A Pennsylvania court stenographer’s job led to her landing a part in a television drama, The Mercury, a newspaper published in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
Emilie Posnan, who has been a Montgomery County Court stenographer for 13 years, got a role on a Showtime drama, “Escape At Dannemora,” about a 2015 prison break in upstate New York.
The series premiered Nov. 18 and will continue through Dec. 30, Sundays at 10 p.m. on Showtime.
The limited-event series is based on the escape from Clinton Correctional Facility by inmates Richard Matt and David Sweat that spawned the largest manhunt in the history of New York State. The escapees were helped by prison employee, Joyce “Tilly” Mitchell, “who reportedly carried on affairs with both men while supervising them in the tailor shop,” according to Showtime.
The series stars Benicio Del Toro, Paul Dano, Patricia Arquette and Bonnie. Ben Stiller is the director and executive producer.
The creators of the series wanted a real-life stenographer to appear in the series to properly portray the typing rhythm and the locked-in attention that are the trademarks of the craft.
During the first scene of the series, Hunt’s character says she won’t begin until the stenographer, portrayed by Posnan, arrives.
Posnan held a screening party at her home for the series premiere.
She learned about the role from an actress friend who had read a casting notice from a talent agency. She submitted a photo and was one of seven stenographers who were called to Brooklyn for an audition.
On her drive home from the audition, she learned she had gotten the part.
The following week, she went to Queens, N.Y. for two days of filming. She was told to actually record what the characters said during the scene to make her role appear authentic.
Posnan, her husband, some relatives and friends traveled to Lincoln Center in New York for the November premiere of the series.
The Showtime series has been nominated for several Golden Globes.
