“You oughta be in pictures…”

Dave has been out of the service for about a year and earns his living as a carpenter. Karen used to be a dancer in Las Vegas and currently works as a waitress. Scott and Brett are students at Cape Cod Community College and Pat works in a bank. Ann is a radio announcer. Put these people in a room together and they probably wouldn’t have a thing to talk about, right? But this group meets once a week to share their fantasies, trade advice and learn from one another. They make up Television and Film Actors Workshop of Cape Cod.

Television & Film Actor’s Workshop of Cape Cod is housed in the rear of a building on Winter Street in Hyannis. The information packet which founder Jerry Schmeer distributes is loaded with disclaimers. “I’m not promising you work, I’m not even promising you’ll ever learn the profession of acting, but I’m giving you the opportunity.” The workshop is not certified as an acting school, nor is Schmeer a certified acting teacher. What Schmeer hopes to accomplish with the venture is a working acting base, a support group, a network of people sharing concepts, problems and leads on how to make it in this most competitive of businesses.

What does an unemployed actor do on Cape Cod in the offseason? The choices seem clear: either get a job in a restaurant or pack your trunk. But Jerry Schmeer had another idea. With the enthusiasm of an aging Andy Hardy, Schmeer tired of waiting for somebody else to focus on the formidable talent he knew was present on this peninsula, said, “C’mon gang, let’s put on a workshop.”

Schmeer is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) and a veteran of several roles in TV commercials, TV shows and movies including a Burger King ad and “Magnum P.I.” He was frustrated by the dearth of outlets for serious and seriously curious actors here on Cape Cod. Local and regional settings have gained popularity in recent years. This perhaps largely due to such television shows as “Cheers” and “St. Elsewhere,” which, ironically, are filmed in Los Angeles. But the success of “Spencer for Hire,” filmed on location in Boston, and a variety other productions with a Bay State setting (“The Witches of Eastwick,” “Where are the Children,” the newest “Jaws” and the recent Provincetown staging of Norman Mailer’s “Tough Guys Don’t Dance”) is a [unclear word in clipping here] under Schmeer.

Casting directors and managers have no place to look if they are casting a film or a commercial on Cape Cod. Schmeer recently did extra work on “Tough Guys Don’t Dance,” for example, and less than five percent of those employed as extras, he estimates, were from Cape Cod. “50 or 60 people on the bus,” he explains, “and maybe three of them were from the Cape. Everybody else came down from Boston to do extra work in a Provincetown movie.” He hopes to establish his workshop as the first source for casting local people. Casting directors take their chances with open auditions, and the workshop’s member file will ideally be filled with folks who have at least a basic knowledge of how to behave in front of a camera.

Schmeer also sees the burgeoning local television industry as the perfect justification for his efforts. Currently, local TV commercials rarely cast professionals in their commercials. “It might take ten or fifteen takes for these people who have never worked in front of a camera before. TV and film are expensive, and if they can use actors and get it done in three takes,” he says, “the process will be much more cost effective in the long run.”

But Schmeer’s vision doesn’t stop there. He sees Cape Cod as a logical place to attract the film industry. Its natural charms aside, such as the geography and seaside romance, its proximity to both Boston and New York make it an attractive magnet. A magnet for a business which incidentally is not threatening to the Cape’s fragile environment and which will draw on the resources of talent while bringing in a lot of bucks.

Schmeer’s conception of the area’s potential as a viable center for film and television production casts the workshop in a leading role. All things being perfect, Schmeer’s group could be in on the ground floor of a developing industry. An ultimate dream is the formation of a full-scale production facility on Cape Cod, with Schmeer at the helm. Such a facility could provide talent in any number of fields to interested producers, casting agents and managers. But, still in its infant stage, the workshop has about 15 members and Schmeer can barely pay the rent, no less supply props and video equipment for the members.

Currently, admission is limited to those over 18, but Schmeer hopes to soon start a teen group. For a fee of $50 per month, people from all walks of life and at various levels of proficiency get together once a week and learn from each other. Each member participates in every session. They come in with a concept, a scene or an improvisation that they want to work on. Sometimes they hold a simulated audition and role play producers, directors and casting agents. When the assignment is complete, Schmeer asks the member to critique his or her scene. The group gives feedback and, if necessary, Schmeer will make some final observations.

Some members have considerable performing experience, while others use the workshop as a starting point. Recently Schmeer got a phone call from someone looking for a means to work on her public speaking: “I’m very shy with people and I’d love to be able to get in front of people and be able to talk,” he relates. Schmeer laughs that if that’s the motivation, the workshop is “still cheaper than going to a therapist.”

Members share an interest in learning about the profession and their reasons are as diverse as fingerprints. Ann Williams is an “air personality” at WCOD in Hyannis and has done some commercials for Cape Cod Cablevision. Williams would like to stay in the area, and has no great dream of becoming the next Meryl Streep.

“It’s worth it to go someplace where you want to live and then just be happy with making less money, which is why you get into something like this. Because if you can do just a couple of things every few months and you can make good money then you can still afford to live the way you want to,” says Williams. “I just want to make enough to live comfortably in a nice place where I want to live. I figure that if you have something that you’re able to do that you can make some good money at, even if it’s few and far between, then you have an obligation to do that.”

Dave Watson hoped to earn a living playing his music in local clubs, but ended up banging nails instead. He found it difficult here — all the local musicians have the gigs sewn up “forever.” His involvement with the workshop has given him a new perspective. Watson would like to incorporate acting and music, and do what he loves for a living. “This is serious business. I haven’t been waiting as long as some people for this to come along, but I’m glad that something like this has happened. This is great. It gives me a broader outlook on everything.”

Schmeer believes strongly in his project and his people. “Everybody wants to be an actor,” he contends. And the competition isn’t as fierce as you’d think. Schmeer insists it’s just a question of being more visible and having the right background. He wants people to be aware of the processes and opportunities. The workshop offers the chance to try it for a month. Chasing after stardust in NY or LA is a great fairytale, but Schmeer advises that before you “cancel your life here” you get a little taste of reality. He claims that Television and Film Actors Workshop can offer you the taste.

Schmeer’s own dream is taking shape slowly. Currently he holds down a full-time job in computer sales to pay his living expenses. Next month is crucial to the success of the workshop. Schmeer looks to the day when he spends all his time on the dream.

Part of the problem is recognition. Not enough people know about the place, and many who hear of it are intimidated by its title. The focus is on television and film, but anybody can benefit and contribute to the program. Schmeer feels people of all backgrounds are valuable and have insight and experience that can enhance the workshop. He adds that he would love to involve the 50-plus age group.

If Cape Cod becomes the Hollywood of the east and you join the workshop, you’ll be in on the ground floor. At worst you’ll meet a bunch of dedicated, talented, creative people.