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I'm alone in an ordinary room with unadorned walls and exposed pipes. Fluorescent lights hum and the temperature is frigid. Six large, industrial-style folding tables are arranged into an enormous rectangle in the center of the room, surrounded by a row of metal folding chairs. There aren't many reasons why anyone would want to spend time in this room, except that soon it will be filled with TV stars.
This is a table read for Six Feet Under, where the cast performs an episode for the first time, enabling the director and producers to hear it and decide on any last minute changes. The first people to show up are the guest cast - actors who appear only in this episode. As they nervously take a seat and look around for someone to talk to, the series regulars - the actors who play the Fisher family, the Diaz family, Brenda and Keith -- file in. Some of them are taking a break from filming to attend the table read, and wear costumes and full make-up. The series regulars warmly introduce themselves to the guest cast, and the room soon becomes boisterous and loud. Series regulars who haven't seen each other in a long time greet each other with hugs and catch up. Eventually the director, the producers and executives from HBO arrive. It's time to get started.
Everyone takes a seat with the most recent version of the script. Scripts are always rewritten throughout the production of each episode, and this one has already gone through seven drafts before even getting to the table read. Executive Producer Alan Poul, who is also going to be the director of this episode, greets the group, announces the episode's title, and introduces the writer Scott Buck to a big round of applause.
Executive Story Editor Craig Wright reads the scene description aloud: "David sits at the table with a cup of coffee."
Then Michael C. Hall reads his line in character. The cast performs the entire episode like a play. But instead of moving around on a stage, they remain seated at the table, even if the script calls for action such as a fist fight or love scene.
Many people in the room are reading the script for the first time. Funny lines get a big laugh and shocking scenes induce a murmur of surprise. Throughout the table read, Scott and show creator Alan Ball notice the group's reaction and make notes about parts of scenes where energy drags, or jokes that don't work as well as they had hoped. The table read takes about an hour.
Afterwards, most of the people leave the room and go back to work. Only Scott, show creator Alan Ball, Alan Poul and a few HBO executives stay behind. Together, they compare notes on what elements of the story weren't clear. Scott Buck rewrites the script to reflect those changes.
Each set of script revisions is color-coded so new pages can be inserted into the existing script without wasting lots of paper. Today's revised pages from the table read are yellow. They'll be distributed to everyone in the cast and crew later this evening, the night before this episode begins filming.
Soon, Room 42 is quiet and cold again, but the entire group will be back to warm it up in two weeks -- for the next episode.
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Mortuary Fact
In 1999, the cremated remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and LSD advocate Timothy Leary were launched into orbit on a Spanish research satellite. |
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