I had a read through today for a great episodic I booked a small role on that I’ve never been on before so I was a little nervous. The read through wasn’t far so I thought I’d take a chance and drive. It was swelteringly hot and my car’s AC just decided to stop working and blow only hot air at me. I had to go through the midtown tunnel through intense traffic and my GPS lost reception in the tunnel and went crazy as soon as I got out the other side, giving me a series of totally wrong and mutually exclusive instructions “Turn right! Turn left! Take Exit 14! Incorrect! Re-routing! Make a U-turn when possible!” In front of a bunch of police officers, I made what I am sure were two completely illegal U-turns, getting progressively more flustered, confused and panicked by my out-of-control GPS. The police felt bad for me and gave me a pass. Nice people thank you #1.
Somehow, my GPS put me back through the tunnel and right back the way I came. Then it shut off. I called my significant other in a total panic. I was going to be late (and soaked in sweat) to this and my GPS was dead and what was I going to do?! Despite my incoherence, he put a work conference call on hold, Googled new directions and became my live GPS, taking me all the way back through the tunnel and via the correct turns. I know this took a lot of time out of his day and that he had a frenetic back-to-back-meeting type of day but he made sure I got to my destination ok before he hung up. Nice person #2.
Then came the search for parking! I found a shady tree-lined street right in front of my destination with only one car parked on it! BOO YAH! I parked, looked for parking signs, saw none, and felt like things were looking up. Then, a really nice man called to me from across the street, “Miss, you’ll get a ticket there! The signs are all the way at the other end of the street but parking is prohibited.” Indeed, it was, for the next two hours and there were no other spots anywhere. Turns out this man worked on the show I was there for and he helped me remedy the parking situation just out of the kindness of his heart. Nice person #3.
When I arrived at the studio, one of the established actors in the show took the time to say hi, chat with me and make me feel at ease and comfortable, which really meant a lot to me. Nice person #4.
Now, I have a rehearsal for a screenplay of a very cool writer and the first public read and workshop of my own (first) screenplay, both tonight! I am feeling pretty grateful to the writer who cast me, the moderator who is running the show, and all the talented actors who have generously volunteered their time to bring my piece alive. As mushy as it sounds, I just send lots of gratitude to all these wonderful people and I’ll do my best to pay it forward.