Times Chronicle & Public Spirit
15 minutes of fame
Abington woman lands spot in TV series, highlights her profession
NORRISTOWN >> Emilie Posnan’s role as a Montgomery County Court stenographer helped land her an appearance in a television drama based on a headline-making crime and she brought some noteworthy attention to the importance of the profession she loves.
“It was such a great experience. It was the best thing,” Posnan, of Abington, said about her “15 minutes of fame” appearing as a stenographer in the current Showtime series “Escape At Dannemora” about a 2015 prison break in upstate New York.
Posnan, who has worked as a stenographer for 13 years, the last two at the county courthouse, filmed her sequences in December 2017 and the series premiered Nov. 18.
“I’m still living my 15 minutes of fame, as much as possible,” Posnan, a native of Bucks County and a graduate of Council Rock High School, laughed during a recent interview at the courthouse.
Showtime describes “Escape At Dannemora” as “a limited-event series based on 2015’s stranger-thanfiction prison break from Clinton Correctional Facility” by inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat, an escape that “spawned the largest manhunt in the history of New York State.” The escapees were aided by a married female prison employee, Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell, “who reportedly carried on affairs with both men while supervising them in the tailor shop,” according to Showtime promotional materials.
The series stars Benicio Del Toro as Matt and Paul Dano who portrays Sweat. Actress Patricia Arquette plays Mitchell and actress Bonnie Hunt plays Catherine Leahy Scott, the inspector general of New York who investigated the prison break. Ben Stiller is the director
and executive producer of the series.
Series creators said it was important to have a real-life stenographer appear in the series.
“Stenographers spend many years on their technique and we felt it was crucial to get someone who could properly portray the typing rhythm and the locked-in attention that are the trademarks of the craft. Only a real stenographer would do,” said Brett Johnson, co-creator, writer and executive producer of the limited series.
During the first scene of the series, Hunt’s character, about to interrogate Arquette’s character, indicates she won’t begin until the stenographer arrives.
“Let’s not get into any details until the stenographer gets here. I mean even though it’s all taped, it’s actually more accurate, this girl especially, she’s been with me 15 years. I did a comparison. I was right,” Hunt’s character says before Posnan appears on screen as the stenographer. At a time when some county officials have floated the idea of replacing stenographers with an automated recording system, the positive references to court stenographers in the television series thrilled Posnan and other court stenographers.
“She says this whole great thing about stenographers, great for our profession, how we’re more accurate than a tape,” said Posnan, recalling Hunt’s lines in the episode. “It was so great for our occupation. It was very important, nice to hear that support.”
Posnan received overwhelming support from her stenographer colleagues, family and friends. For the Nov. 18 television premiere, Posnan held a screening party at her home, attended by about 15 fellow court stenographers.
“We all watched together. Everyone was so excited, especially about Bonnie Hunt’s line about the stenographer,” said Posnan, an Ohio State University graduate who then went on to complete stenography school.
Posnan, a mother of two, smiled about her children’s reactions.
“They tell everyone, ‘My mom’s famous.’”
Posnan has worked in the civil, family and criminal courts.
“It’s always a new story. It’s always something different. I feel I learn a lot of things,” Posnan said. “I have a great job.”
While it was thrilling, Posnan didn’t necessarily catch the so-called “acting bug.”
“But if Ben Stiller wanted to do a whole thing about court reporters and needed a consultant I would love to do that,” Posnan joked.
Posnan’s journey to the television screen began in December 2017.
Posnan, who had never dreamed of being on television or in a film, was alerted to the role from an actress friend who receives random casting notices from various talent agencies.
“She got one saying they were looking for a real stenographer, not an actress, someone authentic,” Posnan recalled, adding on a whim her photo was submitted to the casting agency, which later informed her that Stiller wanted to meet her the following day.
“I was so excited. At that point, I didn’t care if he picked me or not, I was just so excited that I was going to meet him,” Posnan gushed, recalling her anticipation.
Posnan traveled to Brooklyn where filming had begun and learned six other stenographers from the New York City area also had been called for an audition. The hopefuls were taken to a set. Posnan joked she made “very good eye contact” with Stiller during the interview.
“I was driving home and I got a call and they said, ‘You’ve been selected.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ almost drove off the road,” Posnan laughed, adding, “because by then, at that point I was, ‘Now I want it, I hope he picks me.’”
The following week, Posnan, who was familiar with the true crime story from news accounts, traveled to a set in Queens, N.Y., for two days of filming.
“They took me to hair and makeup and did my hair in a way I wouldn’t normally do. I really didn’t have a choice,” Posnan laughed hysterically as she recalled that moment.
Posnan’s first scene was with Hunt and Arquette and it took place in an interrogation room. The scene plays out in the first five minutes of the series.
“It was just the three of us. I’m thinking it was going to be a courtroom scene and the camera’s going to pan over me. But it was me and two major actors, that’s it,” Posnan recalled, conceding she couldn’t help but be a little star struck being in the same room with such respected and well-known actresses. “But I played it cool. I was totally playing it cool.”
Hunt, Arquette and Stiller were friendly, made her feel comfortable and respected her profession, Posnan recalled, and she was directed to actually record what the characters said during the scene to make her role appear as authentic as possible.
“I was typing what they were saying. It was not a stretch,” Posnan said.
Posnan learned that television production is a timeconsuming task as various camera angles and “takes” were needed to film that five
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