Pop-Ups: A Brief Love Story

The two things I least enjoy doing as a production assistant are getting breakfast orders and setting up (or taking down) pop-up tents. I’m not alone in that, of course. Matt and I had a long conversation about it on the set of Major Crimes, immediately after which he and I were asked to break down all the tents at catering, along with several tables and chairs, and it was like a hundred degrees out. It’s become a running joke on a couple of the sets where I work, as every day, it seems, pop-ups are needed and it lands on me to get them.

So what I’ve done is embrace the beast. This morning soon after arriving at work, I asked, “Can I take some pop-up tents to set?” For a moment, it seemed this tactic had worked some unforeseen magic, and my query was greeted with mild laughter, and no mention of pop-ups was made again. For an hour. Then I was told a pop-up would be delivered to set and I was to set it up when it did. I waited for it for a time, but it did not arrive, and soon I became busy keeping cars and pedestrians from leaving a doughnut shop parking lot, and thought nothing of the pop-up.

When we got back to the stages, I learned that indeed it had been sent, only it never arrived. I checked the sound trailer, where it normally lives with its twin, but it was not there. So I was placed in charge of discovering its whereabouts, a task to which I admit a certain lack of enthusiasm. Rumor had it that it was still in the van, so I sent word to transpo about it and left it in their capable hands.

By the way, Matt recently took a staff position on a new show, and told me pop-ups are a thing of his past. But every once in a while, when the mood is right, I send him a message, soliciting his help in putting up a tent or two. He always ignores me.