First I'd like to Thank YOUTUBE! Listen, you'd be surprised how many actors go straight to YouTube when we need a crash course in something, like Nursing! Granted, I worked for 7 years at a medical center in Detroit Michigan called Kado Clinical Skills. This is were I learned a ton about the medical profession, while working as a Standardized Patient. Fortunately it also gave me an inside track to the duties and responsibilities of both nurses and doctors. So where does YouTube come in? While I learned procedures and how to do them, actual moments in real life portray the emotions and human responses you may not see in a classroom. It gets REAL when you see an actual emergency room where somebody has been shot and becomes priority number 1 to all medical staff. Couple this with the patients also being inmates and you've got the makings of a spin off, if you ask me (cough, cough to producers). However, this lovely opportunity, which also stars Award Winning A Lister Jeremy Renner has casts yours truly, Lauren LaStrada as Women's Correctional Facility Nurse "Lina".
I booked this role by accident, I like to say. I got an audition for a "recurring role", but the sides were literally 2 lines. Knocking out the larger auditions first, I got tired and retired to bed. I just so happened to be visiting my sweet elderly mother here in Detroit at the time and heard a gentle knocking on my door around 3am the next morning. As the door cracked open like a horror movie, the cutest little old lady peaked into the guest room, head first. She was wearing a blue and white cotton moo moo, standing on a cane covered in printed flowers with a matching flowered bonnet over her hair.
"Lisa?" She quietly called..."did you still need me to read for you?" (Sidebar- This same little lady is a retired stage actress from the 60s and 70s who's graced the stage with notable celebrities, sang in the famed Michigan Opera Company for 10 years, toured with the Dorothy Ashby theater group and recorded multiple songs released in Europe.
Unfortunately, she's been reduced to being my "reader" for multiple auditions. Anyhoo, I wiped the crust out of one eye, got up, brushed my teeth, washed my face and changed into some jeans and a blue t shirt. No makeup, because ...well...a Correctional facility? Didn't make sense. I set up my ring light, printed out her sides and "Action". Two weeks later, I get an email that says "You're booked". Yay! Lauren LaStrada as Women's Correctional Facility Nurse "Lina".
Okay, so this is where YouTube comes in... I've never administered an I V or tended to a stab wound. So, here's me at home yelling into my roku remote "Prison Nurses!" When I tell you how much I've learned about their day-to-day, it is so inspiring and intriguing.
I am so very honored to not only be on the show but also to portray the great work that these nurses do. Mind you, not in a hospital, but in a Correctional Facility. That adds a lot to the character in itself. Actors don't just respond and react to the actions and dialogue of the other characters, but also the environment.
Right now, I'm just in Season 3. If they like me, which I really hope and pray they do, I'll be in Season 4 which is in development now. Yay! See ya soon, on TV! Big shout out to my girl Nishi Munshi, who plays the lead nurse on the show "Tracy". Thank you for welcoming me with open arms, hugs.
-Lauren
For more information, read the full articles on Mayor Of Kingstown here:
Mayor Of Kingstown stars Jeremy Renner. Show Produced by Hugh Dillo, Michael Friedman, Ron Burkle, Antoine Fuqua, David Glasser, Jeremy Renner, Taylor Sheridan and Bob Yari. Mayor Of Kingstown is now streaming on Paramount Plus.
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