WORD FROM THE STREET

I've just wrapped on Mercy Street. 

From PBS.com: 

"MERCY STREET follows the lives of two volunteer nurses on opposing sides of the Civil War — New England abolitionist Mary Phinney and Confederate supporter Emma Green. The Green family’s luxury hotel in Alexandria, Virginia, has been transformed into Mansion House, a Union Army hospital tending to the war’s wounded. Inspired by memoirs and letters from real doctors and nurse volunteers at Mansion House Hospital, this new drama reveals the stories of those struggling to save lives while managing their own hardships.

The series, which commenced production this month, is shot in the Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia, areas."

I wrapped on Mercy Street on June 25, 2015. What started out as a one day gig turned out to be almost three weeks of shooting for me. I wasp promoted from vegetable seller to army medical officer. I'm fairly certain such promotions were common practice during The Civil War. There were probably a lot of veterinarians in field hospitals. 

"What's that Jedediah? Even though you sell carrots and turnips and don't have any formal medical training, you've always dreamed of cutting off a man's leg? Well step right on up, son! Grab a saw and git to work!"

That's me above as my character. Note the mustache and sideburns. My 'stache has gotten me some work this summer. My wife loves the work-hates the mustache. 

My new role as army medical officer meant more work days-always a good thing for an actor-but more importantly, my role as army medical officer ensured I would be shooting inside the Mercy Street hospital set. You don't have to twist my arm. An interior shoot in June? In Richmond, Virginia? In wool? Sign me up! 

Wool. Why did it have to be wool?

Button fly pants are bad enough. Kudos to the man (either Gideon Sundback or Whitcomb L. Hudson depending on whether you are a chicken came before the egg or the egg came before the chicken person) who said 'There has to be something better....something faster." 

Wool pants are uncomfortable. It's simple as that. I mean, first off, they're wool. Wool is often itchy and hot. It'd be easier to deal with the hot part if it weren't 101 degrees outside and you felt like you were baking cookies in your pants. Also, because of the time period, pants were worn high. High. HIGH. 

How high?

Let me just say I scratched a nipple pretty badly one day with one of my button fly buttons. High. Old man on the beach wearing shorts high. "Oh! So that's what my balls taste like" high. 

FREAKIN HIGH! 

So there you are wearing hot, itchy pants, which in itself, is pretty sucky. Then the wardrobe folks say 'Now let's put your suspenders on."

Just when you thought your pants couldn't get any higher! 

They might as well say "Let's attach your pants to this crane and see if we can introduce your testicles to your cerebellum." With a few tugs (Hello Sailor!) and some cinching of the suspender clasps, you're ready. Not ready to use the bathroom or walk like a man, but you're ready. 

Yeah. The bathroom. It always comes back to the bathroom. I will finish up my commentary of period clothing with this post dated June 22 from my Facebook page after a day's work on Mercy Street"

"Bathroom break after lunch. Stepped on my own suspenders as I sat down. Finished. Stood up. Suspenders snapped me in face. Yeah. That just happened."

MOVING ON & STANDING IN

As I said, working on Mercy Street was both my honor and pleasure. Not only did I work as a background artist but I was also given the opportunity to work as a stand in for the principal actors on the show. 

Another post from Facebook. This one comes from my acting page. It's dated June 20. 

"Somewhere...through the tangle of cables and maze of props and equipment...through a winding path of light stands and monitors...through a crowd of people...there is a place...a place marked simply with a brightly colored piece of tape in the shape of a T...and if you find yourself standing there...feet a few inches apart...staring down at that T...and your feet just a few inches apart...you will know instantly...this is a magic place and magical things are about to happen..."

j.e. matzer, actor

Standing in is a cool position to work for a few reasons. First and foremost, you are in a more intimate setting with the principal actors and depending on who you are standing in for, this can be an invaluable educational experience. 

Your job is watch everything the actor your are standing in for does. You watch. You listen. You learn. You are also in the middle of the tornado that is production. Every department is looking at you to set up the next shot. In turn, you are looking at them as well, and if you have any ideas of working on the production side of the business, once again, you are provided an excellent educational experience. 

I've said it before, if you keep your eyes open and your mouth shut on set, the things you learn can better your career. 

Lighting is looking at you and trying to figure out how to best light not only the performer but the space as well. The camera team is trying to work out the logistics of camera placement. The director is looking at everything. Especially you! Well, maybe not you but your placement. 

Sometimes you have to move a little to the left or back to the right just a smidge or maybe even split the difference. Whatever it takes to get the best take. If you're moved off your original mark, someone will then drop down in front of you to reset those brightly colored pieces of tape. 

I am happy to report that all the principal actors on Mercy Street were not only talented and professional, but sincerely kind. I really enjoyed working with them and, more importantly, being able to watch them work. 

I love being able to do what I do. I love every aspect of this business. Every production is an opportunity to learn about myself and the business. I'm getting real, solid, practical experience every time I step on set. 

There were many positives on the set of Mercy Street.

I was less than ten minutes from home. HUGE positive right there! No leaving the house at 2 A.M., no four hour drives, no tolls and no problem getting there if casting called and asked if I could come in early. 

I was working with a great group of people. It's never perfect and there are always one or two who get on your nerves, but you overlook them as much as you can and enjoy your time with those professionals who aren't as, let's say, focused as the rest of us. There are always problem children on set. There always have been and there always will be. There's nothing to do but ignore and do the work and laugh at the kid who is trying to see how much licorice he can eat before his stomach explodes. 

For the record, if someone is actually keeping track of such things, he stopped at 26 but only because craft services ran out of licorice before he ran out of desire. 26 pieces of licorice. I said it then and I'll say it here: he's not going to poop until October and when he does he's going to poop a LEGGO shaped brick the size of a pound cake. 

Gee I hope you're not eating while you read this. I really hope you weren't enjoying pound cake. 

Working as a stand-in on Mercy Street allowed me to work more closely with the production team and this is the closest I've ever worked with the directing team, camera and lighting teams, and all the other pro's on set. I can see why people choose to work as professional stand-ins. 

Not me though. I'm an actor. I want to act. I want to hold a script in my hand and look down and see a T-shaped mark at my feet. Not for the glory or attention but rather to do the work. I love the process. I love the work. I am genuinely happy when I am working on set. My experiences on Mercy Street only reinforced those feelings. I only want it more than ever now. 

I am pretty confident I will have a second chance on Mercy Street. I have no doubt the show will get picked up and PBS will order a second season.

When they call, I will be there. 

Of course I will shoot for a speaking role this time. Who knows? Maybe my doctor character will become somebody. Stranger things have happened. 

Did I mention the kid with the licorice?

Just keeping it reel. 

Copyright 2015

All Rights Reserved