By BetteAndTinaForever

Extra! Extra! – My experience on the set of The L Word

By BetteAndTinaForever

As some of you might remember, last September I went to Vancouver to be an extra in episode 607 of The L Word. I signed an agreement when I got to the studio that I couldn’t reveal anything that happened there…sort of like ‘what happens on the set of The L Word stays on the set of The L Word’. The show is over and I can finally tell you my story: how I became an extra on the final season of The L Word and what happened on the set.

All the way to Vancouver I couldn’t stop smiling. I know I looked like an idiot to people around me but I didn’t care. Earlier in the summer I went to Vancouver on my usual annual spoiler-hunting trip and I was hoping for two things: to get an official set visit arranged by Showtime and to win a walk-on role for the L Word that was offered by OurChart.

As you all know, I did get my set visit and it was really great (you can read my report, see the photos, and read the interviews here). At one point I was shown the Planet set while they were taking a break from filming a scene between Alice and Shane. As I think about it now, I’m pretty sure it was a scene from episode 603 when Alice asked Shane about her affair with Jenny while they were eating yogurt.

I was watching Leisha and Kate taking a break while some of the crewmembers checked the lights, actresses’ make-up and some equipment and I remember thinking that I would love to spend a whole day on the set just to see how it works. I’ve been fascinated with the movie business since I was a teenager and the behind-the-scenes stuff is always the most interesting to me. Well, I didn’t win the walk-on part and I was okay with that…one out of my two wishes coming true was good enough.

When I got home from my trip I received an email about Equality Now TLW Auction. Equality Now was founded in 1992 to work for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women around the world. Working with national human rights organizations and individual activists, Equality Now documents violence and discrimination against women and mobilizes international action to support their efforts to stop these human rights abuses (http://www.equalitynow.org/english/index.html).

To raise the money for their needs, Equality Now was auctioning off a walk-on role for season six. To be completely honest, I didn’t have that much money to bid on it but I did it anyway, knowing that someone will overbid me and in some way I would help raising the money. And I was overbid in the next five minutes. After that I watched that auction on e-bay but the price went up too high for me and I let it go, thinking that the only reason I would want to be an extra on The L Word if I will see the filming process. I never wanted to be on the screen anyway, I’m not photogenic or talented.

Three days after the auction was closed I got an email from one of the members of Equality Now who informed me that the winner of the auction couldn’t commit to the dates and if I’m willing to pay the amount that I offered, the walk-on role is mine. It took me about five minutes to decide and I said, “Yes!”

Now, don’t get me wrong…I’m not a millionaire or an heiress with a trust fund. I have a full-time job and I use my savings to travel to the events or participate in auctions because money I can always earn but the opportunities like this only happen once in a lifetime.

I was allowed to bring a friend and we had to sign a confidentiality agreement. They were really strict this year. I was told that they even had to kick an extra off the set because she was taking pictures when they were told not to do it.

Before we had to report to the AD we went on a short tour of the studio and the sets. Jenny and Shane house looked the same as before but Bette and Tina house was completely empty because they were remodeling it, building upstairs bedroom. We also went through the Planet, Alice’s apartment and Art Department at CU hallway.

Our first stop before the filming was at the make-up and hairdressing room. I got my make-up done with fake eyelashes and dark lines under my eyes by a make-up artist who won an Emmy Award.

Another lady from the wardrobe department helped us choose our costumes that were supposed to look like the 70’s or 80’s style. I was wearing my own pants but got a colorful shirt and a vest. My friend was only supposed to watch at first but they decided to use her as well and she was wearing a long hippy-looking shirt with a dark blue boa around her neck. We looked like the attendees of the Woodstock festival.

As we were getting dressed and getting our make-up done, most of the cast was there, filming the scenes in between dances. At one time they all took a break and I saw some of the actresses walking around in robes and funny hair nets. One interesting thing that I learned was to find out how different the cast members are working on the set from attending fan-based or charity events. They all are really focused on their work and it feels like they stay in character even during the short breaks, though they still find time to joke with each other.

While I was waiting for my turn to do the hair, a hair stylist came in and asked me how I ended up being an extra. I told her my story and she took me to an actual hair/make-up trailer so my experience would be more authentic. When we got inside, to my surprise Laurel Holloman was there, doing her hair for the next scene. I know now that she was getting ready to do their scene before the samba dance and she needed to look like she was from the 80’s. Unfortunately, the actual dances for the marathon we filmed on Thursday, the day before I was on the set and I didn’t have a chance to see any of them.

But I was close…at first, I was supposed to come on Thursday and be in the crowd who was cheering for the couples. The day I arrived to Vancouver, the person in charge of extras told me that there were already too many extras involved in that scene that I won’t be noticeable. Instead, she told me to come on Friday and be in one of the backstage scenes and be more visible.

