April 13, 1999
The production team of Greenblatt/Janollari, who is producing the Oh Grow Up pilot, is also behind a project for FOX these days called Chicks. They needed a young man to read the role of a boyfriend today at their table read. My association with their little family made me the perfect stand-in.
The show is sexual mirror image of Oh Grow Up. It centers around three women and their young lives instead of three men. They are dating, struggling, trying to get along, the usual twenty-something life angst. My character dumps one of them late in the show, while she had been expecting a marriage proposal. The character has three scenes and lots to do. It was a fun part to read and the script and main cast were good.
Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't consider today's reading a complete favor. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was hoping I would read today and wow them so much that they would throw me into the role for the taping, too. Looks unlikely. As I started piecing together their reheasal schedule from the folks at the table read, the outlook became bleaker and bleaker. They start rehearsing this Friday and, like us, work on Saturday and Sunday, too. All three of those days I will be in New Jersey. And to make matters even more complicated, I will be in rehearsal for my show during their last two days. Those are schedules that are unlikely to mesh with any ease. With all the pressure on a pilot, I doubt anyone would want to have an actor running off to do his other show (let alone going to a wedding on the East Coast).
So maybe it was just a favor. Still, I got to meet Carol Leifer, the writer, and I put in another showing for the producers of our show, which can't hurt. I think I did a good job. If their show goes and ours doesn't, maybe I could get a future guest spot somewhere down the line. You never know.