Stand in- to act as substitute: to take the place of somebody or something else as a substitute.
I was able to cruise the Grammy red carpet to help major entertainment outlets prep for their live broadcasts. This was my role.
We arrived at the Staples Center, and received credentials to prepare for the rest of our night. We were rushed to a tent where other stand ins were being held. Everyone was mingling and eating a delicious spread that was provided for our volunteer time. As I looked around, I noticed that I hadn't seen half of these people before. I don't work with them in the office! My mind was racing- so I began introductions. Quickly, I found myself immersed in a crowd of actors and musicians. AHH! Can I ever escape this in LA? I began to ask why they decided to do something like this, and logically they said to make connections. I have realized, in my few weeks of being here, it’s ALL about who you know in the industry. The performers were looking to make a connection with someone on staff to hopefully jump start some element of their career. You could tell who the wanna-be celebs were. They stood a little taller, primped a little more, and came in high heels (which we were clearly advised via email NOT to do.)
This made the experience all the more fun- watching people trying to chat up staff members, and over ask questions. They were not volunteering to have fun. This was strictly business.
I took a slightly different approach. For one, I brought friends. Why not share the experience! I also had a great time with it. Clearly, stand ins are meant to help the camera and reporters rehearse, but they never said anything about being creative.
The format of the carpet went like this. Each stand in wore a huge blue name tag around their neck of the celebrity they had to pretend to be. After you were assigned a star, you began to walk the carpet slowly, one at a time. There was one reporter at the start with a stage. If you were pulled up on it, you had to answer questions as if you were the actual celebrity. After the first station there was a long alley way of sorts to the next stopping point. This was in the middle of the carpet where another reporter was ready to ask questions. It was the same deal as before- you answer questions as the celebrity. The last stop of the carpet was a photo wall. You had to stop to pose at three X marks. After making it all the way down, I repeated the same process with a different celebrity each time. This could have gotten boring, but I loved every minute of it. My personal favorite part was the posing at the end. Everyone else looked nervous and bored. I decided to spice it up with crazy poses to the camera. It ended up being really great joking with the staff. It made the time go by much faster. And I think showing my personality, left much more of an impression on “staffers” rather than the serio-actors in my group. I am so glad I experienced this, and came to realize the important role we played in rehearsal. They try everything with us; set the lighting, work out the bugs, to make as little mistakes as possible. Imagine if they made all the celebrities rehearse walking the carpet a day before the show. That would be ridiculous!! So hear is to the “little people” that make the big stars look so fabulous at award shows!
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