How does a 45-year-old wife and mother of three living in St. Petersburg wind up in a movie with comedy star Bill Engvall and achy breaky icon Billy Ray Cyrus?

Persistence.

That's what Mary Rachel Dudley credits for giving her the gumption to audition for the USA Network movie Bait Shop, where she performed for casting directors she'd known for 14 years -- and who had never given her a job. (Check out the show on USA at 9 p.m. tomorrow night.)

This time, however, they cast her as Engvall's wife in the movie, which filmed at a bait shop in Kissimmee featuring Engvall as the shop owner and Cyrus as his rival. Known for his TBS comedy series and his spot on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, Engvall wrote the script about a bait shop owner trying to win a fishing tournament to save his store; Cyrus is his rich rival.

"It was the best professional experience of my career so far...so worth the wait," Dudley said. "I wish every actor could have an experience like this one."