LEWISTON — Michael Miclon brushed back the hair of his black wig and whistled through his false teeth as he commanded, “Back to One!”

His court — his wife, his mother, his henchman, his jester and his gravedigger — followed. So did the gaze of 162 others, costumed extras volunteering their time Wednesday to be part of a real theatrical movie.

A few moments later, the procession made its way down the center aisle of the former St. Patrick’s Church in Lewiston as Miclon — transformed into his role as Richard III — made his entrance again.

He looked smug, silly and a little blind, as if he was the only one who could not see how ridiculous he looked.

But no one knows better.

Miclon, the founder of Buckfield’s Oddfellow Theater, is not only starring in the low-budget comedy “Richard³” (spoken as “Richard Cubed”). He wrote the screenplay, which he adapted from a stage comedy he co-wrote with Matthew Tardy. He is directing the film and plans to edit it with Jay Childs, who is also serving as the film’s director of photography.

On Wednesday — the biggest single day of shooting — he began working eight hours before the first extra pulled on a costume. Before the day ended, his Richard would be crowned as king.

“I’ve got almost 200 people coming in,” Miclon said. “I’ve just worked with my crew to get a buttoned-down shot list. We want to go from shot to shot to shot. (The extras) are going to tire easily. And I’m a little nervous that something is going to fall by the wayside.”

Miclon hid any worries as he climbed onto a stool at 5:40 p.m. and began his instructions for the volunteer extras, many of whom wore borrowed costumes from the Theatre at Monmouth.

“Never look at the camera,” he told them as he mimicked the eye-rolling expressions of a camera-seeking actor. Turn off phones. Take off eyeglasses. Hide watches. And try not to move, lest the 80-degree heat and the layers of costumes overwhelm anyone.

“Our goal is to get you out of here as soon as we can,” he said.

It was welcome news to many.

Don Dostie of Lewiston sat in the front row of the church wearing a thick, red coat that hung well below his waist and was adorned with fur-covered cuffs.

“It’s hot,” he said, but the fur stopped at the wrists. “It’s not fur-lined. That would be evil.”

It didn’t worry him. He beamed at the spectacle of more costumed people filing in.

“I’ve never done anything like this,” he said.

Steve Savoie of Leeds stood several rows back and tried, between shots, to pull off a carpet-like coat.

He had signed up after seeing the call for extras on Miclon’s Facebook site.

“He directed a musical I did a long time ago at Leavitt Area High School,” said Savoie, who now works at a payroll company. “This seemed like fun.”

To Andrew Leeman of Lewiston, the cameras and his thick costume with its floppy hat were exactly what he was looking for.

“I’m trying to be an actor, and I’m going to college for it in about two days,” Leeman said. “I’m going to Valley Forge Christian College in Pennsylvania. It’s a really cool experience to be part of this.”

While he worked, Miclon tried to keep it fun. As he prepared shots with Childs, Matthew Tardy, his brother, Jason, and Miclon’s son, Shane, juggled for the crowd.

The smiles persisted as Michael Miclon led the cameras up and down the aisle. Extras were guided to cheer, laugh, sigh and gasp.

Childs spent much of the time shooting while perched on a stool that sat on a rolling platform.

Rather than carry the weight of the film on his shoulders, as Miclon has done, Childs relaxed, he said.

Ninety minutes into Wednesday night’s shoot — Miclon and his court lined up once again, Childs began his own variation of “The Banana Boat Song.”

“Nighttime come, and the extras go home,” he sang.

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