Ang Lee Casting Call

This afternoon Annalena and I snuck off to an open casting call to be extras in Ang Lee's new movie, Taking Woodstock, which will film in the area August through October. The audition was held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in New Lebanon, New York. The church social hall was lined with paintings of Pope Benedict, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus interspersed with historic black and white photos of hippies.

We filled out forms detailing our dimensions, willingness to grow facial/body hair (okay), willingness to bare our breasts and camp on site (no thanks), musical instruments played (junior sort of plays trombone), whether we have a dog (yes, but perhaps he's too excitable for Woodstock), whether we own a car circa 1969 or earlier (no), and our availability (jobs? school? As if we'd let those things stop us).

We posed for snapshots. The casting agent instructed Annalena not to cut her hair and she looked me up and down in my prim cardigan and said, "We're casting for townspeople, too." As a toddler of the counter culture, it feels a little strange that I'm now perceived as too old to play a hippie. Regardless, I hope we get to participate in the spectacle one way or another.