I guess we waited about thirty minutes before Alice came over and said they were just about ready to begin filming. She stated that she needed ten people for the first scene - five that were there from Wednesday and five new ones. Boy did I throw up my hand as fast and as high as I could! I don't care if I looked a little childish - I just wanted to get on! And as luck would have it, Alice did chose me. Woo hoo!

O n the walk over there, I struck up a conversation with one of the "new" extras. Kevin, I think I remember his name being. He was very nice, and we ended up talking all throughout the day at different times. We also ended up in somewhat close proximity to each other every scene we were in.

A lice took us inside the house, and they began telling each one of us what we were supposed to do when the director yelled "background." The first scene shot that day was one in which Pacey and Drue are playing poker with three other guys, and some girl (skank!) asks to join in. Two people were needed to stand behind the poker table across from Josh and Mark. Mine and Kevin's job was to walk up to those people and start talking. The first time around was a rehearsal, so we walked up to the girl and guy and literally started a conversation with them. We weren't talking out loud - only whispering. They were asking me questions about the convention, and I was answering them. On the second take, I was finishing answering their questions when the girl (I forgot her name, but I know it started with a C, so I'm gonna call her Cara) grabbed my arm and said SHHH. I didn't think I was talking that loudly, but apparently the microphone is very sensitive and picks up everything. How embarrassed was I? LOL! Oh I almost forgot to tell you all what Josh did before rehearsal. All the extras were standing around waiting for the crew to set up. Josh walks in from another room and hikes his shorts up to his chest (like Erkel), does a cute little dance, and in a funny voice was saying things like "Let's get this party started. I'm ready to boogy down. There's lots of pretty girls here. Yeah!" Everyone was laughing. Such a ham! :)

A nyway, they shot that same scene for the third time, and that was it for that particular angle. They did some rearranging and let some other extras move around and hang out at different places while they shot the scene a couple more times. After they finished, the assisstant director yelled for all the background to go outside and wait on the porch. So we're walking out, and I'm looked down at the floor cause I don't want to trip and fall and cause a big scene - LOL! There's somone holding open the door for us, and I'm walking past him still looking down (I did manage to see his flip-flopped feet). Kevin, who's right behind me says "So you're playing doorman?" I hear a laugh and the guy responds, "Yeah, and it looks like I'll be here for a while." I immediately threw my head up, recognizing the voice, and turned around to see Josh holding the door open. Can you say IDIOT? That is exactly what I felt like. I cannot believe I was that unaware! Crap!

S o after I had kicked myself in the ass at least a dozen times, we walk around to the back of the house where all the other extras are. I was there for about 30-40 minutes when I had to go back inside the house for another scene. It was the one where Joey and Pacey walk up to Drue at the punch bowl. They filmed that scene all different ways. The first time Cara and I were standing behind the counter at the punch bowl, where Mark would hand us our drinks before we walked off and Katie and Josh walked up. The other takes we shot that scene with Cara and I standing in front of the counter by Mark. Once the asst. director yelled "background", we were to pick up our cups and walk out of the view of the camera, hold a couple beats, then walk back into view behind Mark.

T he next scene was with Katie and Josh, in which they are having a spat at the punch bowl. It was so great seeing the interaction between them. They looked so comfortable together, and Josh was basically the only person Katie would talk to. The times that I glanced in her direction, she never once looked at any of the extras to say hi or smile or whatever. I've been told she's just really shy and reserved around strangers, so I hope that is actually the case. Josh was acting crazy (as per usual), and once the director had to reprimand him. Too cute!

A fter the "gate" was closed on that scene, we all walked outside so they could set up for another one. Cara, Kevin, and I were walking arounf the house and stopped on the side where the garage was to chat. Coincidentally this is also where craft services was, and the cast and crew would hang out there. I noticed Josh talking to a crew guy and they walked off in the direction of his trailer. And that was the last time I saw him :(

W e broke for lunch around 3:00 pm (I think). There was sooo much food. However, I still wasn't all that hungry. I did eat a lot of fresh fruit (Yum) and some kind of chicken dish. It was extremely crowded in the tent. The cast and crew were separated from the extras by a dividing mesh wall. Although there were just as many extras as crew, we were given about half the amount of eating space. Go figure!

A fter lunch we shot another scene - this time it's the one where Dawson approaches Joey at the punch bowl. For this they had me and my friend, Kristina, stand in the doorway between the kitchen and living room. We struck up a conversation with another extra (who it turns out is also Mark's (Drue) stand-in). The next part they shot was where Dawson and Joey are sitting on the window seat talking about what she's going to do with her life. They didn't need any extras for that scene, but they let us stay inside the house anyway. Most of us were chillin' in the living room listening to the dialog, while some people were standing in the doorways to get a better glance at James and Katie.

L ater on that night, Kristina and I went up to Alice and asked if she would ask Mark whether or not he would mind us getting a picture with him. Remember that extras are not supposed to ask for autographs or pictures, but since it was just us and not all the other extras, she said she'd ask. A while later, just before we were about to be dismissed, Alice motioned for me and Kristina. She said Mark had agreed to our request and would meet us out front. So we (Liz and Jacki included) hightailed it to the front, and he was already there waiting. We walked up and started talking to him, and then we posed for our pictures. He was really sweet too because knowing that Kristina and I are so short, he said "Here, how about we sit down on the steps?" And that was a great idea because this has to be one of my favorite pictures from my trip. He's not towering over me, so that the person taking the picture has to stand far back to get us both in the shot (like Jacki did with Josh and me - even though I did comment on him being so tall next to me, and he squatted down to be more on my level. But I thought that wasn't too comfortable a position for him, so I said No, stand up. Stupid me again - I should've made him sit on the steps.) Anyway, Mark looks great in the picture! Don't you agree?

W e left around 8:30 pm that night. Jacki dropped Kristina and Rachel off downtown, so they could call a taxi to take them back to Wrightsville. Then she dropeed Liz and me off. As soon as we got upstairs, the guy at the front deak called the room and said I had visitors. So I went downstairs to find Tammy and Candace sitting in the lobby. They, of course, wanted to know about my day as an extra, and I, of course, wanted to know about the private studio tour they had gotten that morning and how the rest of their day had been spent. I'm not complaining or anything because I count myself as very fortunate to have been an extra, however, I was envious they had received such an awesome tour. Unlike the regular, public tour, the group had gotten to tour every set at the studios including Jack's, Jen's, and Joey's rooms. They had gotten to pick things up and look at it, gotten to try some clothes on (Jack's letterman), and were allowed picture taking privileges! How awesome is that?!

T ammy and Candace left about half an hour later, and I headed back up to the room. Colleen finally showed up - having driven all the way from Florida that very day after she got off work. We talked for a couple hours, showing her pictures and describing our encounters with the cast. Around 1:00 am, we finally hit the hay.

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