The story is told three times...

They say in the film industry that a story is written three times: when its put on paper, when its filmed and when its edited. As an actor, I was reminded of this first hand when I had 2 shows on air this week (Nine Perfect Strangers on Amazon Prime and Rosehaven on ABC TV) and the scenes we filmed and the final edits were different. Some might say, disappointing. Not me.

I was pretty damn excited to have speaking roles in both these shows and for me, the great joy comes from filming them, rather than watching or being seen on them. Luckily, because both scenes were edited heavily and I had great chunks left on the cutting room floor and my screen time and scene time ended up going from small to tiny.

Do I care? No. Surprisingly I don't. I shared a scene with Nicole Kidman! With actual Nicole Kidman!! Will anyone every know? Probably not. But I know and I learnt so much and I adored it.

My scene in Nine Perfect Strangers was really challenging - my husband (Played by Peter Callan) had collapsed and Masha (Nicole Kidman) was desperately trying to resuscitate him while I looked on in terror. It was painful and I was proud of my emotional vulnerability. It also meant I stayed in Brunswick Heads after filming and had to cross the QLD/ NSW border.

Filming for Rosehaven is always a gift. Its been the most fun and funny show and I've adored being part of the ensemble. In Season 5, Episode 3, a ROBBER comes in and holds up Dawn and Mikayla. Very exciting times for Rosehaven!

Rosehaven is about Daniel and Emma, not Dawn and Mikayla so when they exist, the scene ends. We had filmed more on the day but in the edit, it makes more sense to cut at that point.

Writing and directing Slick Timing was the most useful thing I have ever done for my acting career. It taught me that the story is the most important things and needs to be honoured above all else.

So I don't mind that my scenes were trimmed. It makes sense and that's really what it all comes down to - what is the tightest and most entertaining story and how do you tell it with the footage you have.