Nick Coleman

Today I worked on One Life to Live, or, rather, I was scheduled to work on One Life to Live#–in reality I did little more than show up, get into costume, and then stand around and wait for several hours. This would be in the normal range of things, for the average shoot, but today was a little more unusual: because today, the OLTL studios were evacuated because of an electrical fire.

When I showed up on set about 11:35 (early, as I always do) I got into costume and began reading a book I brought along (Graham Greene’s The Tenth Man). Just when I started thinking a soda might taste good (I’d been sitting for about 45 minutes), the lights in the building began to flicker and dim. The studio monitor showed the lights on set flickering as well, and the security personnel began running around to find out what the problem was. It was actually a little confusing, because one of the security guys last name is Coleman#–so every time they radioed for “Coleman” I would immediately jerk my head around because I was worried they were calling for me (late or something).

About 1PM, I went to lunch and bought a (pretty good) Salami sandwich at the market two blocks north of the studio. On the way to the deli, I passed several fire trucks and Con-Edison workers locking down an area surrounding underground electrical equipment. It wasn’t near the studio, so I didn’t really worry#–when I got back to ABC’s studio, I told the security guard that the flickering might be because of the fire up the street. About that time, smoke started pouring out of a grate in front of the studio#–hot enough and thick enough that passersby began to cross to the other side of the street, pointing and staring. Still, I figured the NYFD had everything under control, and the smoke was just that: smoke, from the fire up the street.

No sooner had I gone downstairs, unwrapped my sandwich, and locked my belongings in a locker but a voice came over the loudspeaker urging all building occupants to evacuate! I grabbed my jacket and hit the doors#–post 9-11 you just listen to the voices in the speaker, no questions, no hesitation.

Outside, I was joined by the crew, personnel, and cast (some in their socks and curlers) of OLTL. It was crazy! The smoke was very thick, and several neighboring buildings were also emptying: apparently, an electrical transformer had caught fire and was at risk of exploding. We spent the remainder of the afternoon watching the NYFD and Con-Ed work on the underground fire, and waiting for the time when we would know if we were to continue shooting, or reschedule (we eventually rescheduled). At 4:30 they let us back into the building for 15 minutes to gather belongings and get back out.

It was certainly a day to remember#–tomorrow I will go back in and shoot the scene(s) we were supposed to shoot today. Acting is fun…