Melissa Explains It All: Tales From My Abnormally Normal Life by Melissa Joan Hart Page B

The movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off had just broken the fourth wall—that’s when you acknowledge the audience through the camera, which is said to allow the actor to bust through the imaginary boundary between the fictional work and its audience. This was a theatrical technique that, when used on TV, was mostly done on variety shows like Saturday Night Live or In Living Color . But when Ferris did it, it caused a commotion, and our show followed suit. More than anything, though, when Clarissa delivered her lines down the barrel of the camera, it was a way for her to bond with the audience. Mitchell has said that he wanted this to make viewers feel like they were in the room with her. Clarissa’s connection was essential, since both sexes would only watch a female lead if the girl were cool enough that boys liked her and girls wanted to be her.
    A lot of fans tuned in to see what Clarissa wore every week. Her clothes were original, playful, and not at all provocative—Keith Haring graphic tees, scarves, peasant tops, and more vests than you could find in Diane Keaton’s closet. Most of her outfits included layers of color and pattern, paired with colorful Doc Martens or Converse sneakers. The stylish ragtag look was a skillful mix of Punky Brewster, Cyndi Lauper, and the sweeter side of urban punk. I think our show’s designer, Lisa Lederer, did for trendy teens what Patricia Field later did for fashionable twenty-somethings who watched Sex and the City. (In fact, I think Lisa did some shopping for the show at Pat’s store.) To this day, people still tell me that Clarissa inspired them to work in the fashion industry or revamp their wardrobe. I could never follow the character’s unpredictable style, so while I loved her clothes, I never duplicated the looks in my own life. I could rock dangling earrings and army boots, but forget the psychedelic leggings and painted jeans. I did keep a lot of custom-made wardrobe pieces like a blue paisley vest, mix-matched pajamas, and any Betsey Johnson piece I could get my hands on. My friend Michele, who worked in wardrobe, made me a great keepsake picture, constructed from many pieces of fabric and material that were used to make some of my clothes. It still hangs in my office at home.
    Like Clarissa’s personality, her look was elaborate without being flashy, and liberating without seeming pretentious. I wasn’t made to look like today’s girls on Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire, or Wizards of Waverly Place, who wear a full face of makeup, hair extensions, and daring clothes. I’m floored to learn that some of them are younger than I was when I started on Clarissa . In fact, Mom insisted that my character never wear mascara or have tweezed or groomed eyebrows; she hoped to preserve what little-girl charm I had left in my big-girl world. (This is how she earned her nickname, “Dragon Lady,” around the set.)
    Because the show was about a preteen’s life, and I was a young teenager, Clarissa ’s writers occasionally turned to me for input and help shaping Clarissa’s character—albeit in small, but significant, ways. Right off the bat, Mitchell made They Might Be Giants Clarissa’s favorite band, with their posters on her set wall, even though it wasn’t the most popular group at the time. He’s also said that he wrote in slang I used in real life—like “obee-kaybee,” which some of my girlfriends and I used back home, and now there’s an OBKB.com fan site dedicated to the show. Clarissa also always had a plan—and five backup plans, if those didn’t work out—which is exactly like me, though I’m not sure if that was art imitating life, or vice versa.
    When any television show gets the green light for its first season, the showrunner, who’s responsible for day-to-day decisions, typically sits with the actors or sends them a questionnaire to learn about their passions, hobbies, and interests. This way, story lines can benefit from the actor’s real outside