Finding Kairos on My First Paid Gig as an Actor
A moment of the authentic, the opportune, the magical force that makes art.
One of my favorite improv coaches introduced me to the ancient Greek concept of kairos- the right, critical, or opportune moment. There is a wealth of philosophical discourse on the subject, and I encourage you to take a look for yourself and give it a ponder. Myself, I take it as a subtext, something I do not seek to control or desire. But something to be aware of, a possibility that may arise leading to a unique and memorable bit, the organic gateway to art.
I got a tip from a friend, a non-scam casting agency! I sent my stuff- and got a call- an extra gig.
Here we go! I was stoked; I had a general idea what I was getting into, long hours, pay and responsibilities and such. Excitement, and yes- brief fantasies occurred; but having a good time and meeting some new people were my level headed expectations.
The night before the call I spent some time setting my intentions, and making a commitment to bringing my best self to the gig. I would be on time, I would bring a good attitude and enthusiasm. I would do my very best. This was a key takeaway from the Performance Mastery courses which made up the upper level of my improv training, and something I believe in.
Dressed as a pickle in a sandwich shop? You bring it, you go all in, this is what separates the professional from the amateur. There is no other way, bringing your best is how you show respect; to your scene partners, the team, the craft, and your audience. Commitment need not be manic, or over the top- but it must be present, seeing a performer phoning it in is always painfully obvious and just sucks all around.
We lined up in the dark at the studio gate, names, details, clip boards and coordinators, showbiz! I noticed my little ticket was pink, and featured a tear-off for a prop, most of the others were grey. I had no idea what this meant, but no matter what it seemed cool- a prop! I looked at the top of the ticket- Master of Ceremonies was sharpied right on it. Permanent ink! I was ready, I had prepped, I was gonna have a good day.
Breakfast was delicious, orange juice does not come from a carton in Mexico, and the movie set caterers I have encountered have been consistently awesome. We were having a good time, I was practicing my Spanish, others their English; lots of laughs and fascinating stories. We were becoming a team. Extras in Mexico City are a diverse group, people from all over, local industry veterans, former stars, it’s wicked fun just to hang out and hear stories and such.
Shortly after wardrobe and make-up- I found myself in a room at a country club type place, with Eiza González, Diego Luna and about 40 other folks. I was on the set of La Máquina, a boxing series, and I had a little non- speaking part.
I took my position and hung out with the boxing commissioners, my prop was a lapel pin with the boxing agency seal. It was exciting and boring at the same time, making movies is an incredibly labor intensive and detailed endeavor. No matter, I was getting paid, and I was focused on not screwing up, or being a distraction to the production folks. We did an entrance scene for a boxing weigh in. There was some plot element involving a bag of money, I mimed conversation with my colleagues on the commission; I made up a little back story for my character. Born into a respected Mexico City family which owns a 110 year old cantina, our Master of Ceremonies is a man of genuine and impeccable manners….one must walk the walk as a professional.
Scene three was a stage set up for the press event/weigh in of the boxers. It was late afternoon, the trainers and coaches were legendary folks from the boxing world, there was an intensity and professionalism they embodied that would be hard to miss. Even when they were taking a break and cutting up or whatever, you just knew- these were heavy dudes; from a world far more intense than the entertainment industry. A couple of the entourage crew sent beach pics to the group chat a few weeks after the gig, they looked fully ready to step into the ring and get after it. I remained the formal, but also friendly master of ceremonies.
There was a smoke machine, and a dust up scene during the press conference, there were several takes, and improv seemed to win the day when the entourage crew stepped up the physical aspect. I stood at the lectern, and noted the boxers weights, in kilograms. It grew hot and stuffy, adjustments were made, takes continued.
I saw a technician sleeping on a cart, it was getting late, somehow we arrived at the last take. It was the head of the boxing commission, a famous actor, tasked with operating the counter weights on a doctor’s scale. For some reason, even though I wasn’t in the shot, I stood off to one side of the stage. We weren’t done yet, and things were sort of deteriorating a little. I am certain that of the 100 people in the room, 99 of them wanted to go home, it was uncomfortable and lacked oxygen, maybe hour 15 or so.
My homey- the boxing commissioner was getting frustrated with the scale weight close up. Another lens was put on the camera, he looked over at me, off to the side, I smiled and said, “This is spiritual support,” with some hands. He grinned and laughed, he did a deep dig, “Fuerte!” thing. It was funny. He finished the take, we got released, there was cheering.
