was a little better today and included several hot dishes. Mom had already prepared a dish for me while the stills were being shot and I went to the dressing room and changed into the robe as soon as the photographer was done.

I got to relax for almost an hour before being told that we would be starting again shortly. It was approaching 3 o'clock when I left the dressing room and went to makeup so that they could fix me up again. We finally finished shooting a little before six. Mr. Clement praised my acting, thanked me for coming, told me that it was a pleasure working with me, and that he hoped that we could work together again sometime. I politely returned the compliments and sentiments and then returned to the dressing room to change. I thanked Reggi for her help as she helped me change. When I was dressed in my own clothes, we left the studio.

The limo was parked in front, waiting for us. We climbed in and sank bank into the seats as the driver pulled out of his parking spot and drove us to the hotel. It had been a long day and I was tired in addition to having sore feet from wearing heels all day. I took my shoes off and laid down to take a rest while Carol and Mom tried to figure out where we should go for dinner. They settled on an Italian restaurant and we got ready to go. The hotel's doorman hailed a cab for us, and a quick ten-minute ride got us to the restaurant.

The food at the restaurant was good but having grown up in a house where Italian dishes were common, it didn't have the stimulation of the other ethnic foods that we had had. My weariness may also have contributed to my lack of excitement for the dishes. I couldn't wait to go back to the hotel and get some sleep.

When we arrived back at the hotel there was a message waiting to tell us that the limo would be back on Monday at 7. Since we had completed the first set of commercials, we had the next four days off.

*****

After we had breakfast in the hotel restaurant in the morning, we got a cab and had the driver take us to a supermarket that delivered. We selected a shopping cart full of groceries, made arrangements to have them delivered, and returned to the hotel. Once the groceries had been delivered and stored away, we left again to do some sightseeing. Since it was still winter, our options were a bit limited, but we got a nice tour at the U.N. and, after lunch, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. While we were out we picked up tickets for the Saturday 8 pm show of Annie Get Your Gun at the Marquis Theatre with Bernadette Peters in the title role. We stopped at a Thai restaurant to eat dinner before returning to the hotel and when we got back the message light on the phone was lit.

Mom called down and found that Mr. Daniels had called while we were out. Since it was still only four o'clock in California, Mom returned the call right away. She was on the line for ten minutes while Carol and I put our things away and relaxed. When she got off the phone she told us what they had discussed.

"There's a problem with an actress hired for a small part in a movie being shot here in NYC. The actress has come down with pneumonia and won't be healthy enough to do the role for at least two months. The movie company can't wait and needs someone to substitute right away. Mr. Daniels has recommended you and the casting people want to see you tomorrow morning. It's only a small part and shooting starts a week from Monday. If you get the part we'll be here an extra three weeks."

"What's the part?"

"It's a contemporary love story. The part that you're up for is the former girlfriend of the main character. Although it's a small part, it's an important role."

"That sounds great. What time do we go?"

"A car will come for us around 9 am. I told Mr. Daniels that we'd be ready. Now, it's Friday night and you girls haven't cracked a book since we arrived so get your school books and start working."

We both said, "Okay, Mom" and got out our schoolwork. Carol worked at the table in the bedroom while I worked on the bed. Mom closed the door and watched television in the living room. There was a radio next to the bed and I found a station that Carol and I agreed on and it provided us with music as we worked.

We stayed with it until 11 o'clock. I made up only about two days of work and it looked like I would have to spend all day Sunday on schoolwork to get caught up. Carol had done about the same. We put our books away and got ready for bed. As I got into bed I could only think about the interview tomorrow. I hoped that I could land it. If I got the part it would be my first professional role that I had gotten since last year when I was hired for the television series. I didn't count the commercials as 'parts' since they only lasted for a minute or less.

*****

Mom insisted that I dress sexy in the morning. Since it was a love story, she felt that the sexy look was best. My work in the television show had portrayed me in a more average light.

We got a call just before 9 am that the car was here, so we all bundled up and went down. The 'car' was a white stretch limo and the driver held the door for us to get in, then hurried around to the driver's seat, pulled out into traffic, and drove us to a midtown office building. We entered and took the elevator to the casting company offices on the ninth floor. We were shown to a waiting room where we could remove our winter clothing and relax. The receptionist came back and asked if we wanted anything. We all asked for tea and she left to get three cups. When she returned she had a tray with the tea and a small script that contained just the part that I would be reading for the interview.

As soon as she left I immediately started reading the script. I read through the whole thing as quickly as I could to get a feel for the entire script and then returned to the beginning to read it slowly and commit as much as possible to memory.

Mom and Carol occupied themselves with some magazines that were on a side table while I worked. I was given a half-hour to study the script before an employee came to escort me to the interview. Mom and Carol were asked to wait in the room.

