Introducing Patty Swath as Elly Porter

Patty Swath prided herself on promptness. On the morning of the audition, she got up early, showered, dressed, and re-read the lines her agent had sent over. A few days ago, she visited the hotel where today's auditions were scheduled, took photos, and timed the traffic from her one-bedroom apartment. She did not want to be late. The radio predicted heavy traffic, but Patty made it to the audition in no time.

Patty loved acting. She'd been in plays throughout school and in community theater after that. She had small parts in movies filmed in and around her home town. When she heard that Pantamount was filming the superhero action picture “Pantheon of Starshakers”, with Elly Porter, teleporter, as a featured character, she knew it was the role she was born to play.

Patty, as Elly Porter, would use her superpower at a few critical plot turns in the film. Patty knew she could bring a realism to the role that might make the producers consider a more prominent part in the inevitable “Pantheon of Starshakers 2”, or a spin-off stand-alone film of the character.

Patty waited outside the audition room with a few other hopefuls. She was thankful for the small window into the room. She could see the director inside, and took a photo of the room through the glass, for a keepsake.

An assistant to the director came to the door, “Patty Swath, we're ready for you.” Patty looked again at the photo of the audition room and nervously scratched her index finger with her thumb.

Inside the room, the director looked up from her script. “Oh! We didn't see you come in.” Patty smiled. The director went on, “So tell us about yourself.” Patty proceeded to tell how she grew up, fell in love with acting, and some of the roles she'd played. “And what do you do for fun?” the director asked. “I like to travel and to collect photos of places I'd like to see,” Patty answered.

“Good. OK. Let's see how you do as our Elly,” the director said, going back to her script. “Let's pick it up on page 34, where Revenger tells you he needs you to get inside the villain's hideout.”

Patty knew exactly the spot. She had memorized all the pages of the script she'd been sent and delivered the lines flawlessly. They had her read a few other bits of dialogue, told her “Thank you,” and “We'll be in touch.”

Patty waited nervously, wanting to pop back into the director's office and see how the decision on the part was going, but decided it was probably better to just wait to hear, like normal people. Two days later, the call came. Her agent shouted on the line, “Ready for the big screen, Elly Porter?”

Her agent told her she would need to go to the studio offices to sign the contract. Patty had been by the Pantamount Studios many times and had taken several photos of the studio lots.

Thumbnail digging into her index finger, Patty told her agent, “I can be there right now.” Her agent said, “Slow down. I need to go with you to be sure all the contracts are in order. We've got a meeting at 1:00 tomorrow. Is that good for you?”

Of course, it was good for her. Anytime would be good for her. She was going to be Elly Porter, teleporting superhero.

Principal filming for “Pantheon of Starshakers” would begin in four weeks. Patty's agent sent her call sheets for each of the days Patty was to be on set. Most filming would be at the Pantamount Studios, but there were a few location shots, too. Patty visited each of the sites and took photos so she would know she could get there in a hurry, if necessary. Patty also memorized all of her lines. Inevitably there would be rewrites, she knew, but she was sure that if she had the original lines down, daily adjustments would be easy.

The week before filming began, all the major actors gathered for a script read-through. Patty was excited to be among the major stars: Emma Parsons, Marc Martinez, Paul Anthony Wayne, Esther Patten, Samuel Yamar, Allison Ponds, and Alex Johnson. She took a photo with each of them. She had had a small part on an Allison Ponds film, and Allison actually remembered her. She found Esther Patten and Alex Johnson very friendly. Some of the others were not so welcoming, but she suspected that was just their personality.

On the first day of shooting, Patty was assigned her trailer. She'd had a trailer before, but she was still excited about the celebrity treatment. Her name and “Elly” were in big letters on the trailer door; the golden star really made it special. It was a dream come true. She took many photos of the inside of the trailer and of the door with the bright golden star.

Patty's first scene was with Samuel Yamar, famous for the popular Walter Cotton detective series. Walter, in his early forties and already feeling the pinch of age on his career, hoped that his role, Stingray, could show he had appeal to younger movie-goers. He told the producers he wanted to do his own stunts. They refused citing insurance considerations. No problem, his publicist would spin it to say how disappointed Samuel was, and to arrange for him to do a few of the less strenuous stunts in the pre-release interviews.

Patty had no such concerns. Elly's superpower didn't require much physicality and when it did, Patty was happy to let the professionals take over. Today's scene was simple. Stingray led the cabal known as Pandemic. Pandemic's headquarters was in a locked and heavily guarded warehouse. The scene had Elly teleport into their lair to copy their plans. Stingray would catch her in the warehouse before she could teleport out. Patty checked her call sheet, and waited, ready to be a star.

