rock on!!

Behold the above photo. For those of you who are unaware of Disney-style teenybopper pop culture, these are the Jonas Brothers. If that still doesn't mean anything, they are a pop band, and quite honestly I, too, hadn't heard of them until about four months ago when I appeared in a movie with them (I wish I could laugh through text...that sentence always makes me want to laugh).

Anyway, all this is my intro to a long-promised blog post about my days on the set of the Disney Channel's much anticipated summer '08 movie, Camp Rock, starring the Jonas Brothers and a whole slew of other up-and-coming Disney actors and actresses. Last summer a couple ads were posted in our local community newspaper looking for extras for a Disney movie being filmed in our very own small Canadian town. They invited anyone who was interested to come to an audition, so my bros and I showed up, filled out some forms, had our pictures taken, and shortly after, we were eagerly invited to Camp Rock (we stood a good chance because they needed extras that looked like teenagers, and since they chose to film a teen movie in a retirement town where there are only about 10 people under the age of 65, our youthful appearance gave us an edge over the rest of the community).

Christopher and I were extras for three days - I was a Camp Rock camper, and Christopher was a councilor, and that makes things sound a lot more interesting than it really was. Our days went like this: we arrived at the filming location around 9:00 in the morning and went to the extra's holding area, which was a giant tent set up in a clearing in the woods with a tendency to flood and become muddy and barn-like when it rained (which it did). We had to bring a selection of our own logo-free summer clothing with us so that the wardrobe lady (who was the biggest b*tch in North America, by the way) could tell us what to wear for each of the scenes being filmed that day. Then we got changed. Then we sat around at the tables and benches in the tent and waited to be called to set. At around noon, a pretty decent hot lunch was served. And then we waited some more.

It was during this time that I knit my first pair of socks. Christopher read and wrote. Sometimes we hung around outside with friends of ours. All in all, we just tried to put in time, and sometimes, it was a lot of time. The first day we were there, we showed up at 9:00 in the morning and weren't called to set until almost 4:00. The other days weren't quite that bad, but they still offered a lot of free time.

Being on set, however, was fun. And if it wasn't exactly fun, it was at least interesting. We got to be in some great scenes! My first scene was in the dining hall, and the character Mitchie joins a bunch of her friends at one of the tables. They start approaching her about her new friendship with the snobby girl, Tess, when Tess herself walks in and interrupts the conversation by inviting Mitchie to her table. Then Caitlyn (Mitchie's friend) is like, "The queen awaits," and everyone looks all disappointed as Mitchie gets up and follows snobby Tess to the "cool" table. Then the director yelled, "cut," and everyone went back to their starting positions and the whole thing happened again. Now, when you're watching the movie, try to pull yourself away from the drama of that particular moment and notice the buzz of camp life going on around them: people sitting and eating and socializing, excited to be at Camp Rock. I, for one, was serving myself breakfast at that moment and looking around for a place to sit, wondering why, oh, why wasn't Tess inviting me to her table?? (See, quality drama infiltrates every facet of this movie...it truly is a must-see).

We were in a number of dining hall scenes, an outdoor concert scene (starring the Jonas Brothers, woo hoo) and an indoor concert scene in which I am featured in the front row of the audience, totally digging the hip-hop inspired dance routine, and wondering if you have to go to Camp Hip Hop to hear anything that resembles rock music. It was a blast.

Actually, in all reality, it wasn't too bad. The days were really long, the crew was really grumpy, and the scenes were really cheesy, but it paid well and it was a pretty sweet opportunity to knit, read, write and hang out with people all day while getting paid for it. And this is Camp Rock we're talking about here. Google it. People are seriously psyched for this movie! Disney or not, however, I would totally do the extra thing again. It's just not very often that a movie gets filmed here in small town Ontario, so I may have to wait a while for my next shot at stardom. But you never know. One day I will star in The Life and Times of Princess Sunshine, the show. Make sure you tune in. In the meantime, you'll just have to settle for the Jonas Brothers.

Note: I laughed when I discovered the above pic of the Jonas Brothers promoting Camp Rock, because it was taken here at a local resort (not the movie set). My high school prom was at that resort - you can actually see the exterior of the room we were in at the far left of the picture. And if you follow the road at the far right, you'll arrive at my workplace in less than a minute.

Oh no. Now everyone will know where to find me.

the story of stuff

I stumbled upon this video, Story of Stuff (produced by Free Range Studios, creators of The Meatrix) on a couple other blogs and I finally got around to watching it. I really liked it...it's a light, non-offensive, non-extreme and yet very comprehensive look at how things are created, consumed and disposed of, and, most importantly, how everything (government, corporate power, environment, economy, consumerism, quality of life, human rights, etc. etc.) is connected and affected by each other. Here's the intro to get you started, but seriously, take 20 minutes and watch the whole thing. Even if you spend the majority of your life thinking about some aspect of this topic, you'll still enjoy it. And I truly think it would be a great first over-view for any intentionally ignorant consumer out there.

the january '08 princess sunshine knits collection

I've decided to start my at-least-two-posts-a-week resolution now (since I didn't post at all last week...oops). Anyway, I'm kicking off this resolution with my second blog fashion show, featuring some of the presents I created for our handmade Christmas last month. Enjoy!


This is my bro Aaron and his hand-knit scarf made from 100% wool. I was going for British prep-school chic. I kind of wanted to keep it when it was done.


These are made from the left over wool from Aaron's scarf. They were created for my other bro Christopher and should be well suited to the northern Ontario winters that we know and love around these parts (of course, it is a lot easier to love winter with handmade wool socks, or so my thought process went). These are from a pattern in Lion Brand Yarn: Just Socks.


I sooo loved this bag for Joel's young cousin. It's made from 100% cotton, and it is 100% a Princess Sunshine original. I made the button from Sculpey. I would have kept this bag, except I didn't have time before Christmas to make a second one to give away. Oh well.


These are a variation from the Lion Brand pattern. My dad loves football, and the Kansas City Chiefs are his team. I wanted to make him some socks unlike any that could be found at even the biggest KC merchandise shop.


This bag for Joel's sister is based on a pattern from Emma King. I really liked this bag, too. I made it from bits and pieces of left over yarns, wool and cotton, so it had some cool textures going on, and the inside is lined with thrifted corduroy.

That ends the latest of my knitted projects...keep your eyes open for my first-ever clothing show (yes, that's right, I have finally learned how to sew!)