If you’re an experienced stand-in, especially one who has worked regularly on a TV show or film, from time to time you might work with someone whose first day ever as a stand-in is today.

And it may be that there’s not a lot of time to even say hello to this newbie stand-in. So giving any instruction on how to do the job of stand-in may be impossible.

But let’s say that you have just enough time to give that newbie stand-in one piece of guidance, one instruction, for doing the job …

… What would that one instruction be?

Hard Question!

It’s actually a hard question!

As Editor of Stand-In Central, having worked for over a decade as a stand-in and having worked with a number of people who are for the first time standing in, I know how helpful it can be for these stand-ins to have a little guidance on how to do the job.

Otherwise, they may be quietly suffering to figure things out, or quietly anxious about what to do, where to be, and how to do things.

I think if I had only one piece of guidance for a newbie stand-in, it would be this:

“When they call for second team, quickly get to set and stand on your first mark.”

In my opinion, that first piece of guidance would teach the newbie stand-in for what to listen, where to go, and how fast to react.

That would be a good starting point. Of course, from there, that newbie stand-in could figure out, say, when to stand on a different mark. But a newbie stand-in with this one piece of guidance may be served with enough instruction to effectively start working as a stand-in and doing a pretty decent job.

Your Comments?

Of course, YOU may have a different opinion based on your experience. So, in the comments below, answer this question:

“If you have just enough time to give a newbie stand-in one piece of instruction for doing the job, what would that one instruction be?”

Post your answer to the question in the comments below!