This week has been a bit important for me, to anyone else it sounds a bit uneventful, but in my eyes i have taken the first step towards my long-desired media career. I’ve been trying to break into television production for a while now to no avail, but in the last week I was lucky enough to be involved in a casting event that gave me a tantalising taste of TV work, now I just have to repeat it a million times over. I didn’t even specifically apply to work at the event, it just so happened that a company with whom I’d previously had an interview called me to help out, and thus gave me my start. Obviously I didn’t get the position that I had originally interviewed for – yet again it was the Catch 22 of needing experience to get experience. (sigh.)
For the event I was acting as a Casting Assistant, talent scouting for a new gay reality show in the vein of TOWIE in one of Soho’s finest gay bars. It was interesting to say the least, I like to think that I am familiar with the gay scene (I challenge anyone who went to Royal Holloway not to be) and that I am not too easily surprised, but wow. Among the usual camp doilies perfecting their Beyonce moves, I met a whole array of beautifully strange people – from a drag queen with a rooster garden ornament sticking out of his trousers, to a 7ft face painted man wearing the largest blue fur coat I have ever seen. Happily, every single person was lovely (it was probably my clipboard of power) and there’s a few people who I dearly hope to one day see on my TV screen. My absolute favourite was a woman called Lola* who was born with both genders, raised as a boy and fell in and out of love with a man, then transitioned to become a woman and re-met that man and married him. She is also a go-go dancer and works at a homeless charity helping transgender people to rebuild their lives. So. Much. Admiration. The only downfall is that she was quite shy, so while I pretty much fell in love with her as soon as we met, I’m unsure if her loveliness would translate well on a show with other more outrageous characters. It’s not in any way up to me, but I can still hope.
My role at the event was very minor, I was surrounded by a cracking group of people, I realise that it couldn’t be counted as a proper position. BUT it gave me a taste of what I hope to achieve, and the chance to put something that is actually related to television on my CV (surprisingly, a job as a Waterstones Christmas temp doesn’t have people queuing up to hire me). But more importantly, I believe that I did a good job (I hope that those in charge would agree), and it strengthened my belief that this is what I want to do, and more importantly something at which I could be excellent. Now I just need to get to that second step and I’ll be away.
For more information on the reality show, visit http://www.thescenetv.co.uk
*name changed
7 Kinds of Mind 