He Called Me a Shiner

My day at the winery shoot in Healdsburg was absolutely delightful. How many times did I hear my fellow actors exclaim, as they sat under the glimmering sun with gentle 70-degree breeze, facing the vineyards, and waiting for their call at the bar, "I can't believe I get paid for this!"

Our director T. is making a training film for wineries to teach employees how to pour, how to treat guests, etc., and this was the first day. She is very organized – I saw her well-worked out shot list. Call time was 10 AM and we were done by 2:30.

After our wardrobe approval all eight of us were paired up. Two of our young actors, handsome local students, had to be carded. Everyone looked totally real.

We hung out in the garden, where there was plenty of water and a ton of cheese, crackers, apples, and chocolate to keep the blood sugar under control.

I wore a bright, tropical turquoise top over white, summery culottes and turquoise wedge espadrilles. My "husband" Rick is a tall, handsome, bearded Navy retiree dressed in dark green sweatshirt and khakis, and this was his first day acting. So, I found myself doing a bit of coaching. He was great. Everyone said we looked like a real couple.

Our job? To walk into the expansive, elegant tasting room, admire the artwork, smile at one another, his hand on my shoulder, and slowly make our way toward the bar.We did that a few times. After a break, we came back and sipped a dry white Zin, a rosé, and something a bit more complex, water back. But, I really did not want to be drinking at this hour. I never understood the part about driving from place to place, getting sloshed in the middle of the day. But, it's a wine country tradition, and Healdsburg is deep wine country. Downtown there are famous label tasting rooms on every block. There's also a sign for pedestrians telling them where they may not take their drinking.

At one point, the cute and efficient cameraman who did his own lighting and had only one assistant, took a look at me, and said he would like to powder me down a bit. "You're what we call 'a shiner' in the biz," he said. (And, yes, it's that good skin that saves me, too!) Rick was getting a bit flushed, so he got a bit of powder, too.

In the final episode we have to act disgruntled at the lousy service as we are ignored by the server, who has his back turned away from us and is seen madly texting. I've been watching my mother take on bad restaurant service and act disgruntled about it all my life: So, I've got this act down pat.

After the wrap the winery owner, who participated in every aspect of the day, give us each a pass so we can bring friends up for a free tasting any time. Nice touch!