Extra

1- What's Your Name?

A lot of people have a terrible stigma against strippers. They think that they're dirty, have daddy issues, and no self-respect. I, however, am not dirty, I love my father, and I also love myself. Stripping is fun, people look at me like I'm a goddess. They make me feel beautiful and really, what's so wrong with that?

Although, I'm not a real stripper, I'm just an extra in a movie that requires me to act as a stripper. It's the exact same thing as being a stripper except that with this gig, it's on camera and it's behind four movie stars. There's also no music because they add that in later so I have to sway my hips to an invisible beat and pretend like I can't hear the actors saying their lines.

It's easy and it pays really well, which is really all that matters to me. The money.

I don't care if I have to dress in some expensive lingerie and dance to no music, I've done worse things for less money. Well, okay, I know how that sounds but let me just say that I'm not talking about prostitution. I've just had a lot of weird jobs as an extra including a dead body, a drug addict, and the less weird one of the weird ones, a teen mom.

As the movie people are running around to reset the scene, one of the makeup artists approaches me for touchups but she's very down-to-business so there's no small talk with her, she just brushes my face and then she's hurrying away to touchup another fake stripper's makeup before the scene starts. This is my first day on set and I plan to be here for two weeks but I'm only a stripper for three days.

Sitting on the edge of the smooth black surface, I put on the red stilettos that I have to wear in the scene. I hate wearing them because they're so uncomfortable but I see the four main actors walking on set so I can tell that we're about to get started. Sliding my pink silk robe (not real silk) off of my shoulders, I hide it in a corner of the room behind the cameras and then return to the stage. Using the small shiny black stairs, I step onto the elevated stage next to the long metallic pole that I'll be dancing on when the director calls action.

Dalton Brady, Hudson Gray, Shawn Carrillo, and Zachary Nash.

They're phenomenally famous for their separate movies but it's almost surprising to see them all doing the same movie because they all have different backgrounds. Shawn Carrillo found his fame in tween musicals, Zachary Nash is always the go-to guy for a handsome horror movie star, Hudson Gray is the sappy rom-com type of actor, and Dalton Brady does a lot of action stuff—so much action that he's notable for working on a plethora of movies with Vin Diesel.

I only know all of this because before I start working on a set, I like to know who I'm working with. Granted, I'm not really working with them, I'm just dancing behind them but it's still kind of interesting to read about the movies before I'm actually in them.

This movie that they're starting right now is called Chase the Rise but other than that, I have absolutely no idea what it's about. I have signed a secrecy agreement so that whatever I see or hear about on the set, I can't tell anybody about. I've glanced at the scene today though and I have gathered enough to know that one of the four guys had gotten broken up with and, being upset about that, his three closest friends take him to a strip club. Enter me.

"Last looks!" The director shouts to the buzzing room full of staff. It's kind of funny being on movie sets because half of the room looks like a strip club but behind the cameras, it's just a studio space full of people running around to get the set and the actors ready for the shot.

The makeup artists approach the four celebrities that are now standing just a few feet in front of me on top of their respective X tapes on the ground.

"How long is this set going to take?" Zachary asks aloud but I don't know who he's asking. I do notice, however, that he turns away from the cameras to look up at all of the half-naked girls on the stage. "At least a week probably, right?"