The Common One: On Set! We Be Nurses (Pilot)

On Saturday, I acted in the Pilot episode of the show "We Be Nurses."

The synopsis on the casting notice states:

"We Be Nurses" tells the story of eight medical students, the enthralling journey of these dynamic characters, going back in time to reveal their lives, and details each of their journey to present day and what led them to this point.

Initially, I auditioned for the role of a successful arrogant married doctor who's lost his way. The audition was held in a fantastic reconditioned brownstone in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, not too far from the Barclay's arena. The audition was in a fairly large kitchen in the back of the brownstone. There, I auditioned for the director/writer/producer Adedayo Adedeji, the assistant director David Lanese, the cinematographer, and a few other people.

I recognized one of the producers in the room, Roger Newcombe, from when we were shopping and promoting the web-series "Places Please." The audition was fun and upbeat and I had a nice time catching up with Roger. Afterwards, I went exploring the neighborhood of Fort Greene, which has changed considerably since I was last there.

When I first moved to Brooklyn, I had several friends living in Fort Greene. The streets and rows of brownstones were always gorgeous. However, the neighborhood was much grittier. Like several neighborhoods in the city at that time, the area was still recovering from the ravages of inner city blight and the crack epidemic. I always like Fort Greene and never had any problems, but to see the neighborhood now is seeing a greatly changed place.

The next day I received an email from the director, Dayo, saying that I won a part on the show, just not the part I auditioned for. Dayo asked me to play one half of a couple that was looking to spice up their marriage. The full cast read-through was the next day, a Saturday, with filming to commence on Sunday.

Unfortunately, I was already scheduled to work that Saturday morning, so I was unable to meet the rest of the cast and production team. My scenes weren't to be shot until the following weekend.

I reported to the same brownstone I auditioned in at 11am in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Fortunately, I was the second scene to be filmed. The crew and actors for the first scene had to report at 5am. The call time eventually slid to 6am, but still by any measure, brutal.

The crew was on set in hotel filming the morning scene when I arrived in Brooklyn. I met my scene partners, Chayna Douglas and Cronin Cullen, and some of the other members of the crew, who were coming in and out of the brownstone. My cast mates and I got to know each other over a light and late breakfast, while craft services came and prepared lunch for the rest of the crew.

The make up artist arrived and began prepping our look. The scene is set in a bedroom while the characters are just waking. The stylist attacked my hair and I ended up looking like a strung out bassist for the New York Dolls. Actually, I liked the look, plus she did such a great job the bedhead look stayed for the rest of the day, despite the heat and humidity. Later in the evening, returning home as I walked through the Lower East Side of Manhattan I fit right in, well fit right in if it had been forty years earlier!

After the crew returned and had lunch, we were taken to the brownstone next door to film our scene. I walked into this incredible house and thought, "Ok, can I move in after we're done shooting?" Maybe since the central air that was already on during an incredibly humid day is what overwhelmingly sold me, however the house was well done, incredibly interesting and surprisingly comfortable. I always try to take pictures of being on set for the blog. The pictures for this post will end up looking more a test run for Architectural Digest, or for my own dreams of owning a brownstone in Brooklyn. Also, as I've stated, I was grateful to wait in a house with central air!

Dayo brought us upstairs to get used to the location and we began to figure out the logistics. After a couple of run throughs, we headed back downstairs and waited as the crew set up the lights, microphones and cameras.

Once the crew was ready for us, we all piled into the master bedroom, which now seemed much smaller, tighter, and regrettably, hotter. Although the house had central air, I think we figured out later that each floor has it's own thermostat. And, for an unknown reason, the air wasn't on in the master bedroom. I'd like to think the air was purposely off for quality of sound, but that was never confirmed.

After a couple of 'live' practice takes, we were ready to shoot the real thing. In between takes we tried to air out the room, which was growing increasingly warm and clammy. Thankfully, we were able to get all the coverage needed before the tiny room became too much like a sauna.

There was one more scene for the crew to shoot, but my day was done. After properly cooling off and saying my goodbyes, I was released into the wilds of Planet Brooklyn.

The crew and production moved very quickly and efficiently and I had a fantastic time meeting and working with new people.

I want every project that I'm in to be successful and great. However, there are so many other factors, that I have no idea what will take off and what doesn't. I'm just always happy to be working, on set and to be apart of the collaborative process. That being said, I'm excited to see this finished project and see how far it can go.

I'll keep you posted on when the project is finished and ready to be screened.

Also, keep up to date on the latest news about "We Be Nurses" on the productions FaceBook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/74AdeRemi/?fref=nf or on their Instagram @74AdeRemi.