The Actor's Life by Jenna Fischer

Author:Jenna Fischer [Fischer Jenna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781944648237
Publisher: BenBella Books, Inc.

SURVIVING REJECTION

After the network test for the dance show, I went on to test for roughly six or seven different pilots over the course of three years. It was hard to keep putting myself out there over and over, only to not get the part. But I kept reminding myself what my teacher had told me—that people remember good work. And, sure enough, the same casting director from the dance pilot brought me in the following year to audition for a guest part on a different pilot. It wasn’t a series regular, just a one-episode role, playing a secretary to one of the leads. I had one five-line scene in which my character delivered homemade cookies to her boss. My take on the character was that she baked the cookies because she was harboring a secret love for her boss, and maybe these cookies would help him see her as the nurturing woman he needed in his life. Mind you, this wasn’t in the script; it was just a backstory I’d created to make my tiny role more interesting. Apparently it worked, because the producers noticed my attention to detail. They said, “We love what you are doing with this cookies thing. What’s going on there?” So, I told them my little backstory and they were impressed enough to give me the job. After the shoot, they came up to me and said, “We love your cookie crush thing. And we love the idea of you being this person who is always taking care of him. If the show gets picked up, we want to give you a recurring role.” Yay! That was really exciting! Unfortunately, the show didn’t get picked up. But it was really cool to have been noticed. (By the way, the key to this little success was that they asked me about my character’s backstory. I don’t recommend you walk into an audition and bother the producers with your little backstory for a three-to-five-line part. If I’d walked in and said, “So, I’ve got this great idea where I have this crush . . .” they probably would have been like, “Okay, weirdo, just say your five lines and be quiet.” And I should point out, if they’d said, “Can you just deliver the cookies and keep it simple?” I’d have said, “Sure!”)

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