The Waiting

I'm not one who likes to sit around and wait.

After all, I have a life and I like to live it to its fullest. I have fewer years ahead of me than I have behind and I'd like to use that time wisely.

When we were a one-vehicle family, I used to drive and pick DW up after work. Because she got a jump on her work day, I usually expected that she'd be ready to go when I finished my day and hopped in the car to get her, but that wasn't always the case.

Sometimes, she'd want to finish up a task, or print something up, before calling it a day. And so I'd sit in the car—for sometimes more than a half an hour—and wait.

One of the reasons we bought a second vehicle was for me to avoid having to wait, but also because I worked further from home so it made no sense to carpool, especially when we had kids to pick up from daycare.

At the doctor's office, I also hate having to wait. I would always book the first appointment of the day so that I'd never have to wait for my doctor to finish with another patient.

And while I understood that sometimes, some emergency would come along and I'd have to be bumped, I made it a rule of mine that I'd never wait more than 20 minutes beyond my appointment. Even if I was moved from the waiting room to an examination room, if 20 minutes elapsed, I'd reschedule the appointment and leave.

I hate waiting.

When I started doing background acting work, I understood that there'd be a lot of waiting involved, as the film crew would set up scenes and as those scenes were shot and re-shot. Sometimes, I'd be needed for a scene; other times, I'd be in the holding area, waiting to be called upon.

That's fine. I'm being paid to sit and wait, and I can read a book, or take a nap, or chat with fellow background people. We're often fed and well-looked after.

But yesterday, I was made to wait and I didn't like it.

I recently applied for a bunch of background roles, as I often do when there's a casting call. Sometimes you're picked; other times, not. On Sunday night, there was a change to the background roles for a project that I applied for, and the call time was for 7:30, the next morning.

I was thinking of turning in early, anyway, so I applied for this new role and went to bed, having set my alarm early enough to get ready and go, should I be selected. If I wasn't, I'd just go back to sleep.

When my alarm went off, I checked my phone for any messages about the role, and there was nothing, so I closed my eyes and fell back asleep. I was awakened, more than an hour later, by hearing Kid 1 getting ready for work. I checked my phone but there were no messages.

I took my time getting up, opting to not shave. I was going to go for a walk in the morning, so I wouldn't shower until after then.

As I was preparing to make my usual morning fruit smoothie, I received an e-mail asking me if I would be available for a role at 11:00, about 90 minutes away. I replied yes, dropped everything, and ran to the shower.

Image: ChatGPT

I got dressed for the role and threw a couple of clothing changes in a backpack, and waited to hear from the casting agency about where to be. As yet, they hadn't responded to my confirmation of availability.

I re-read the e-mail that they had originally sent me, to see whether the set location was in the message. There was no attachment with the details in the message and nothing in the message to indicate where they were shooting.

But I did see something toward the bottom of the message, which stated that the message wasn't a role call and I was only being considered, and that they would contact me if and when I was needed.

That was fine, I told myself, as long as I was given enough time to get to where I was needed. I was dressed and ready to go, and I had more than an hour to get there. Very little in Ottawa is more than a half-hour or so from home.

So, I waited.

And waited.

At 10:36, I still hadn't heard anything. Unless the shoot was in Manotick (I've been to a couple of gigs there) or closer, it was unlikely that I'd get there by 11.

This experience has taught me a lesson: if the casting agency is looking for someone on short notice, don't apply. Other projects that I've worked on had me applying for the role weeks in advance, and I was told that I was accepted for the role about 48 hours before the shoot, with my approximate call time. Within about 24 hours of call time, I'd receive a message that told me exactly where to be and when, and which types of clothes I'd need for the shoot.

I never had to worry about waiting, except for when I was actually on the set, being paid.

I don't mind being called to something, last-minute, if I'm available. But to waste my time and have me waiting for a role that I may or may not get is no acceptable.

This isn't a career for me. It's something I do, on the side, for fun.

Waiting isn't fun.