Chartarum blog contribution

Frances - Playing Dead in the Road

Most good horror flicks kill off a few people before the credits. As an acting challenge, it sounds like a fun one – you get your big moment AND make the audience sorry for you. All you have to do flop over and feign stillness, right? No problem, dogs do it all the time. So when John said he wanted to get some footage of his intrepid cast both surviving and not surviving, it sounded really cool and dramatic. I was geeked.
Of course, it’s tougher than it looks. First, there was the environment. For me, that meant putting on the flannel shirt jacket as if the evening were cooling off (it wasn’t), smearing on sun block (a redhead thing), and topping off everything with a layer of Deep Woods Off (mosquitoes). Make up? Not needed.

Then, there was traffic. There we were, artistically laid out on the quiet country road, holding back on breathing and twitching, and a car came by. And another. Followed by yet another, towing a trailer with two ATVs. There was even a motorcycle or two that halted shooting because of the distant noise. Had we had this much traffic before? Never (quiet country road, remember?) On the upside, by the time the ATVs passed we could position ourselves pretty quickly.

Finally, there was the business of getting into a good death pose. I’m not trained. Actors are trained in fainting, fighting, dying, and giving birth while Atlanta burns. Me? Pure MSU – Make Stuff Up. So, I probably died very neatly each time - no scraps, stubs, or damage to the glasses. But when John circulated with his camera, I stopped all movement, even if there was a pebble in my shoulder blade, an insane itch, or the “Dead Skunk” song playing in my head (why?) I was going to be good and dead, and John would add the dramatic gore later through movie magic. Would half my face be gone, or would I just be eviscerated? Exciting stuff to think about as John carefully stepped around and through us.

My conclusion? Way cool, but dogs make it look easy.

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