Marcus writes in:
I was a day player on something recently and didn’t get invited to the wrap party. Do you think the primary reason might be because they didn’t feel like I was a part of the crew enough, or because I am under age?
Someone that was also only on the project for a day got invited (granted, he could be an exception). Is it possible that I didn’t realize that my invitation was implied, because the details were attached to the call sheets I handed out on my last day? But I’m mainly guessing whoever was in charge thought it would be inappropriate because I am under 21.
I hope this question doesn’t seem petty, it’s just all foreign to me. I’m more interested in the opportunity to see the crew again than I am in the “party” aspect of it. What’s your take on all of this? I’m hesitant to ask any of the people I worked with.
If the information is on the call sheet, I would say that is an implied invitation.
But the saddest thing about being a PA is that you can get easily forgotten. Hell, I am a PA, and I often forget day players by the end of the shoot. Don’t take it as an insult. There’s a lot going on during any production.
The under-age thing is probably an issue, too. Most wrap parties involve a fair amount of drinking, especially if there are no under-age cast. Depending on the state, it’s possible you won’t be allowed in the venue.
Basically, though, the take away is, there is no take away. I’ve seen cast members accidentally left off of invites. The only significance is that you slipped somebody’s mind.
But you shouldn’t forget to check out the Kickstarter campaign for season two of Crew Call. (See what I did there?)
2 Responses
I was a regular day-player on the set lighting crew for “Will and Grace” during the final two seasons — meaning I worked at least three days per week on the show for two years — but since I wasn’t on the official “core crew,” the production office did not extend an invitation to the wrap party. I went anyway, thanks to someone else on the list giving me their invite, but that stung a bit… so I did my level best to drive their wine bill deep into the red…
I work as a production PA on major feature films and sadly my experience is that day players usually do not get invited because the production wants to save money or the venue only allows a certain amount of people or has a capacity cap. Day players do get invited though if they have a department lobby behind them. If the HOD is screaming murder then production will add a day player just to keep the peace. Any way that’s my experience.