In the fall of 2018, Jon and I had an incredible opportunity to be a part of one of our favorite shows: Paper Truly was IN Stranger Things! Yeah, the two nerds who run this stationery company got to play Russian scientists in Season 3 of the hit Netflix series. I’ll get to a couple of behind-the-scenes stories in a bit, but first: Stationery!
Invitation to Another World
Our tradition for crazy, themed fall parties was totally OUTDONE this year. My creative equal and twin sis (Manda from Imagemaria) decided to run full force with me in Stranger Themes. Not only would we do another costume party, but we would take the party on a road trip to Atlanta to see some of the set locations used for the show!
I was so excited about this idea, the invitation naturally fell into place as a field guide for guests. It contains the trip itinerary and a brief story of how each set was used. I love the shots below of the invitation in front of that beautifully menacing facade of the actual Hawkins Lab!
First impressions make all the difference! The Mind Flayer address label and gruesome Demogorgon envelope seal played perfectly against the very 80’s feeling “Celebrate!” stamps. I love how the Demogorgon is poised to sick its thousand teeth upon your fingers, daring you to try to lift the flap.
The cover has a really fun interactive element. I try to include something interactive as often as possible, especially if it really fits the theme of the piece. There’s a wheel you turn with your finger to see our characters escaping the Demogorgon! I used photographs of each kid and illustrated their silhouettes by hand. I love how the color fade simulates the regular world from the deep blue particle-flecked Upside Down. It’s a very simple mechanism in paper, but a fun way to illustrate the cover with motion. It brings guests instantly into the theme, preparing them for their journey among set locations.
Don’t Split the Party!
The party was amazing, I seriously doubt we’ll ever top this one! We rented a 15 passenger van, filled it to the brim with Stranger Things nerds, and had a load of quality time as we chatted for hours driving to each location. The soundtrack (a mix of music from the show and classic 80’s hits) played all day long. We embellished the van interior with red and blue lights and our own handmade roots map of the tunnels under Hawkins tacked to the ceiling, it looked super cool at night! We visited downtown Hawkins, the school, the kids homes, Hawkins Lab, Starcourt Mall, and topped off the adventure with an ice cream cake at Baskin-Robbins which read, “Happy Birthday from Scoops Ahoy!”
For the fully photographed trip experience, please do visit my sister’s blog, and check out 15 Nerds in a Flippin’ Van.
Grand. Adventure. Quality Time. These are things I crave, and were absolutely the best birthday gift for me this year!
I’m Not a Scientist, But I Play One On TV…
We get asked quite a bit how we got to be on Stranger Things. I’d been following the background casting company, applying to various background acting positions with the show. One called for “Nerd types.” Though I had no professional acting experience, these calls required only availability, a photo, and submission to their job posting to apply. If you are what they’re looking for and are reliably available, chances are good! In that moment I had to pause and be thankful. Thankful to have the work life that I have. Thankful to run a business where being my own boss makes it possible to arrange my work so that I can take off randomly to go be in Stranger Things. Thankful that… They booked me!!!
I worked on set 7 different days from August through October in Atlanta. Jon was booked with me during a few of the later dates, which was a rare treat! Apparently, according to the hair and makeup artists, it’s very unusual for a married couple to be on set together as extras! We were a cute spectacle. One of my friends even checked in to be sure I was OK with “this guy” being so close to me – he didn’t know that Jon and I were married! All the crew members were awesome to work with; I didn’t expect everyone to be so kind, really.
My earlier days on set were the most exciting (sorry, Jon!) because I got to act with principal cast! Between takes, I met Joe Keery (Steve) and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) while they were making what I assumed was a Stranger Things spoof, on Joe’s iPhone. He set up a shot where Dustin punches a scientist (me!) in the face, ha! It was such a surreal moment. I never expected to have one on one action with the actors. No idea where that clip ended up, but having Gaten wave at me on set after that like we were friends was pretty fabulous. Sweet, sweet guys. Joe and Gaten are basically Steve and Dustin in real life. It was really fun to watch them work (or play, those two are hilarious together!). They’ll never remember me, but my heart will always be fake bruised by a fake punch from Gaten Matarazzo. (And I will always want to have a word with Gaten about punching my wife… – Jon)
Evil Russian, not bad.. guy? I couldn’t believe they used a close up of me! (S3E5)
Quality shot of Jon, looking off in the back. That’s “Alexei” in the foreground, just before he was the internet’s most beloved Russian. (S3E1)
We also did a live interview with Keymaster Games about our experience on set too, if you’re interested to hear more! In the screenshot above, Jon has a card from one of their games in his pocket, which we played with other extras when we weren’t needed on set.
All in all, it was something we will both remember for the rest of our lives, even as our characters are probably stuck in some CIA prison or something…hey, Netflix, we’re ready to go for season 4 if you need some captured Russians!
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