In The Hot Seat
Christian McLean Tells Us What It's Like To Be On The American Dream Show
By Christian McLean
I had been on TV before, but only for about eight minutes.
The idea of a half-hour frightened me. I mean, what could
I possible talk about for a half an hour? When I arrived
at Gurney’s Inn, I was a little nervous. I was supposed
to talk about my children’s book Duckhampton, but not
really someone who is forthcoming with his private life,
I was somewhat apprehensive about what else Ingrid Lemme,
the show’s host, and I would chat about.
I had come early to see what went into an episode of the American
Dream Show. There was a set with two chairs, two cameras,
and several people checking sound and lighting. Ingrid was
in the
middle of an interview as I crept around the back of the
set. I found myself a chair and began to watch as the entire
group
worked seamlessly. One cameraperson gave a countdown, the
other worked on close-up shots. Their professionalism set me
at ease,
slightly. I was still nervous about being in front of the
camera for such a long period of time. What if I said something
foolish?
Was there an edit button? Could we reshoot segments?
As I sat and watched Ingrid interview Jay Lockett Sears,
a Quogue architect and the founder of Mission of Kindness,
I
began to see how the show took form. I had watched it on
WVVH before, but now I was getting a whole new perspective
on the
ins and outs. First the American Dream Show focuses on
ancestry and heritage – how we all got to where we are. Then the
episode explores our personal journey, and finally what we
are doing at the present time. I started to think about my
family – where I came from and where I am going. It is
something that we should all do from time to time. By reflecting
on where we’ve been and those who have helped get us
there, we come to a better understanding of ourselves.
After Mr. Sears’ interview had finished, it was my turn
to take to the set, but first Ingrid introduced me to the men
and woman who made the show possible. Gregory and Ernie Schimizzi,
brothers and co-owners of WVVH worked along side Matthew and
Sabine Hindra to make sure the filming flowed flawlessly. The
four took care of all the behind the scenes business. Their
friendly, jovial attitude and openness were reassuring and
allowed me to relax a little. As I sat down in front of the
hot lights and two cameras, we continued to chat as they adjusted
their gear and equipped me with a microphone.
When Ingrid sat down, we were ready to roll. It was like
speaking to an old friend. Soon the cameras seemed
to disappear and
we just talked about my grandparents, about rediscovering
my Scottish ancestry, and, of course, the book. Each
of the three
segments seemed to go more quickly than the previous
one. We just talked. It was that easy. Ingrid pitched
questions
and
I answered them to the best of my ability. All the
tension that I had initially arrived with disappeared. In fact,
I actually enjoyed the time on air. Ingrid was a delight.
We
spoke about
writing, inspiration, the creative process, and editing,
as well as Downtown, the next book in the Duckhampton
series. It was a success – I had made it through the filming
without saying anything foolish or out of place.
But what made the filming of the show special was not
just that it made me contemplate my heritage, but
that it forced
me to reexamine who I am and who I will become. Ingrid
challenged me to not just say what I had accomplished,
but what I planned
to do – about personal goals toward happiness. It is
in this, that we find the heart of the American Dream Show.
After all, without our dreams what do we have?
The American Dream Show hosted by Ingrid Lemme airs every Nov.
14 at 6 p.m., 17 at 7 p.m., and 18 at 2 p.m. on WVVH channel
78 and streaming at www.wvvh.tv.
| Back To Index |
|
|
Copyright © 2006 Montauk Pioneer. All rights reserved. |
|