Wow! What a day!
Having the opportunity to appear on television as a Casual Day Goodwill Ambassador was a chance not to be missed – yes, it meant waking up at the crack of dawn to be at the studio by 06h00 in the morning, but its seriously not every day that you are given a chance to appear live on TV, is it?
I found the whole experience quite surreal. There is a lot of sitting around and waiting while things happen around you, and then several flurries of activity to get everyone ready to go on air (umm, or should it be screen for TV?) – sitting around feeling spare while people rush backwards and forwards around you, only to be hurried into make-up at some unknown sign (and my word, are those make-up ladies professional!). Then more waiting around, this time “in the wings” between the sets as other segments of the show are shot. Next comes the flurry of activity as everyone is mic-ed up correctly and the engineers check that the microphones are working, and there is a (super quick) run through of what the presenter is going to ask each person. The anticipation builds as the segment just before yours goes ahead on the other set. Then suddenly you are being hustled towards the set, told where to sit and everyone holds their breath as the final countdown begins.
And, just as suddenly it is all over – a 5 minute segment on what Casual Day is all about with each of us 3 Ambassadors being asked a single question… though I’m still not sure what I would have done if they had actually asked me the question meant for Simone of what it meant to me to be a role model as a hearing impaired ballet dancer!
I left the set with the strange awareness of how unreal the TV world must b – when you are on set and on camera everything appears and sounds so calm and relaxed… but behind the scenes you are very aware that there is organised chaos as the various role-players shuffle guests from one place to another so everything appears slick and professional to the viewers at home. The crazy thing is that it works, as was clear when I watched the recording of the segment that Jabulile, Simone and I took part in.
All things considered I found it a singularly strange experience.
But, would I do it all again if offered the opportunity? Hell yes! I haven’t had that much fun in ages!
If you want to watch the video, here it is…
