A day in my life: With Lisa Pryce

By Lisa Pryce

Join Lisa Pryce, first-year Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) media production student and co-host of TVOKids show, Green Squad, on her last day filming on set.

Pryce took The Eyeopener along on a busy production day back in January as she wrapped up eight months of production, explored downtown Montreal and said a bittersweet goodbye to all of her castmates.

Person with thumbs up and winking at the camera — (DWIGHT PETROVIC / THE EYEOPENER)

(BRITHI SEHRA / THE EYEOPENER)

6:00 a.m — Wake up and get ready for set

Our call times were usually around 7 a.m.––bright and early, I know. I woke up an hour before our call time and got ready to go to set by showering, putting on my outfit, grabbing a quick bite to eat and doing some light makeup. Then the production assistant came to pick me and the cast up and drove us to set. I always liked to grab a coffee before I film to ensure that I am alive, awake, alert and most importantly, enthusiastic! My favourite spot in downtown Montreal is Columbus Café where I got an iced oat latte and the softest chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies.

Selfie of two subjects holding coffee in car — (LISA PRYCE / THE EYEOPENER)

7:30 a.m. — Arrive on set

I arrived on set, said hello to the entire cast and crew, reviewed what we were going to be filming for the day and then jumped right into filming the episodes. For our final day shooting in the studio, we reviewed all the old episodes we shot throughout the season. It was awesome to look back at all the fun we had together!

Film set with actors and actress hard at work on the left side and the film crew watching the shot on the right side with lighting setup in the background — (DWIGHT PETROVIC / THE EYEOPENER)

11:15 a.m. — Wardrobe change

Since we shot all of the content for 13 different episodes in one day, we needed to do a bunch of wardrobe changes. We got all of our outfits from home approved ahead of time by production. Then we went right back to shooting!

Bathroom mirror selfie of the writer — (LISA PRYCE / THE EYEOPENER)

12 p.m. — Lunch

The cast and crew always had a yummy lunch break together. This particular lunch break was extra special because it was my castmate’s birthday, so lunch was paired with dessert—a delicious birthday cake! On the Green Squad set, we took our lunch break very seriously. This is when we did a lot of important work like playing Mario Kart on our phones.

Person looking shocked and happy about a birthday cake — (LISA PRYCE / THE EYEOPENER)

Person casually laying on a couch playing video games on their phone, with a caption overhead saying "hard at work' — (LISA PRYCE / THE EYEOPENER)

1 p.m. — Film the theme song

After lunch, the cast of Green Squad and I headed to the green screen studio––see what I did there––to film our individual promo shots and the theme song ahead of the show’s premiere.

Group of people posing in front of the green screen — (STEPHANIE BLANSHAY / THE EYEOPENER)

6 p.m. — That’s a wrap!

After we filmed in the green screen studio and shot some more episode content, we officially wrapped for season one of Green Squad. We had a cast dinner planned for later that night to officially say our goodbyes to everyone on the cast and crew.

Poster of green squad with the actors and actresses — (COURTESY TVOKIDS / LIST PRYCE)

6:30 p.m. — Quick exploration and shopping

My castmate, the birthday girl, was known as the Green Squad’s fashionista. As the only two girls on the show, we had a tradition where we’d explore downtown Montreal every time we filmed there together. We usually got up to some fun things like shopping––she is the fashionista after all––drinking lattes, watching movies and more.

Casual photograph with two subjects in a clothing store — (SABRINA REALE / THE EYEOPENER)

Group of people walking in the streets photograph — (SABRINA REALE / THE EYEOPENER)

8 p.m. — Cast dinner

Since we were always shooting in different locations, we didn’t have any signature spots to eat, but that just means we got to try new places all the time and have funny arguments as we tried to pick where to go. We could never agree on one place. I absolutely love cast dinners because although our jobs are super fun, it’s nice to spend time together outside of work and wind down.

Three people jubilantly posing with hand over shoulder around a restaurant table — (SABRINA REALE / THE EYEOPENER)

A group of people sitting around a table eating food with the writer and her friend looking at the camera — (SABRINA REALE / THE EYEOPENER)

10 p.m. — Bedtime and wind down

After dinner, it was time to go back to the hotel for a good night’s rest. Normally after a day on set, I read the synopsis and lines to prepare for the next day on set, but since we wrapped filming there were no more lines to be read. It was so odd to have nothing to do with myself since I had spent the last eight months busy filming. I reminisced about all of the fun memories we made with the kids while filming the show before heading to bed. I was so excited to see how our special moments unfold on screen this season.

7:00 a.m. — Train ride home

The next day it was time for me to take the ViaRail back home. Another one of my castmates also lives near Toronto and production booked our train tickets together so we could sit next to each other on the ride back. He fell asleep, but I had homework to do. I find that the train is a great place to catch up on work. While I’m filming I like to be focused on the task at hand rather than switching back and forth between schoolwork and production.