In the Loop

-Joe Tornatore, far right, smiles for the camera.

There is no greater cause that symbolizes and unifies both my career in social work and my interest in acting than my selection to participate in a World AIDS Day commercial. A background actor of my lowly stature rarely gets a chance to speak on film and today my pantomime on B roll film for this worthwhile cause proved to be no exception. After being afloat on a cruise liner in the Gulf of Mexico only twenty-four hours earlier, the acting role called for standing in place for hours on a mark outlined by a cobalt blue piece of tape. As I tried to execute conversational pantomime to complete strangers at a standstill on cue, my body rocked in a boat's perpetual sway.

Shooting for the commercial occurred at Hill Studios in Paulsboro, New Jersey. Upon arrival, I admired the bevy of autographed show biz memorabilia gracing the walls. I learned that Hill Studios provided the backdrop for many commercial, television, and movie projects. The likes of Frank Sinatra to Allen Iverson have graced the premises so what was acting novice Joe Tornatore doing in a place like this? I am not really sure how my life works other than to describe it as ironic. Truth be told, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline stood against all odds front and center in a closed set commercial spotlighting spry thirty something year olds.

After actors muddled through wardrobe and makeup, the crew fashioned each of us with a tiny red ribbon, the symbol of awareness to commemorate the World AIDS movement. As wranglers marched us to the staging area, the smell of white paint fumigated nostrils. Instruction focused on the micromanagement of positioning. Sixty extras from a parade of nations formed a human red ribbon loop on a freshly whitewashed studio set. With my fortuitous position marked in the center of the contiguous loop, I considered myself the slipknot delicately holding the human ribbon together. I joked aloud about this and many other whimsical puns to lubricate the assembly. I also laughed at myself for if a camera lens adds ten pounds, a week long cruise adds another dozen pounds.

Two trigger-happy photographers took literally hundreds of digital still shots of the actors, photos promptly loaded into laptop computers to start production before the day’s wrap. Throughout the shoot, three hard working makeup artists ran around the set dotting beads of trickling sweat, wiping facial sheen, and powdering faces. My face looked like aged crumpled cheese next to the fresh porcelain faces so the makeup department quite literally had their hands full with me. When the camera lifted 25 feet atop a hydraulic platform scaffold to shoot aerial footage of our loopy formation, things started to look up for all of the actors. Hours later, the unfailing camera lowered back to ground cover tripod action for dolly track pans, soft focus shots, and prizewinning close-ups.

I shared a sit down catered lunch and conversation with two beautiful women. After they fell asleep on the table with their heads down, I started to rethink the notion of my stage presence over chicken salad at nausea. Then another extra saved me from despair when she told me I might not be Chicken Little. Production canonized a touching close-up of me extending my arm to an infant, who held by her mother, grasped hold of my finger with her fist to symbolize the circle of life. There is a bigger picture here. Word passed on the set attached notable actors Will Smith and Kevin Bacon to this commercial. The director also informed us that music will be composed for the commercial and a pre-screening party is being teased to launch airing. This may turn out to be something grand. If nothing else, it proves that no matter where you stand in life, it is always good to be in the loop. So act now for a cause.