Starting off my professional film experience as a Louisiana-local talent  with a stunt performing job or an acting gig didn’t happen. It was with a Stunt Coordinating job instead.

Upon moving to Louisiana, I always intended to apply for stunt coordinating jobs. However, I figured that even though I felt qualified they would be harder to get than stunt performing or even acting jobs since the vast amount of my experience is in front of a camera. It appears I might have been wrong.

Last Spring, four majors action films blew through New Orleans. Hundreds of stunt jobs were filled. Only three of those stunt jobs, totaling about fives days of work, were for women. Only one of those days was filled by a local stuntwoman. The Screen Actor’s Guild keeps statistics showing that only 15% of all Guild stunt work goes to women. However, I realize now that outside of Hollywood and New York, it is far less.

Therefore, in spite of my extensive stunt performing experience, my interest in submitting for stunt coordinating jobs got ratcheted up when I realized I may not be able to contribute to the family income through stunt performing the way I had hoped.

My first production meeting and location scout for Somnambulist, the movie I’m coordinating, was last Friday. Turns out, without giving away too much about the script before it’s released, this thriller has a couple of  major stunt scenes featuring five characters. Ironically, three are women. The women are both heroes and villians, an interesting catch since the new young writer/director of Somnambulist is a woman, too.

Kismet.

Tags: Louisiana, Screen Actor's Guild, Somnambulist, stunt coordinator, stunt women, stunts, women, women in film