The writers had decided that in order for Elly Porter to activate her teleportation power, she needed to sip a concoction of some Incan elixir infused with pomegranate and thyme. Elly was to put a few drops of this elixir in her mouth, name a destination, then swallow. To Patty, it all seemed excessively cumbersome.

In the scene, Stingray enters the room, sees Elly Porter, and surprised, says “How did you get in here?” Elly clutches whatever papers she can reach and tells Stingray, “Wouldn't you like to know?'” She would then pull out her elixir vial, drip a few drops on her tongue, say where she wanted to go, and swallow.

As soon as she delivered her line, though, Samuel stopped, turned to the director and said, “She got the line wrong.” Patty wrinkled her brow. She was sure she had memorized the script correctly. The director said, “There was a rewrite. You didn't check for rewrites this morning.” Patty knew she hadn't gotten a rewrite, but she didn't protest. Samuel smirked. A production assistant gave Patty a copy of the rewritten script. She read it, memorizing it. The director asked, “Ready?” Without waiting, she announced “back to one!” calling all the cast and crew back to their starting positions for the scene.

In the rewritten scene, when Stingray asks, “How did you get in here?”, Elly answers, “You should ask, 'How did I get out?'”. Then she pulls out the elixir vial, drips the drops on her tongue, says, “Ellis Construction Site”, and swallows.

The director seemed pleased but put them through the scene several times, then called, “Wrap!” Samuel glowered at Patty, “Learn your lines.” He gave the director a what-can-you-expect shrug and left. Patty had one more short scene with Samuel for the day, but the crew needed to reset the stage. Besides it was lunchtime.

The morning had been exciting, but stressful. The incident with the rewrite, and Samuel Yamar's reaction were off-putting. She longed to go to the park near her home, the most peaceful place she knew, so she decided to pop over during the break. As she settled into her favorite spot near the pond, she was surprised by the stares from other park-goers, until she realized she was still in her Elly Porter costume, with full stage make-up. Twenty minutes later, relaxed, rested, ready for whatever would come, she pulled out the photo of her trailer, scratched her finger, and got back with time to spare.

This time, she was the one surprised by the young man she found with his hands in her refrigerator.

Robert Towne was a production assistant, PA in industry lingo. As is the fate of PAs, he was given small tasks throughout the day to help keep the production on track and to keep the stars at peace. This afternoon, his task was to restock the refrigerators in the trailers of the stars. He had to be sure that they had enough water and juices in the refrigerator, and snacks on the counter to stay happy. He liked his job. He was fascinated by the the nitty-gritty details of movie-making. He never imagined acting, but he enjoyed being a part of the process, even in this humble role.

When Patty saw the young man, she gasped. Robert jumped and turned, blushing. “I'm so sorry,” he stammered. “I didn't hear you come in.” “People rarely do,” Patty said. Robert quickly explained why he was in her trailer. Nervously, he said, “I knocked and no one was in here. I thought you were back on set since they moved up the afternoon schedule.” Patty's eyes widened. “They did what?” she asked urgently. “They moved up the afternoon schedule. They announced it through the speakers, and a PA rode through the lot in a golf cart, announcing it, so everyone would know. No one came to tell you?”

“No,” Patty said, grabbing the latest updated call sheet. She was due in make-up in two minutes. She pushed Robert out the door. “We'll need to talk later.” Closing the door, she pulled out the photo of the make-up room, nervously scratching her finger with her thumbnail. She hated to be late.

Outside, Robert stopped, turned, and ran back to Patty's door. He knocked and pushed the door open. “One more thing, you should know … .” He stopped. Patty wasn't in the trailer. “Oh yes,” he thought, “we'll need to talk later.”

The afternoon scene with Samuel Yamar went pretty much like the morning. Samuel was aloof. Patty had reviewed the newest call sheet during the make-up session and now reviewed it once more to be sure she hadn't missed a change. She didn't see any.

In this scene, Stingray has Elly Porter and Val Scarlet, one of the other members of the Pantheon, on the floor tied up. Elly gets her vial of elixir, so she can teleport out and get help. Emma Parsons would play Val Scarlet. Patty was thrilled. She had been an Emma Parsons fan since she first saw her in an old teen romance movie.

The director gave a quick overview of how she saw the scene play out. Stingray was distracted. Val maneuvers to help Elly's get her elixir vial so she can get a drop, and say her line. Emma turned to Patty and whispered, “Why did they make this teleportation so complicated?” “I know,” said Patty, “It's really so much easier than this.” Emma started to ask what that meant when the director shouted, “Let's take it from the top.”

Val twisted, helping push the vial slowly out of Elly's shirt. Stingray turned, delivering his line: “It was inevitable that it would end this way, for you two, and for your friends.” Elly's line was “Sorry, fish, I've got to go.”

