At the party, the guests began to arrive. Each one was littler and younger than the next. It soon became clear to Christina and I that our movie cast was the youngest group of youngsters we'd ever filmed!! And we began to worry. Would they be able to say their lines clearly? Would they understand how to "act" with fellow "actors?" As the giggling, running, and wrestling increased, so did my anxiety.
We called the "cast" into our cast meeting, where I gently told them the story of the movie we were about to film. Just like storytelling in a classroom, the children were entranced, probably wondering where the picture book was so I could show them the pictures! Next, we did make-up. They were loving this part of the activity, so my hopes rose.
Then we assembled in the kitchen to shoot the first scene. Once I had "quiet on the set" (which was no easy task because all 20 parents decided to stay to watch!) I gave the first little girl her line. And she pulled it off spectacularly. When the birthday girl's cue arrived, she pranced into the frame like a natural. Next she rattled off her lines, in a loud, clear voice, full of expression and emotion. I couldn't believe it!
But knowing 6 year-olds, I knew their attention span was limited. So we quickly ran through the lines, then moved onto the free-for-all singing contest scene. That's when everyone started joining in the fun, laughing, singing, dancing.
As I wrapped up the movie shoot, sure enough all 20 girls, were done paying attention. They were off running, screaming, and wrestling. Did I mention that they were all wearing princess costumes? Yep, princesses wrestling in the middle of the living room. It was time for this movie director to head to the edit room. Cut, it's a wrap!!
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