Day One -- Monday, April 10 My alarm went off at 5am this morning and I tried to remind myself that I do enjoy this job. I've been tremendously spoiled by the sitcom world. There, a 9am start time would be asking a lot. I drove into downtown L.A, beating rush hour traffic (and the sun) into the city. We were shooting in an old building downtown that housed only film sets. At one time it was the home of the Herald Examiner, but now could double as a precinct, a law firm, a prison, whatever a Hollywood producer's imagination might entertain.

on the set

We began with a little pre-line-up scene, the only scene in the entire episode that Choppy is not in. I was very groggy. Everyone seemed a little groggy, though maybe that was just my perception of it. No one knew each other yet and everyone was quietly going about his or her business. The first half of the day proceeded mostly like that. We did start into the line-up scene, which was a little complicated, which translates into a lot of standing around for the actors. Again I tried to remember that this is a fun job to have. At 1pm we broke for lunch.

Now usually when I work on a show, the first day or two are quiet for me. I don't really talk to anybody or try to make much small talk. That didn't bode well for this one-day job. Luckily, my scene co-hort Mindy and I were broke for lunch together and we hung out with Susan, the wardrobe goddess. And maybe all it took was a meal and some friendly conversation but I was revitalized. The 5am wake-up call seemed days ago and the afternoon was a blast. John Mendoza found a groove of some sort and was very funny. Mindy and John Crane were lively and fun to be around. And Eric Lutes showed up to work, too, whom I did both Caroline in the City and a short film called Rubbernecks with. The scenes turned out well and it was very loose and fun.

But my day wasn't over. I had a break before they got to my last scene. I returned to my trailer and caught up on those extra hours of sleep that had been robbed from me by my blaring alarm this morning. It was after 8pm that I got back on the set to shoot the Joe/Choppy scene to end the day. I got a chance to talk to Mr. Crane about the show's evolution and prospects. It seems the network is telling him all the right things. A few people don't "get it," but it's just too wacky to please everybody. He finds out if the show has a future when the networks announce their fall line-ups in mid-May. If it gets on the air, John Crane lives the life of Choppy for at least 6-8 weeks, maybe more. I think the words, "Be careful what you wish for" come to mind, but only for a second.

Our final scene was Joe knocking over Choppy in the hallway and getting him to agree to help with the line-up. It was just John and me and it was only a couple of set-ups. Should have been a piece of cake, no? What could possibly cause us any trouble? Well, that's where I came in. We were looking over the scene, which ends with John saying, ala Sipowicz, "Let's get in there before the perp lawyer's up." John and I had a quick discussion about how that would be pulled off and it was decided that Choppy already behaves a bit like NYPD Blue's Sipowicz when he's running around the police station pretending to be a tough-guy. So to go the extra Sipowicz, John decided to scrunch his face up and talk out the side of his mouth. I don't know if Dennis Franz would agree with that adjustment, but it seemed to make sense to us.

We rolled the cameras and began the hallway knockdown scene. Everything was going very smoothly until we reached the final line in that magical line. I grabbed Choppy and sat him up, pleading, "We need your help with the line-up." To which Crane spun his head toward me and squinted one eye, scrunching up the side of his face as planned. But as the first couple of sounds started to come out of the side of his mouth, I burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. It was just too absurd. Crane, as Choppy, as Sipowicz's deformed brother, was just too much for me to take. And it didn't end there. The next few takes were sprinkled with residual giggling. A moment like that doesn't just go away. We finally reached a point where I would deliver my line looking at the ground and just would not lift my head. All eye contact had to be eliminated for fear of more laughter.

We did finally get some very funny stuff on film and brought the loooong shoot day to a close. I, luckily, do not have to return at 8am tomorrow morning like the rest of 'em. I shall be sleeping in. And I shall be dreaming of the great time I had working on The Choppy Show. And in the future when I'm trying to remind myself that I love this job, all I have to do is reflect on the fun I had today.

The Choppy Show | Ducey on TV | Resume