Almost before she gave her line, Samuel stopped, dropped out of character, and told the director, “She's missed her line again.” Emma whispered, “They sent a rewrite at lunchtime.” The director, much less kindly, “There was a rewrite. Don't you pay attention?” Samuel walked to the director, “It's not too late for a recast you know. If she can't get these simple lines right, how is she going to handle real dialogue?”

Patty was furious. She knew there wasn't a rewrite in the afternoon call sheet in her trailer. It was clear someone wanted to be sure she failed. She suppressed a scream. She started to cry, not tears of defeat, but of fury. She nervously scratched her index finger and looked at the photo of her trailer. Safe inside, she let out the scream she stifled on set.

Robert jumped up from where he sat on the steps to Patty's trailer. He banged on the door. From inside, Patty asked, “Who's there?”

“It's Robert. Is everything all right?” Not hearing an answer, he opened the door a crack. “Miss Swath, is everything OK?” She said, “Yes” but her tone betrayed that it wasn't. Robert sat on the top step, holding the door open with his back. “If that scream was for the movie, you nailed it. If not, it sounds like trouble.” Patty insisted, “I'm OK.” She started to leave, telling him “I need to get back to the set.” Robert stepped aside. “But you've got to tell me how you got here from the set,” he shouted as Patty hurried down the long walkway back to the sound stage. He turned to close the trailer door. When he turned back, Patty was gone.

Back on set, they redid the scene with the revised line. Samuel continued to make it difficult. He blamed Patty for any fault. Finally, there were three or four good takes, and the director shouted, “Wrap!” She pulled Patty aside and told her, “I know some of this is new for you, but you've got to be up to date on the rewrites. Sam's right. I could recast, but I like your style. These other heroes” --airquoting the term-- “act their superpower, but you live it like you really believe teleportation is a thing. Get the lines right and the audience will believe it too.”

“Now, go home, rest, check your call sheet tomorrow, twice. I like your work, but any more mistakes, and I might need to make a change. OK?” Patty nodded.

The next morning, just after Patty arrived in her trailer, she heard a knock on the door. It was Robert. His eyes were wide open. “You can really do it, can't you?” he blurted. “Do what?” she said.

“You can teleport. Don't deny it.”

Patty scrunched her brow. “Don't be crazy. It's the movies.”

“No. Yesterday, you didn't hear about the schedule change because you had teleported somewhere. And … and, two times now, you arrived in your trailer while I was sitting on your front steps. No way you could get past me without me seeing.” He took a deep breath. Patty started to protest. “Then yesterday, after you magically appeared in your trailer and screamed, you started walking back to the set. As soon as you saw that I looked away, you disappeared.”

“I walk fast. So what.”

“Not that fast. I checked. You were back on the set on time. You couldn't fly there that fast.” Patty sighed. “Look, I've got to get to the set. I've got enough trouble with Yamar trying to get me fired. I can't be late.” Robert blocked the door. “We both know you won't be late, unless you don't tell me before time runs out.”

Robert grinned. “I wanted to tell you yesterday that Yamar was trying to mess you up. He has a young protegee he's trying to get into the part. He's been messing with your rewrites and call sheets. Tell me how you teleport, and I'll help you with Yamar.” He waited. “Otherwise, you'll be late and Yamar will win.”

Patty hesitated, weighing her options. Finally, she sighed, “OK.” She looked at the photo of the golden star on her trailer door and dug her thumbnail into her index finger. She disappeared from inside the trailer, reappearing behind Robert on the trailer stairs. Desperately, she said, “You cannot tell anyone!”

“Who'd believe me?” Robert answered.

“Now, how do we fix Yamar?” Patty asked.

“Come with me,” Robert said leading her out of the trailer, “and bring your camera”. At Yamar's trailer, Robert took the camera and took a photo through the keyhole. Passing it back to Patty, he asked, “Good enough?” Patty looked, nodded, and dug her thumbnail into her finger. Robert could hear the noise inside. “Meet me back at my trailer,” Patty shouted through the door. She was there when Robert ran back. “Let's go see the director.” She grabbed Robert's wrist. “Don't let go.”

In front of the soundstage, Patty said, “Robert, you've got to go in and tell her that Yamar has all the rewrites that were supposed to go to me. Besides, his email was open and I read his plans to mess up the other actors and enlarge his own role. She's got to order his trailer opened to get the proof.”

“Why can't you tell her? I'm just a PA. I don't pull a lot of weight.”

“I'm the one on the hook here. She won't believe it from me, and Yamar will be able to clean up the evidence.” “Go,” she pleaded, “go!”

Robert did as asked. The director said she thought Samuel was up to no good and called for an investigation. As expected, the plans of Samuel Yamar were exposed. The director called Yamar aside and confronted him. He asked her, “What are you going to do?” The director answered, “I'll leave it to the lawyers, but you're done on this film.”

“Oh, and I'm glad you reminded me there's still time to recast.”