Though many of us dream of being a walk-on extra in our favorite television show, it is unfortunately only the rare few that actually get to experience it. According to The Eagle Tribune, a North Andover newspaper, Jacqueline Levasseur, Lauran Tarshi and Karen Conte, three childhood friends from Methuen, got to do just that.
The trio’s dream day began when they took a trip to New York in early may to visit Tarshi’s cousin, Gail Barringer, a producer on the hit NBC show, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.” Hoping for a tour of the set, which is located in an industrial park, the long-time fans were excited when they got to meet they got the chance to meet SVU stars such as Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Dann Florek and B.D. Wong. Just as they were about to leave for an afternoon of shopping, Barringer offered them the true cherry on the cake: the chance to be extras in a scene of the show’s season finale.
The three friends play background characters in a scene filmed in the show’s squad room. Tarshi acted a file clerk while Levasseur and Conte played victims being escorted to and from the squad room. In addition to the Methuen natives, Nick Stahl and Kelly Bishop, who played Emily Gilmore on the ABC Family show, “Gilmore Girls,” will be featured as guest stars.
Though the friends have returned from New York and the episode has already aired, the experience that these women have had will not soon be forgotten. They say that they hope to return some day in their 80’s to perhaps re-live their experiences and maybe even create new ones. “We had an amazing experience,” Levasseur said in an interview from the Eagle Tribune. “And we have been telling everyone who knows us ever since.”
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