Double-Booking Dilemma

Too much acting for one weekend.  Is that possible?  Yes, when you double book yourself, ugh...

Yesterday I had to face a unique double-booking dilemma with no good solution.  Sometimes I hate being an adult and making decisions.

About a month ago, I auditioned to do a live scene for our church's three services this weekend.  I booked the main role, yippee!  In case you're wondering why that's a big deal, we go to one of those mega-churches in the south with a 5,000 member congregation, three satellite churches and a weekly webcast.  So, I consider it kind of a big deal when I get to perform there. 

Well, that's all well and good, but...

I also had a scene rescheduled to be shot this weekend on the film trailer I'm working on.  It's a parade scene that was supposed to shoot last month but got canceled due to bad weather.  The director approached me a few weeks back about scheduling for this Sunday.  I told him I would be available but not until after 11:30 a.m. because of the church commitment.  I also sent the A.D. an e-mail letting her know the same.  They both said it shouldn't be an issue. 

Lo and behold, call times came out yesterday for both bookings and I'm supposed to be at the parade shoot from 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and the church from 7:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.  Hmm, slight issue here people.

So I agonized over it for a few hours, got on the treadmill and mulled over all of the possiblities in my head, called my husband at work to talk it through and finally prayed (which should've been first) and let it go. 

Because there was no one else that could fill in for the church scene, and I committed to doing it first, I sent an e-mail to the director and reminded him that I had a prior commitment.  He apologized and told me not to worry about it.  They are going to write me out of some of the parade scenes on Sunday and keep me in what I can do when I get there. 

I was so relieved, yet incredibly guilt-ridden all at once.  The problem is, I'm getting paid for the film trailer.  My decision really boiled down to this, it was a rescheduled shoot and I had a commitment somewhere else, which they were aware of in advance.  There was no way we could re-cast the church performance and have it ready in just a few days, so I had to do what I had to do. 

I feel good about it today.  Some may argue that from a purely professional standpoint, maybe I should've left the church in a lurch.  But I don't doubt that I did the right thing.  Part of being a grown-up is making hard decisions.  Sometimes that's based on what feels the most right.  And this did.