Fitting for Martin Scorcesse's new HBO production

I was on the set of the Samsung Commercial when I got the call to get booked for this. The Samsung shoot was one of those miserable sets where it's pouring rain, it's an exterior and yet they want you to run around in business suits, drop your umbrella, do crosses and pretend that it's not raining.


Out of the blue I get a call from Grant Wilfley Casting, one of the biggest casting houses in New York. The message said to call up and see if I could come for a fitting for the new "Martin Scorsese" HBO production, "Boardwalk Empire". She asked me if I could make it to Brooklyn the following day and what time slot I would like to go.

I told the girl at "Grant" that I would like to take the afternoon call time for the fitting. My time was for 3pm to get to York St, which is the first stop into Brooklyn on the "F" train.

I get there to the subway stop with ten minutes to spare. I got outside and spotted another background person..you can always tell who is background. It's that certain background look of being puzzled, dragging a suitcase, and looking around aimlessly for a van.

So I approached this young lady, who obviously was going the same way I was. I introduce myself and within a couple of minutes, the van pulls around the corner. The driver pops his head out of the window and aks "Boardwalk?" We were like "Yes!" Quickly we hopped into the van.

The driver of the van clearly had a long, exhausting day of transporting people back and forth from the subway to the warehouse location. As we got on, this Woman that I know was talking his ear off and you could tell the driver wanted to throw her off the van a few miles back.

After a few twists and turns around the Brooklyn Navy Yards area, we get to this shipping and receiving dock. There was NO way I would have been able to find this location. We get up to the loading area, up to the freight elevator to the 8th floor. This elevator was one of these old ones where you had to grab this belt and pull down the doors yourself, then press and hold a button down. So glad I wasn't in that elevator alone.

The door opens up to this warehouse and racks and racks of wardrobe for this movies. I get to the front desk to sign and get my voucher. Next step this gay guy approaches me and tells me to take off my bulky sweater so he could take measurements. So I stand there with my arms stretched out and he gets out his measuring tape.

He measures my waist, hips, girth, bust and everything in between. There were over 4o measurements taken! Then it was off to the dressing room to get fitted. The part I really dread. I get to the dressing room and the guy tells me to disrobe and get down to my pantyhose and bra only.

Moments later, a Woman comes in and starts examining me and my measurement chart, then dashes out to get a costume. She comes back with a camisole and a corset!!! She tells me to take my sports bra off. I did this with much hesitation and figure well she is a Woman and this guy here is gay. So off came the bra and on with the camisole. That was actually easy in comparison to the next step. Getting that corset on!

First they had a medium for me and they pulled, stretched, it out and barely got the clasps on. I was dying. I couldn't breathe. I told them this wasn't going to work, so they brought another one in a large size. This one too barely fit around me. The gay guy had his knee up against my back to pull this thing and secure it on me. I was like "Wow, it must have really sucked to be a Woman in the 1920's!" Also I didn't know they didn't wear bras and just let the boobs flop around like that!

Once they got that on me, the rest of the costume piece together nicely, save for this skirt. This skirt was really awkward as it did not have a zipper on the side or in the back. The zipper was this strange 3/4 on the side past the hip. It took wardrobe a while to figure this one out. After I got the skirt on, they gave me a shirt, a sweater, boots, and a long heavy itchy fur coat!

It was something else. I felt like I was transported to the 1920's. It was a treat to be in such a museum piece, but even standing there for the time I was there, I already couldn't breathe and the coat was irritating me. I don't know how any of us will handle the day of the shoot wearing this for 17 hours. It will be an interesting day for sure.

So I got undressed, back into "2009 clothes" , got signed out and headed back to the elevator and heading back to Queens.

Back to One!

Addendum :At the time when I got the call I felt privileged and lucky that I got this call. Finally I get cast for being pale and Irish lookin. Though after going through this fitting, I'm not sure this set will be that much fun.