All The World’s A Stage: Let The Games Begin
Continuing our behind-the-scenes coverage of the final episodes of Xena's fifth season, Kate Barker brings us a special report on the pivotal episode Livia, in which Xena's daughter takes centre stage in the Roman arena…
Official Xena Magazine: Issue 10
Xena and Gabrielle are back in Rome; Octavius Augustus is Emperor; the poet Virgil is writing epic tales of the slain prophet Eli; and the powerful and striking Livia is the greatest champion that Rome has ever known. But there's something a little familiar to our heroes about these Romans, especially Livia, who is in fact Xena's daughter Eve, groomed by the empire's finest to be a ruthless and formidable warrior. It's a lot for Xena to deal with, and she wastes no time in telling Octavius so. After all, 25 years have passed…
It’s a very, very hot and sunny day on the outdoor set of Livia. Up three flights of stairs, atop the stony battlements of a Roman fortification, even the cameras are sheltered by sun umbrellas. It’s possible to ignore the heat, however, by maintaining focus on your surroundings, and from this vantage point on the battlements, the view is astounding.
Behind the battlements is the gladiatorial arena, covered in sand that is constantly being wetted down when not in use, to control the dust levels. This set has been used for many different episodes, and over the years has been turned into castles, villages and markets. For Livia, however, the arena set is exactly that, hosting a dramatic gladiatorial confrontation in the climax of the episode.
Looking forward past the tops of the battlements gives a clear view of the versatile ‘Indian Village’, used for Xena episodes such as Between The Lines, Devi and The Way. To the right is a fishing village/ship set, previously used for Hercules and Xena, and more recently altered and updated for the newer series Jack Of All Trades. To the left, past the expanses of field and scrub, stand the strong, proud totems of an Amazon village.
The scenery behind the infinitely flexible castle is just as impressive. Amidst the greenery of bush-laden forest stand a middle-eastern village, a small huddle of wild-west style dwellings and a bunch of thatched moves, all of which look uncannily like they’ve just been covered in snow.
The set of current focus, however, is a dark, cramped and very hot ‘royal box’; an enclosed balcony from which Emperor Augustus (Colin Moy) and Xena observe Livia’s (Adrienne Wilkinson) victory parade. Positioned inside the claustrophobic space are Moy, Lucy Lawless, director Rick Jacobson, the camera and sound crew and their equipment, not to mention the constant heat of the lights, reflected solar rays and a three-pronged flaming torch. By the sound of the dialogue, Augustus has made a startling revelation and Xena is furious. In this scene, tempers are flaring, and so is the heat.
Directly below the imperial balcony is the courtyard where Livia’s victory parade takes place. Several crewmen are currently positioning lights and cameras for another angle of the Xena/Augustus confrontation. The art department is also on hand to make sure the courtyard set is dressed for a recreation of the parade, which is necessary as background for the current scene. Amidst palm fronds, banners and miscellaneous decorations, some of the crew allow themselves to rest briefly on their laurels - golden laurels that is, atop the banners soon to be carried by the Roman legionnaires.
“There’ll be more parade soon,” a cameraman promises, as wranglers dressed as soldiers lead two magnificent black horses into the sand-covered courtyard. Of course, “soon” in filming language could mean anything from two minutes to two days...
It takes over an hour to set up for a couple of minutes of film inside the sauna-like conditions of the balcony, and that’s just shooting from one angle. A disembodied voice from inside calls out “stand by for a take!”, and the sound and motion outside on the battlements momentarily cease.
Each time the word “cut!” is heard, crew members who have been on standby outside rush into the small, enclosed space for adjustments and touch-ups of camera, sound, lighting, wardrobe and make-up.
While this part of the balcony scene is being filmed, there's much more going on around the rest of the area than a casual observer would realise. They’re still watering the sand in the gladiatorial arena, as well as setting up a blue screen nearby for the later addition of special effects. In the courtyard, assistant directors are assembling legionnaires, horses and assorted toga-wearing gentry for the miniaturised victory parade after filming on the current scene is complete. Wilkinson as Livia, riding her armoured black horse slowly around the courtyard, looks every bit the conquering hero, except maybe for those modern-day dark glasses sheltering her from the sun.
Although the main section of the procession has already been filmed, the atmosphere on set is still one of epic proportions. One may begin to understand this when faced with some of the production figures involved in filming the parade: its full complement includes 20 Roman soldiers, 12 legion slaves, 10 elite guards and cavalry, several horse wranglers dressed as part of the army, a cartload of pilfered treasures and over 40 assorted Roman citizens (at one stage the procession was also going to include an 18-year-old elephant called Jumbo, but unfortunately his appearance had to be cancelled at the last minute).
There are a few more bodies in Livia than are usually needed for an episode of Xena, and additional extras always means additional members of the crew. The parade required over 20 dressers, make-up artists, horse wranglers and art department crew. “The more extras you have,” explains an insider, “the more people you need to look after them.”
The extras had to be ready for transport by 4:40am; they were then taken to the outdoor set by bus, in time for dressing and make-up at 5:15am. Although the extras initially arrived in two batches (5am and 5:40am respectively), the catering crew had a multitude to feed for an early breakfast: 160 people at 6:30am. Guest actors Wilkinson and Moy arrived at 5:45am and 6:15am respectively.
For the main crew, “parade day” was a normal 12-hour shift - 7am to 7pm - and the unit crew (responsible for on-site facilities) had to be there before everyone; their day on the set began around 4:30am.
Back in the enclosed balcony, the literally heated confrontation between Xena and Augustus is still going on. “Cut,” says the director again after a number of takes, and there is a few minutes' pause while the cameras and boom microphone are repositioned for another shot at the same scene, this time from a different angle.
Finally, at 3:15pm, come the much-awaited words, “We’re moving on!” Exhausted cast and crew reappear from inside the enclosed space, thankful for a chance to get at air and the ice-filled water cooler at the end of the battlement walkway. It's suddenly a lot more crowded outside than in, with over 20 people vying for space to move themselves and their equipment down the three flights of wooden steps and around the corner to the next scene. Apparently, it’s been like this for most of the day. “Every now and then,” a crewmember quipped earlier, “people emerge from that sweatbox. The more courageous ones even go back in!”
For now, however, the “sweatbox” is momentarily forgotten as attention is turned to the courtyard for the re-run of Livia’s victory parade. Some of the camera crew get to stay in the box, however, as part of the procession is being shot from above, and the balcony just happens to be the best spot for the cameras.
It’s a pity about the elephant. But even without it, Livia is still one monumental episode. After all, when much of the space in the crew car park is taken up with carts, wagons and Roman chariots, it’s a fair indication of something interesting in the near vicinity. When there are several racks of togas and leather armour hanging neatly behind the set, it's a good bet that there will be some fascinating sights to see. When one arrives at the set after walking through a legion of Roman soldiers having lunch, it’s more than a subtle clue that something big is going on.
It may not be quite as big as Ben Hur (after all, Xena has already featured a chariot race in the first season), but Livia is certainly an epic episode. After all, this close to the dramatic end-of-season finale, it should be.