ACTING YOUR AGE

Hollywood is calling!

Joy Perry

Dreams have no expiration date.

Story reprinted from our Fall 2020 Print Issue Casting call: Acting experience is strongly preferred, but amateurs will be considered. You should be a 55+ female for consideration. The character is a female, 60s, funny, sharp and full of life.

When Joy Perry read the casting call for the Hallmark movie, “The Christmas Bow,” she thought, “I’m a 57-year-old, funny, sharp, full-of-life amateur. I fit all the criteria!”

Hallmark said the character, Tess, also suffered from a neuropathological disease, and Perry fit that description, too.

Proving that dreams have no expiration date, here is Joy Perry’s inspiring story of how a 57-year-old Winter Springs, Florida, woman, with an untreatable, incurable diagnosis, performed the role of a lifetime.

Have you ever been engaged in a conversation and hear something so unexpected and so stunning that you didn’t hear anything else after that moment?

That happened to me twice. The first time was in February, 2010, when a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville told me that I had a neuromuscular disease called Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT). He told me that the condition was “non-treatable, non-curable and progressive.” I don’t remember anything else about the appointment. I was overwhelmed by anxiety and fear.

Fast forward a decade later to July 30, 2020. MacLain Nelson, executive producer of “Little Women (2018),” called me — a person with no acting experience — to say I had been chosen to play the part of Tess in an upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie. I don’t remember anything else either of us said — I was overflowing with excitement and disbelief.

What followed was a whirlwind of activity. Just three days later, I flew to Utah and spent three weeks performing the role of Tess, the mother of the main character, Patrick, played by Michael Rady. In the film, Patrick is a physical therapist. I’m a physical therapist assistant in real life, so an unexpected bonus was providing technical assistance in some of the scenes.

Filming days were long, but the cast and crew were encouraging and helpful. The director, Clare Niederpruem,

was patient and kind. Michael Rady, my screen son, who is perhaps best known for his role in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” gave freely of his time and expertise, often role-playing with me and offering suggestions to boost my confidence.

The hair and makeup staff were amazing and made me look beautiful, even after being on set all day.

I was fascinated by the props specialists and lighting staff who transformed sets into those beautifully decorated, magical backgrounds that are signature features of Hallmark holiday movies. Even on days when I was not filming, I would go to the set just to watch and listen to other actors and to learn more about what goes into making a movie.

After a few days, I began to feel more comfortable and allowed my personality to shine through my character. Tess and I really are a lot alike. Both of us have a strong support system of family and friends, and both of us don’t let CMT hold us back.

My family took turns visiting me while I was filming, including my son, Maxwell. During off hours, we explored the Provo area, hiking and biking through the beautiful trails and canyons. I fell in love with the state and hope to return in the fall or spring.

At this point, you may be wondering, “What about CMT and the dire diagnosis you received?”

It is often said that CMT is the most common disease that people have never heard of. CMT affects 1 out of 2,500 people. Since receiving the news in 2010, many things have changed. While CMT is still untreatable and incurable, there has been progress, due in part to the efforts of Allison Moore, founder of the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation (HNF).

The nonprofit foundation’s mission is to increase awareness and accurate diagnosis of CMT, to support patients and families with information that improves their quality of life and to fund research for treatments and cures.

While CMT is still progressive, I have learned to make adjustments. CMT affects the extremities first. Nerves die causing muscles to waste away. My feet and lower legs are the most affected. I don’t have the strength to run anymore, so I walk slowly with an odd gait. My balance is affected since I no longer have full feeling in my feet.

What most observers see, however, is an avid cyclist, logging about 100 miles a week. I love to ride my mountain bike through the Ocala National Forest trails. Despite some weakening in my hands and forearms I am a passionate swimmer and swim regularly with a group of friends and neighbors. We call ourselves “the mermaids.” In July, I completed a 3-mile ocean swim.

I’m grateful that my progression has proven to be slow. Yet, I can’t ignore the growing fatigue, cramping in my legs and hands and increasing loss of balance.

Although my CMT has advanced, so has my resolve to advance in other areas of my life. So, when an email arrived with the Hallmark casting call, I went for it. With the help of my sister, Adria Clark, I rehearsed scenes, practiced with a walker and wheelchair and taped my audition. Two weeks later, I was performing scenes on Zoom for the producer and director. Two days later, I received a call from Hallmark offering me the part.

People have told me they would never have taken the chance and responded to the casting call. They are surprised that I dropped everything and went to Utah for three weeks to film a movie.

I mean, who gets a major role in a movie at 57? With NO previous acting experience? ME—someone who is Growing Bolder!

“The Christmas Bow,” starring Lucia Micarelli and Michael Rady, will air this fall on the Hallmark Channel. Check your local listings.

For more about the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, visit www.hnf-cure.org.

To watch “The Christmas Bow” on the Hallmark Channel, check your local listings.