Life imitating art, Imitating life

Our show is more than a little autobiographical. We've depicted a more dramatic version of our real lives. Most of the moments in the show are things we've experienced ourselves, or to someone we know. The dialogue in one or two scenes is as close to verbatim to actual conversations we've had as memory will allow. There was actually a time during the writing process where I turned to my co-producers and said, "we have to go out tonight so I can write an episode this weekend." This isn't a new phenomenon. People write what they know and most of the time what they know is themselves.

What I didn't expect was how an episode we wrote that was a total dramatization or pure fiction somehow manifested itself in real life. Talk about weird. Now I don't want to give anything away, because some of these moments are too funny to believe. But here's a moment or two worth sharing. There's a scene where someone is watching a mindless wedding show, and as I was sitting in my living room compiling scripts for shooting that scene the next day, I was actually watching the very same wedding show. And I wasn't the only one on the production team doing the same thing, at the same moment. Weird, right?

Another example? We're shooting a scene where we're venting about how kids can be difficult sometimes. What teachers haven't had that conversation before? The hilarious part? While we're shooting we, hear a kid down the hall, in the pool screaming bloody murder during their swim class. Real life people. You can't script this stuff. Well, I guess you can...

I think balancing the show loosely based on my life while I continue to live my life, has made the whole process that much funnier. I live my life Monday-Friday and then film that life on Saturday and Sunday. Frequently, I live a moment that I wrote months before within days of filming it. As recently as this past weekend, I actually found myself quoting the show in a real-life conversation that was incredibly similar to a situation that my character had already experienced. That was freaky. It was like an out of body experience. I saw myself in the situation I had written and couldn't help but respond the way I had already acted. Talk about dejavu. Of course, then you think, which came first? Would I have naturally responded in that way had I not already written the scene for my character? Or did I write the scene because that's how I would've responded (and eventually did) in real life?

The downside of this is, of course, that our real lives sometimes bleed into the characters. With any creative team there are moments of tension throughout the production process and ours is no different. The key is to find solutions and channel that energy. Last week there was a particularly tense moment between myself and the lead actress, Kate. Boy did we channel all those emotions. Ironically, the scene we were filming directly after our disagreement was where our two characters are meeting up at work to apologize for calling each other out on our sh!t in an earlier scene. Oh the irony. You could cut the tension on set with a knife. The only problem was, our characters were supposed to make up and be friends again by the end of the scene, and we were clearly not ready to do that in real life. At least not by the end of the first take. Enter our acting skills. The weird part? By apologizing to each other's characters, the tension that had existed between us in real life also subsided.

Along the filming process we're also coming up with all sorts of material for season 2, should that come to be. I mean, at the very least there will be a script of season 2. (I already have 3 pages of notes and an outline for another 12 episodes.) In addition, as the actors are bringing the characters to life in their own ways, they're giving me so much to think about for their characters' futures. Side note: I believe writers should always be on set to observe the filming process of their material if they plan on doing future episodes/seasons. There are organic moments that happen that you may not be able to create with just your mind and a laptop. It is truly fascinating.

The Little Things

We've filmed 10 out of 12 days. We're only one weekend's worth of work away from being done with principal photography. To be honest, I'm already beginning to miss it. It's like senior year of school where you know that it's almost over and you try to take every opportunity to soak in the glory that is this experience. The more people we bring into the project the more special it becomes. It's been a total whirlwind of happy coincidences, coupled with some very real learning experiences.

I think the one lesson I'd like to impart at this particular juncture is to appreciate the little things. Our society has subconsciously trained us to look forward to major events, life-altering occurrences and the type of excitement that only happens in a script. But I've realized that many times things fall short, disappointment runs rampant and it is, in fact, the times between life events where life is lived.
Think back. Ever had a moment where you realized something wasn't all it was cracked up to be? Prom? Graduation? Getting your driver's license? Most of the time the moment doesn't live up to the hype and even if it does it is so fleeting that you may miss it as it flies by. Living life for the highs (or lows) that these instances present just sets yourself up for disappointment.

I'm not saying lower your expectations for life so you'll never be disappointed. I'm saying we should put more stock in the everyday. Don't live on autopilot. Appreciate the tiny moments that happen every single day, the ones that are so completely unexpected. These moments add up and before you know it your life is a string of these tiny moments all interconnected.
I'm a pretty firm believer that things happen for a reason and that people are brought into our life "as a blessing or a lesson". We are the culmination of our experiences and rather than regret or try to change things, we should let them happen.

Looking back, there seems to be a very deliberate series of these small moments and happy accidents that have all added up to my life.

When my sister was looking at colleges I tagged along (or was dragged along depending on who you talk to). By the time it was my turn, I had a pretty good idea where I wanted to apply. So without visiting a single campus myself, I sent out 14 applications. When I got acceptances I visited, therefore preventing any heartbreak. I was pretty sure I didn't want to go to Villanova, but I went for accepted students day. Thank goodness I did. This day started a chain of events that directly (or indirectly) led to where I am now.
The day I toured Villanova all of the campus activities had tables set up at the Student Center. One was Villanova's Student Musical Theater (or VSMT). Naturally, being the theater nerd that I am, I gravitated over to that table. Here's where I heard about Music Camp: a week before Freshman Orientation where we can move in early, do theater workshops all week and party before anyone else shows up. I'm in. And yes, I am completely aware that I have just upped my nerd status.

I met 90% of my friends from college at or through Music Camp. More importantly, the very first day of Music Camp my freshman year, I met a girl who said her roommate, like myself, was there for Musical Theater and that she was wearing blue shorts. Being my outspoken self, I happened upon a girl with blue shorts and decided to start a conversation. Turns out, wrong girl. Or maybe not, because this blue-shorted girl became my best friend. (Shout out to Janet in Seattle.)
This friendship led me to take Janet's Dad's acting class my Junior year (he was a professor at Nova). During that acting class, I heard about a pilot program for a Social Justice documentary class that they were offering the following semester, which I took. This class led me to my career in TV and film, which has inadvertently led me to my current job and my endeavors to write, produce and act in my own web series.
See what I mean? One college visit, one activities table, one conversation, it all led to life. What if I had kept to myself and never spoken to Janet with the blue shorts? What if I had decided to take painting instead of acting as my Fine Arts requirement? Or opted for a different professor? Tiny moments are the ones that my life has been built on.

Don't let tiny moments or opportunities pass you by. Maybe talking to that guy at the bar will lead to marriage, or more likely not. Or maybe, in my case, it will lead to a new beach volleyball team. You don't even have to risk that much. Believe me, I'm not a risk-taker. I wouldn't even risk a day-trip to a college I might fall in love with on the off-chance I wouldn't get in.
Just live in the moment. Be present. Put down the phone and have a conversation. Appreciate when the barista at Starbucks spells your name correctly. Or when a song comes on the radio and reminds you of someone. And don't be afraid to call that person up on the phone if you think of them.

Life is the little moments. Its the journey, not the destination.