The First Day on Set

The first day we spent in Heber, Utah at the old railroad station.  I felt like everyone else's chore woman that particular day.  Everyone was dressed “pretty fancy” except for me.  I think Annie, our costume manager (that probably isn't the correct terminology for her position), said I would be the "little Welch woman."  In the scene below, I was in a train car behind the one where the filming was taking place.  The camera was pointing away from us and toward the other side of the train.  When we asked exactly what good we were doing, we were told that many positions wouldn't be seen, but the presence of people even that far back and that out of the way, can make a difference in the shadowing and nuances of the scene.  The beginning of my education as an extra!

My sister, Eileen, and I-- waiting for the take of the scene in which we are not.  Note the man behind us.  He looks like he is using some kind of electronics.  Probably a good thing that we were out of sight of the camera!

I actually was put into a scene on the train that day with just one other woman, with the camera very up close!  With no warning or explanation, I was so nervous.  As I sat there, I thought about how I have often felt as I left my homeland for a strange land, not knowing what was ahead.  I am sure there was excitement—because I have felt that also when moving to a foreign country.  But there would have been tears—sadness at leaving home, family and the familiar.  If I would have had time to prepare for that take, I could actually have cried, wiping my tears with a requested hanky for a prop.  I can feel the emotion still.  I am sure many of those saints did cry even as they rejoiced in their opportunity to go to Zion.  As it was, I did such a poor job, I would have cut me out of that scene for sure!