I was led to a conference room occupied by 4 people. A mid-aged man with a handsome face stood up to greet me as I walked in.

"Miss Ramsey, thank for coming. I'm Keith O'Brien, the producer of the film. We were pleased to hear that you were available on such short notice, and working right there in town. We're familiar with your work on Oliver On Board. I'd like to introduce you to Peggy Daly, Denise Dobbrow, and Barry Schwartz." He pointed to each of the people as he introduced them and they nodded and smiled. "Please sit over here and we can begin."

Mr. O'Brien held a chair for me and I sat down. He returned to his chair and sat down.

"Now, Miss Ramsey, the role that we're looking to fill is Leslie, the former girlfriend of our lead man. It's not a large role but it's crucial to the story. His interaction with her sets the tone for his relationship with his new girlfriend. Some of the scenes are handled as flashbacks. All of the shooting for that part will take place here in NYC and much of it is outdoors so I warn you in advance that you will be very cold during much of the shooting, if you get the part. Let me tell you about the story…"

Mr. O'Brien gave me an encapsulated version of the story over the next five minutes. I listened closely to every single word, creating the mood in my mind as the story evolved in my head. As he talked it seemed like Mr. Tucker was right there alongside of me, giving me directions again. When he was done, we started the reading. Barry Schwartz read the part of male lead.

We spent about a half-hour working in the conference room. When we were done, Mr. O'Brien thanked me for coming in and told me that they would be in touch. I left the conference room and walked back to the room where Mom and Carol were waiting. As we put on our coats, the receptionist came and told us that the car would be out front in a few minutes. By the time that we got downstairs, the car was waiting to take us back to the hotel.

As soon as we got into the car, Carol said, "Well, give. Did you get the part?"

"I don't know. They'll notify us as soon as they decide. They're interviewing other actresses this weekend. We should know by mid-week, but they didn't appear very enthused so I'm not going to count on it."

"How many others are they going to interview?"

"I don't know but I got the impression that it was like, maybe a dozen."

"Well, at least we've had two weeks in NYC. I wish it was warmer though."

"Maybe I'll get another job when it gets warm. I'd like to go to the Statue of Liberty and go out on the observation deck of the Empire State Building."

When we got back to the hotel we made lunch in the small kitchenette, then hit the books again. We were going to leave at 5:30 to have dinner and then go to the theatre for the play, so it left several hours for us to do some more catch up schoolwork.

We worked until 4 o'clock and then started getting ready to go out. Since this wasn't a work related event I didn't wear a corset, and since we were in NYC I didn't have to wear my disguise wig. We were ready by 5:30 and left for the restaurant.

Mom had selected a Japanese place a couple of blocks from the theatre. Luckily she had called for reservations because they were crowded. Even so we had a ten-minute wait after our reserved time.

The tables were designed for parties of 6 because they cooked the food right in front of you so a party of two and a party of one was seated at the same booth. The party of two was a couple from New Jersey, and the single was a businessman from Virginia. We introduced ourselves as we waited for the cook to come out after the waiter had taken our orders.

The woman from New Jersey, Mildred Cochran, said to me, "You look awfully familiar. Do you have relatives in Asbury Park?"

Carol said, "You probably recognize Crys from television."

"Television? You're on television?"

"She was the co-star of Oliver On Board."

"Ooh, that's where I recognize you from. You were the girl that flew away in the accident and then returned later. How come you quit the show? It got really bad after you left."

I smiled and said, "Thank you, but I was released when they decided to cancel it. The last few shows were put together from extra footage shot before I was hired."

"That's too bad. The shows were pretty good when you were on. What are you doing in New York? A new show?"

"No. Just a couple of commercials."

The businessman, Mr. Wilson, said, "I enjoyed the show also. Any prospects for another?"

"No, not yet. Maybe something will turn up for this summer."

The cook showed up, pushing a cart loaded with dishes of uncooked food. We were then treated to a show, which consisted mostly of noisily banging the cooking utensils together as shrimp, fish, and vegetables were cooked on the grill in front of us. After we were served, the cook packed up his cart and left. Over the meal we talked about Oliver On Board. Our table-mates wanted to know about the behind the scenes stuff so I told them a few stories about things that happened on the set. When we were done eating, and getting ready to leave Mildred and Mr. Wilson asked me for my autograph so I signed a couple of paper napkins for them. Mom went a step further and got their addresses with the promise to send them an autographed picture when we got home.

We said good-bye at the door and went our separate ways. It was only two blocks to the theatre so we decided to walk, but by the time we reached the theatre we were frozen. It must have taken an hour after we found our seats before my feet warmed up again.

