What happens when you combine Fred Rogers, Polish Hill, Kurt Angle, and 2 pounds of peas & carrots

aka- Tilly is a star!

Friday we schlepped ourselves, the pack-n-play, a bag of toys, 10 diapers, a cooler of food, and, oh yeah- Mathilda- to a small house in Pittsburgh's Polish Hill neighborhood.  She was there to serve as an understudy to the "lead baby" in a two minute (long version) and also a 28 second (public service announcement) video called The Magic of Everyday Moments for the Fred Rogers Center for early learning and children's media.  Her short is part of three videos aimed at educating parents on developmental issues for kids ages birth to three.  Her story was a CSI-themed comedy about a baby who insists on throwing food, not eating it, frustrating her parents.  It was really cute and her TV mom & dad were fantastic in their roles and their interactions with her.  More on the shoot later.

We arrived at 730am for her hair/makeup call. I wasn't a big fan of the outfit (photo below). The wardrobe woman approached Tilly with a comb, then thought better of it. 

Tilly and her co-star.  They look shockingly alike.  The other baby is over a year old. More on her later

We made ourselves comfortable in an upstairs bedroom and waited to be called to the first floor kitchen.  Tilly stood in as they set the lighting and camera, then she went to take a nap while the "lead baby" started filming and I hit craft services (quiche, biscotti, coffee, fruit, croissants from Enrico's in the strip). 

 An hour or so passed, "lead baby" came upstairs, Tilly woke from her nap, and the producer came up and asked for Mathilda and I to come downstairs.  I assumed they wanted to film her hands or feet or something as a stand-in while "lead baby" rested.  I assumed wrong.  Apparently "lead baby"'s shoot hadn't gone so well and the team had decided to go with Mathilda.  Tilly wasn't a big fan of being alone with the actors or director, so whenever possible, I ended up standing in as the mom whenever her face didn't need to be visible (often it's my hand or arm you'll see, not the TV mom's).  We spent the next hour playing with and throwing peas, carrots & noodles, banging on the high chair with a spoon, and making all of her funny bear sounds.  It was good fun. For us.  Not so fun for "lead baby"'s mom.  We returned upstairs to this rant:

She is supposed to be the main girl! 

I took her earrings out, which I never would have done! 

It's not about the f&%^ing money!

Do they know who her dad is?

expletive, expletive, generic threat to casting agent, expletive, expletive, expletive.

Well, now that you mention it- No, I don't know who her dad is.  We quickly learned that "former lead baby"'s proud papa is Kurt Angle.  If you are like me, you still don't know who that is.  If you are like Reggie, you have turned into a 10 year old boy and are practicing your best Double Leg Takedown.  Yep, Mr. Angle is a pro wrestler, former gold medalist, big in the 90s, and as learned via a quick wiki search during production downtime, has quite a colorful romantic and legal history.  He is also recently engaged to a "model"- the babymama with us on set.  

couldn't make it up if I tried

Awkward does not even describe how we felt sitting silently while she ranted on her cell phone.  Despite calming attempts from the producers, she chose to leave the set, baby in tow.  I have to caveat that she was never rude to us, per se, but did nothing to hide her anger with the producers. It was the quintessential stage mother moment.  Toddlers in Tiaras anyone?

Tilly was now not only "lead baby" but only baby.  She was a rock star. The shoot was behind schedule from the beginning, and our 8 hour workday turned into 12.  She was a champ. She did best when only me and the camera guy were visible, the set quiet.  Unfortunately, that wasn't possible for many scenes. For the last scene of the day, I had to put on her TV mom's costume and act as a stand in.  You'll know it's me from the less-than-firm torso holding Tilly in a living room scene!  Had I known- I would have worn a bra with some underwire, not to mention- spanx!  TV mom is an actor/dancer and definitely does not have a protruding diastasis! For one scene, Reggie also stood in as TV dad's torso and arms. The absolute highlight of the day for me was during the filming of the last take of the last scene when the entire crew started singing PYT to help keep Mathilda happy and smiling.

Tilly took 3 two-hour naps and crashed till 9am the next day. A bit overstimulated, perhaps?  The crew and production team were really wonderful- and so kind to us. Would I do it again? Maybe.  The day was a bit long (even I napped the next day). I think for now we are happy to be her only audience as she jams on her fisher price piano.  In any case, it was quite an adventure and a great story- not to mention video to embarrass her with when she's 13 and we are total losers.  Now to teach her to stop throwing food again....

I think the video will be edited by early spring, and available for your viewing pleasure on the Fred Rogers site, YouTube, and possibly even a PBS commercial.  I will definitely post to this site when it's available!