Detroit 187

Lauren LaStrada
Nov 27, 2024
2 min read

One Sneaky Mama

First of all, I didn't even know underground kidnapping was a 'thing'! Lol. "Lauren LaStrada as Kori Campbell in Detroit 187" is how my agent very excitedly described my Guest Star booking as. She was more excited than me, which is always good. Why wasn't I equally excited? I was nervous as all heck because it was my very first TV booking on a series, and a GUEST STAR role at that! Baby Lauren LaStrada didn't have the experience she has now. Well, back then I was still going by Lisa Lauren Smith. I was a theater actress for the most part. So, all I had to lean on was 'the craft'. I hadn't learned how to navigate on actual TV set. I didn't know to ask for a 10-1 for the restroom. I was still yelling all my lines in the audition room because I was trained to reach the "back of the house" with my voice. I almost gave a casting director a heart attack once because I spoke in a normal voice introducing myself then startled him to the point of jumping out his seat, when I started the monologue. It's hard for some to transition from stage to film. I won't lie, I had to learn. It's not the same. From not turning your back to the audience, ever, to the other actor forgetting lines when their last line was your cue, to just being honest and talking as opposed to all the dramaticsand exaggerationsthat a theater character can bring. It's hard work. But as they say, theater actors make the best film actors. Sorry, but I agree. Detroit 187 was a wonderful experience for me because I got a chance to work beside Michael Imperioli. What a nice guy by the way. The film incentive had just landed here in Detroit, thanks to former governor Jennifer Granholm. Outside of LA and New York, it was the best in the country. Until another governor canned it. Lives were ruined, upended and people left Michigan as quick as they came. I was back to being a struggling actor. Oddly enough, I still get residuals from that show. They aren't a lot but I get them. Life is full if upside downs. It's like that heart monitor...as long as it's going up and down you're alive. It's when it stops going up and down, when you've flatlined. Dead. So, if you're an actor like me and you land a great role like I did on Detroit 187, then a governor comes along and kills the incentive and you lose your career for 2 whole years? Don't worry. When you're down you can't go anywhere but up. It's inevitable. What is?, you ask. You're comeback.