The play was wonderful. Bernadette Peters was a delight as Annie and I wished that I could come back and see the show again tomorrow night. I also wished that I was better known so that I could go backstage and tell the cast what a wonderful job they did, but I knew that security would never pass me through. At least we didn't have any trouble finding a cab when we left the theatre.

*****

We spent Sunday in the hotel room doing schoolwork. By the end of the day we had caught up and moved ahead in our work assignments. We wouldn't have to do school work for several days now. That was fine with me because I would be busy with the commercial.

*****

The limo picked us up on Monday morning and took us to the studio where the tuna fish commercials were to be shot. We did all the preparatory work on Monday with the plan being to do the shooting on Tuesday. It wasn't as involved as the auto commercials so it didn't take nearly as long. In fact, we could have done it in one day since we were finished by 1 pm.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a deli to get some sandwiches. We had gotten a tip on where to stop from one of the production assistants and she had been right. I never saw such enormous sandwiches in my life. We got a pastrami sandwich, a roast beef sandwich, and a corned beef sandwich to go.

Back at the hotel we sat down to eat, but the sandwiches were so big that we had to take out a lot of the meat. We had picked up a loaf of rye bread the other day so we made nine sandwiches from the three and put six away in the refrigerator. Carol and I ate a pastrami sandwich while Mom had a corned beef. The pastrami was wonderful. This was another thing that I hadn't seen much of back home. Even the pickles tasted different here.

It was too late to go out anywhere so we stayed in the hotel. At dinnertime we weren't hungry since we had eaten so late so we stayed in. Around eight we each ate half a sandwich, from our leftovers, as we watched television.

*****

We shot the commercials on Tuesday. Things moved along well and we were done by 2 pm. Sandwiches had been brought in so that we wouldn't have to go out for lunch. I tried a bagel with cream cheese and lox. It was my first and I thought that it was great, even though I couldn't finish a whole one.

Instead of going back to the hotel we had the limo driver drop us off at Macy's and we spent the next five hours shopping. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 8 pm. The message light on the phone was lit and Mom called down to get it. It was from the movie casting company but the number went unanswered when Mom tried to call.

After Mom had replaced the phone on the receiver, Carol said, "What do you think Crys, good news or bad?"

"I don't know, but it's probably positive since they called. I've heard that they always say that they'll be in touch, but they never are unless they want to see you again."

Mom said, "Well, one things for sure. I won't be calling the airline to make ticket reservations tonight."

"We were leaving tonight?" Carol said.

"No, tomorrow. There's no sense paying hotel bills if Crystal is done working here."

"I thought that we'd at least be staying until the weekend."

"Some other time, when the weather's nicer. But now we'll have to wait until we see what the casting company says. I'll call them first thing in the morning. Since we're going to be here another day you should do some more homework."

So after putting our things away, Carol and I hit the books again, working until almost eleven.

*****

In the morning Mom called the casting company office. They said that they had narrowed the selection down to two candidates and wanted to see me again. They wanted to know how soon I could come in. Mom told them that we had completed the commercial shooting yesterday and were about to return home so I was available right away. They asked if I could be there at two and Mom agreed. They said that they would send a car.

Since we would have to leave around 1:30 it wasn't possible to go do anything so we just sat around. The daytime television was awful so I wound up doing schoolwork. If we did wind up staying I would have to do it anyway.

We were ready at 1:15 when the call came that the car was out front. We grabbed our coats and purses and headed for the elevator. Five minutes later we were headed downtown. When we came to a stop in the middle of a cross street Mom asked the driver where we were. We had been expecting to go to the casting company offices.

"This is where I was told to bring you. The stage entrance is down that alleyway. It's too narrow for the car."

We got out and walked down the alley until we came to a door that said 'Stage Entrance'. Mom tried the door and it opened easily so we stepped inside. We followed the sounds of the voices and they led us to the stage. Mr. O'Brien was listening to a man describe a scene in an animated manner. They stopped when Mr. O'Brien spotted us standing in the wings.

"Ah, Miss Ramsey is here. Please come on stage Miss Ramsey. I'd like to introduce you to our director, William Willis. Bill, this is Crystal Ramsey."

"How do you do Miss Ramsey? Thank you for coming down."

"My pleasure, Mr. Willis."

Mr. O'Brien signaled to a young woman and she came over to me to take my coat. I noticed that there were about a dozen people sitting in the audience seating and a man with a video camera mounted on a tripod. After I had handed my coat to the assistant she handed me a script titled "A Promise of Spring".

Mr. Willis said to someone in the audience, "Cole, could you come up here please?"

A young man rose from his seat and jogged up a set of temporary steps to the stage.

