Arts Reel

Pat Sajak at 80: The Tributes Fans Shared

Pat Sajak turned 80, and the internet did what it always does when a beloved TV era feels suddenly close enough to touch. It hit rewind. Not rewind on a scandal. Not rewind on a “surprise comeback.” Rewind on the simple, oddly comforting ritual he helped turn into a nightly habit for millions:...

What Are Sides in a Film or TV Audition?

I have a small ritual before any show or screening: I read everything I can get my hands on, then I stay for the credits. Auditions do not give actors that luxury. In film and TV, you often do not receive a full script, especially in early rounds. You get sides , a handful of pages that are just...

Can Tattoos or Glasses Keep You From Working as an Extra?

I grew up in Chicago backstage, where you learn early that every detail reads under lights. A shoelace, a hat brim, a smudge of eyeliner, a pair of glasses catching glare. Film and TV sets run on the same principle, only with higher resolution and a script supervisor (continuity) whose notes will...

Turnaround Time on a Film Set, Explained

I learned the word “turnaround” the same way a lot of us do: not from a class or a handbook, but from the look on a production coordinator’s face when someone asked, very politely, “So… when are we back tomorrow?” On film sets, language gets built out of necessity. Turnaround is one of those...

What Is Blocking in Theater and Film?

I grew up in Chicago in the not-so-glamorous places where shows are actually made: backstage hallways, paint-splattered scene shops, and projection booths where you learn quickly that every entrance, cross, and turn has to land somewhere . Long before I had the vocabulary for it, I was watching...

Do Film and TV Extras Need an Agent?

I grew up backstage in Chicago where everyone had a job title that sounded mysterious until you watched them work. That is how I feel about the word “agent” when you are brand new to on-camera life. It sounds like a golden ticket. For most film and TV extras, it is not. Background acting is its own...

What Is ADR in Film and TV?

I grew up backstage in Chicago, where the loudest thing in a theater was usually the audience, not the room itself. Film sets are the opposite. They can be a gorgeous symphony of craft and also an absolute war zone of noise: generators humming, wind machines roaring, wardrobe rustling, dolly tracks...

Can Film and TV Extras Post Photos From Set?

The first time I worked around a set, I had the same impulse I get in a theater: document the magic. Backstage, the instinct is understandable. Sets are gorgeous. Costumes are surreal up close. And if you are an extra, it can feel like your tiny corner of the frame is your own little victory lap....

What to Do If You Get Hurt as a Film or TV Extra

I have watched plenty of days on set where the most dangerous thing in the room was boredom. And then, in a blink, a “simple” background moment becomes a slip on a wet sidewalk, a bumped head under a low lighting stand, or a shoulder twinge from doing the same reset twenty times. Extras are hired...

What Is Craft Services on a Film Set?

The first time I wandered onto a professional set as a young arts writer, I clocked the lights, the cables, the hush before “roll”… and then I clocked the table . A folding oasis of bananas, granola bars, coffee, and something neon in a cooler that looked like it could revive a Victorian ghost....

Can Background Actors Talk to Principal Actors on Set?

I grew up in Chicago around musicians and set builders, which meant I learned early that the magic only happens when everyone knows their lane. Film and TV sets run on that same quiet choreography. If you are working background, you are absolutely a real part of the storytelling. You are also part...

Noah Wyle Is People’s Sexiest Man Alive

There are certain faces that feel stitched into the cultural fabric, the way a favorite cast recording can instantly put you back in a specific season of your life. Noah Wyle is one of those faces. And now, in a delightful full circle moment, the actor has been named People’s Sexiest Man Alive ....

Susan Saint James, ‘McMillan & Wife’ and ‘Kate & Allie’ Star, Dies

Susan Saint James, an actor whose bright ease and grounded intelligence helped define American television across multiple decades, died on October 26, 2026. She was born August 14, 1946. The cause was pancreatic cancer. If you grew up on the kind of TV that made weekly appointments feel like family...

Savannah Chrisley Opens Up About Her Secret Engagement

Savannah Chrisley is sharing two big life updates at once. On the Oct. 27 episode of her Unlocked podcast , she revealed that she is engaged to her fiancé, Jason, and expecting their first baby together . Savannah Chrisley and Jason Chrisley shared the news on the Oct. 27 episode of her Unlocked...

What Happens to Your Ticket If a Show Is Canceled?

I am the kind of person who reads the whole playbill before the curtain and stays through the last curtain call, so I do not say this lightly: having a show cancel can feel like the universe stole your night out. Sometimes it is weather, sometimes it is illness, sometimes it is a touring logistics...

How to Read a Background Actor Call Sheet

The first time I ever held a call sheet, I treated it like a sacred text. Which, honestly, is not the worst instinct. A background actor call sheet is the production’s way of saying: here is exactly how to get to set, when to arrive, and how not to become the person everyone has to hunt down at...

What Is a Pit Ticket at a Concert?

I grew up backstage in Chicago, which means I learned early that “close to the stage” is not one single experience. There’s close with a comfy assigned seat, and then there’s close with a pit ticket, where you are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with other fans, and you can practically feel the...

Are Film and TV Extras Employees or Independent Contractors?

I have a soft spot for background performers. They are the commuters on the platform, the museum-goers pausing at a painting, the wedding guests who clap on cue. When you are new to set life, though, the most unglamorous question can be the most urgent: are you being paid as an employee or as an...

What Is a Day Player in Film and TV?

I grew up backstage in Chicago, where the difference between “in the show” and “around the show” was crystal clear: who got a cue, who got a costume, who got a note, who got a name. Film and TV have their own version of that distinction, and one of the most misunderstood titles sits right in the...

What Happens at a Background Wardrobe Fitting?

The first time I got called in for a background wardrobe fitting, I assumed it would be like a shoot-day check in: show up, get told what to wear, get sent home. Instead, it felt closer to a quiet, highly focused backstage ritual. Wardrobe was building a visual world, one person at a time, and I...