“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation…There is no play in them, for this comes after work.”    –Henry David Thoreau

There are men and women who “lead lives of quiet desperation.”  Then, there are my friends who lead loud lives of pure delight.  Their lives are filled with curiosity and adventure mingled with characteristic chaos and insanity.  They see life as never-ending play—whether it’s during work or after work.

This weekend, while some are languishing on a beach, others are consumed by breaking news, and most are on the edge beaten down by the summer’s heat, two of my friends are spending the weekend working on a creative collaboration.

Richard Gant, part actor and full-time intrepid seeker of wisdom, and Stephanie Frederic, one of Hollywood’s most versatile producers of everything from movies to movie trailers and television shows, are shooting a movie.  In two days, the two of them along with several others will shoot a made-for-TV movie.  Stephanie is one of the producers of The Mirror, the first in a horror trilogy airing later this year on cable’s TV One.  Richard plays a character who commands attention the minute he appears on the screen.

Richard is in the movie due to friends including The Mirror‘s writer/producer Paul Skorich. In it, Richard plays best friend to Harry Lennix of The Blacklist, who also serves as executive producer. Among the other friends of friends appearing in the flick are former The Young and The Restless stars Victoria Rowell and Davetta Sherwood, Aida Rodriguez from Last Comic Standing, and television personality Karrueche Tran. Even a few of Harry’s friends not in the movie including actors George Newbern and Steve Harris dropped by the set to support a friend working on the weekend.

Moviemaking is no simple task to accomplish, especially in a weekend. But for those who choose to enjoy decidedly different lives, anything is possible except desperation. What are you and your friends doing this weekend?