The Extra

At nine a.m., John arrived at the old church where the production assistant had told him to go. They were providing food for anyone that wanted it, but he'd eaten before he left the hotel that morning, eager to get started on that day's scene. And even though he would just be a background player in the film, he had heard enough about the script to know that this would be a project in which he desperately wanted to be involved.

After letting the wardrobe dept. approve his suit, John entered the old church where another P.A. asked him to sit in a pew near the front. The scene was to involve a preacher delivering a sermon. However, murmurs began circulating that the actor playing the preacher had not arrived on set. John was afraid that they would need to shut down production for the day, but then the film's director approached him and asked that he take the role of the preacher. John was very nervous about the offer, but he had some acting training and felt that he could play the part if it would help the producers stay on schedule.

Wardrobe fitted him with the proper attire and John looked over the preacher's lines of dialogue. He became concerned. He'd heard that the script was about a town that was on the verge of transition and the lines reflected approval of the approaching changes. John was not very religious, but he understood that clergymen were oftentimes very conservative and not open to revolutionary ideas. The P.A. then appeared and told John it was time to go to his position.

The church was crowded with extras and the production crew, but John maintained his calm and took his place behind the lectern. He closed his eyes and breathed in the dusty air, finding the preacher inside of him. The large room was quieted and the director called "action."

At that moment, John froze. He had memorized the lines, but these words suddenly didn't make sense to the preacher that now possessed his mind and body. John looked to the ground, steadied his hands on the sides of the lectern, and looked up to his congregation. He knew what he had to do.

"Now a lot of the young people in this here town have been asking why I outlawed dancing in this here town," he began. A few shocked people behind the camera began muttering, but the director hushed them all. John continued his improvised speech.

"I outlawed dancing because it is evil and, in the wrong hands, it can be very sensual too, which I don't think many of the older people in this here town would appreciate. Isn't that right?"

Silence.

"I said, isn't that right?"

"Amen!" someone finally shouted from the back of the church. It was the film's star, Kevin, standing next to the director. He gave John a thumbs up and John, still in character, nodded to him.

He continued improvising dialogue in this way for several minutes, fashioning a back story for not only the preacher, but for the whole town too. John decided that the star's love interest should be the preacher's daughter, so he cleverly inserted that storyline into his monologue as well. He slammed his hand on the lectern to emphasize declarations and held the prop bible up high to show his conviction. Sweat poured from his face as he brought the speech to a rousing conclusion, at which everyone in the church then shouted back a hearty "Amen!"

A hush then fell over the room. John again looked to the floor, fearful that he had ruined the take with his improvisation. Then the room erupted in applause. The director and star approached him, saying that he may have saved the movie with his additions. They would re-shoot several key scenes in order to adopt the new approach, regardless of the extra money it would cost them personally. John smiled and said he was glad to help. He then offered several musical selections from his personal record collection to serve as the film's soundtrack, including Deniece Williams, Mike Reno, and Kenny Loggins, whose contribution would replace the film's original title, "No Dance Town".