Now I wish that I was there on Thursday because I didn’t really care to be visible; all I wanted was to see how the show is being made. As it turned out, if I was there on Thursday I would probably see myself much clearly than in the scene I ended up shooting. I was in the bathroom scene with Bette and Jodi when they were talking about Kelly who told Jodi that Bette had slept with her. I was on the background, pretending to look at my hair in the mirror while they were talking.

The funny thing was that the scene took about 30 minutes to shoot with only four takes. I didn’t hear what Bette and Jodi were talking about because they were using sign language, and when I saw the final scene, I wasn’t visible at all. So now I really wish I was there on Thursday because I would see the complete TiBette dance and I would be there filming for 15 hours and not just 30 minutes.

However, it still was a great experience that I will cherish for a long time. It was very interesting to see the actors in between the takes. Jennifer Beals was slowly pacing around and looked like she was concentrating on her breathing and one time she chatted with a camera guy. It was really funny during the first take because Marlee Matlin was supposed to come out of the bathroom stall. The AD yelled, “Action!” but nobody let Marlee know about it so she was standing inside the stall, waiting for her cue to come out. They all had a good laugh about it.

Anyway, back to my hair trailer experience. I was in there for about 30 minutes and during this whole time Laurel and I talked about different things. Of course, I was eager to learn any spoilers about the final season so I asked Laurel if Bette and Tina were still together by episode 607. She replied that all she could tell me was that they are pretty much at the same place as they were at the end of season five. She also added that season five was still her favorite and she couldn’t wait to see what the fans will think about season six. That comment made me a little worried but after watching the final season, I know now what she meant.

I also asked Laurel about her family and her baby girl that she had just adopted and Laurel said that her family is happy, the baby is healthy and everything is just fine. We talked about a few upcoming events and Laurel said that Jennifer and she were really excited to go together to L5 Convention and if nothing urgent would happen, they won’t cancel. I told her that I hoped it wouldn’t happen because majority of the fans were coming just for them. She asked if I was attending and I said, “Of course, both of my favorite characters will be there, I wouldn’t miss it for the world and I can finally get my picture with you both”. I think I mentioned a TiBette sandwich but now I’m not sure. All I remember that Laurel laughed at my statement and I hope it happened because it was funny and not stupid.

Well, as you all know, the L5 Convention was a great success and Jennifer and Laurel had both attended and made their fans very happy and excited.

After awhile, even my hairdresser participated in the discussion and asked me what I will do after the show is over. I just joked in response, “My life is over”. We all had a laugh about it and my hairdresser said that there’s a spin-off in the making and she asked me if I knew anything about it. At that point I only knew that the spin-off involved Alice and she replied, “We were told it’s about prison but we don’t really know much.”

We all know now that Showtime decided not to run it, so I guess we have to wait for The L Word the movie to see our favorite characters once more.

Then a lady who was in charge of us, came inside the trailer to tell me that I only had five minutes left before I had to be on the set. I still didn’t know what scene I was doing, so Laurel told me just to go and have fun. I said, “I will” and I really did.

My friend and I were taken into the studio where they filmed the dance marathon and took us to the back stage that was transformed into a bathroom. You already know what happened during the filming of my scene so all I can add is that even though I’m not in the final cut, I still enjoyed my experience. Just being there in the same room as Jennifer Beals and Marlee Matlin, watching them work and being a part of my favorite show was totally worth it.

When we finished, I asked if we could stay a little longer and maybe watch another scene being filmed. We were seated behind the director’s monitors and watched them filming Alice and Bette little confrontation scene before the Salt-N-Pepa number. Rose Troche was directing so she was watching the monitors and later, Ilene Chaiken joined us and watched that scene being filmed for a few takes.

The actual script only had this dialog:

Alice: Is Dance Fever back on the air?
Bette: I’m sorry, I didn’t realize Kriss Kross was looking for another member.

They did about five or six takes and Leisha always improvised some of her lines and they added a few things, like the ‘nice cameltoe’ line by Jennifer and ‘they have costumes’ line by Leisha. It was really funny to watch and we were all laughing all the time. Between each take the make-up people would run and checked the actresses’ make-up and other crewmembers would check the cameras and lights.

Laurel was in that scene as well but it was filmed behind the curtains so I could only see what was going on the monitor and I didn’t actually see the actresses. In the room where we were watching they had several chairs with the cast members’ names on them. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take pictures so all I could do was to watch and observe.

After they finished, everyone took an hour lunch break. They called it a “lunch break” even though it was already after 7 pm. My friend and I joined other extras that were staying for more scenes and we had a lunch and talked to some people at our table. And then it was over. We went back to the office to collect our things, and then we were on a way home.

As I said, maybe my experience would be more exciting if I was there when they filmed the actual dances or if I could see myself in the final cut, but it still was such a great opportunity to watch the show being filmed and to participate in that process. I will always have fond memories about that day.