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It wasn’t
until after I made an appointment for a long overdue haircut that, in a
sudden flash of insight, I called back and canceled it. I realized that
I needed whatever length I had so my hair could be teased the way we did
back in high school. Always up for doing something different, I had
accepted an invitation to act in a couple of scenes in the movie trailer
shot in town recently about Nutley High’s infamous “2%.” The title
comes from the name given to a small band of NHS students from the late
60’s who gained notoriety for being rebellious, and challenging
authority the way only teenaged boys can do. They grew up in Nutley,
pretty much on the streets, when their families didn’t always provide
traditional support. Some of the guys got together last year, and in
reminiscing, decided their life stories were interesting enough to try
and put on film. Since funding is one of the biggest hurdles in getting
a movie to a theater, they elected to make a shorter production of
highlights of their tale. The 20 or 30 minutes of footage will serve as
a tantalizing glimpse to potential backers, who hopefully will be taken
with it enough to lend the financial support needed to make a feature
motion picture. If you happened to drive down Beech Street on filming
day, you might have done a double take at the sight of several classic
cars from the 50’s and 60’s that lined the street, or upon seeing actors
wearing Italian knit button down shirts and actresses in pleated skirts
and knee socks clutching little purses. For them, this was all
make-believe dress up. For me and the other adults involved, it was a
trip to our past lives when we walked the halls of NHS and wondered
where life would take us. The scenes I was in were shot at Franklin
Reformed Church, which substituted for sites ranging from the high
school to a youth detention center. In one scene, the Community House
served as the auditorium, a Sunday School classroom became the
principal’s office, and a church hallway doubled as a school corridor.
It’s amazing how you can convert an ordinary setting into a believable
period locale. And with retro clothes and hairstyles, a 21st Century kid
can be transformed into looking like someone I might have sat next to in
Civics class. I loaned the girls some necklaces I received as souvenirs
at a couple of Nutley High proms so they could wear authentic jewelry.
And to make canceling my haircut worth it, I took my yearbook to the
shoot to show the hair and makeup artist what I used to look like.
Several people were being charitable when they said I hadn’t changed
much. I know they meant well, but it kind of makes me wonder if I’ve
just looked old since then. |