Mr. Willis said, "Miss Ramsey, this is Cole Griffith. He's the male lead in our little story. We'd like to see you two perform a few of the scenes in the movie. They're the same ones that you did the other day with Barry. I'll direct from the house."

Mr. Willis and Mr. O'Brien went down to the seating while Cole and I exchanged a few words of greeting. Mr. Willis told me what page to turn to and I opened the script. I recognized the scene from having done it several times on Saturday. I read through the lines quickly and set the script on a nearby table.

"Mr. Willis said, "It's okay to read from the script, Miss Ramsey."

"I think that I have it down, Mr. Willis."

"Uh… okay. Let's take it from the top." Mr. Willis went on to describe the scene, the setting, and the mood that we should each be feeling. When he was done, Cole and I performed the scene. I took all of the information that I had learned from the first reading and coupled it with what I had been told today. Since that first reading I had gone over the scenes a hundred times in my head, and I put everything that I felt into my performance.

When we had finished there was silence for a couple of minutes as Mr. Willis discussed something with a couple of other people. Then he said, "Let's try that again, but this time Cole, put your hands on Miss Ramsey's upper arms as you speak instead of keeping them in your pockets."

We did the dramatic scene again with Cole holding onto my arms. Again, when we were done, we waited several minutes while Mr. Willis discussed something with the others. Then he said, "Okay, let's try the scene on Page 62."

I went over to the script and read through the scene. I remembered it very well from the other day so I put the script back down and returned to where Cole was waiting.

Mr. Willis described the scene, setting and mood, and then said, "Ready?"

I nodded.

"Okay, action."

Cole and I performed the scene three times for the group before Mr. O'Brien said, "That's all. Thank you." He came up onto the stage and approached me. "Thank you for coming down again, Miss Ramsey. The car will still be waiting outside."

"Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. O'Brien. I hope that we'll meet again sometime."

"This isn't a dismissal Miss Ramsey. We haven't made a decision yet."

"Oh… well… we were supposed to leave today so I guess that we'll be flying out tomorrow. When do you expect to know?"

"We start shooting next week so we'll need to make a decision by Friday."

"I see… well, if you decide in my favor before we leave you know where we are, otherwise you can reach us through the agency."

"Okay, Miss Ramsey. Thanks again for coming in."

I said goodbye to Cole and thanked him for working with me.

He smiled and said, "My pleasure. I hope we can work together again. I was impressed by how fast you memorized your lines. I saw your television show a few times. I thought that you were great."

"Thanks! I very much enjoyed your last two movies. I'm embarrassed to say that I don't know your earlier work."

He laughed. "My earlier work were bit parts, or parking cars at Hollywood parties. I'm hoping that this movie 'establishes' me. This is my first leading role."

"From what I've read of the script it looks like a great movie, and Mr. Willis is a great director. Good luck, Cole. I know that you'll be a huge success."

"Thanks, Crystal. I believe you'll be successful also. Good luck." Cole leaned over and kissed me on the cheek.

I smiled and said, "Goodbye."

As Mr. O'Brien had said, the car was still waiting. We piled in and were taken back uptown to the hotel.

We sat in the living room talking about the movie situation. Carol said, "I don't see the problem."

Mom said, "The only question is whether we sit here for two more days or go back home now."

"If we go home and then have to come back, it means two half days of traveling for nothing."

"But we could be staying here for two days, paying for a hotel and wasting time for nothing."

I said, "We're in New York City. Why don't we just pretend that we're on vacation and enjoy the next two days? If we don't hear anything then we can leave on Saturday."

"Okay," Mom said, "no work on Thursday or Friday. We'll just have fun. If we don't hear back about the job by Friday night, I'll get tickets and we'll fly home on Saturday."

It was almost dinnertime so we selected a restaurant, called to find out if reservations were needed, and left. Tonight's choice was a Greek restaurant. We started off with an enormous salad with feta cheese. For our entrees Mom ordered MOUSAKAS (layered eggplant, potato, zucchini, meat sauce, topped with béchamel sauce), Carol ordered SPANAKOPITA (a spinach pie with feta, onions, garlic, wrapped in filo), and I ordered SOUVLAKI, which was chunks of lamb, green peppers, and onions, skewered and charbroiled. We had Greek restaurants back home but I had never eaten in one. I would look forward to comparing the food there with the delicious food that we had found here in New York.

 

(continued in Chapter 42)

 

 

 

*********************************************
© 1999 by Crystal Sprite. All Rights Reserved. These documents (including, without limitation, all articles, text, images, logos, compilation design) may printed for personal use only. No portion of these documents may be stored electronically, distributed electronically, or otherwise made available without express written consent of the copyright holder.
Anyone wishing to make comments is welcome to e-mail me at crystal@storysite.org