character. I was ready. The nerves were there, but it was excitement I was experiencing, not fear.
The rest of the cast arrived and got into costume and hair for the rehearsal. We would run it from beginning to end with the goal of not stopping unless something went drastically wrong. Sienna would be resuming her ensemble track now that I was taking over as Alexis. She seemed extra cold today, which could have been because I was taking a role she desperately wanted or quite possibly because she had seen what happened between Adrienne and me the night before. It was hard to say. I didn’t see or talk to Adrienne before the rehearsal began, but I watched from the wings as she sang her opening ballad. I got goose bumps on my forearms as I listened to her. Her voice was the most beautiful I had ever heard and I didn’t think I would ever get used to it, no matter how many times I heard her sing.
Finally, it was my turn to take the stage with the rest of the cast for the fast-paced group number. It was energizing to finally have everyone else dancing alongside me, as opposed to just Lanie in rehearsal. It was cool to feel it all come together and to be a part of that.
My first scene with Adrienne was a little nerve-racking. I respected her so much as an actress and I didn’t want to embarrass myself or not hold my own in the scene. For the first half of the show, Alexis was Evan’s sidekick, her best friend, and confidant. It was important that we had a comfortable chemistry. However, three minutes into the scene, I was concentrating more on the logistics of the show, the blocking, the light cues, and making sure I was at the
right place at the right time. It was Adrienne’s hand on my forearm coupled with her character’s genuine laughter in response to one of my funnier lines that reminded me I was supposed to feel as well as hit my mark. When I realized she was purposefully trying to pull me into the scene, all the small details faded into the background, and I made the relationship of these two women matter most.
But there was a lot to remember, and I made several key mistakes. One of the biggest was missing an important cross that got me out of the way of a set change. Without missing a beat, Adrienne took me by the hand and guided me to where I needed to be on the stage. She could have let disaster strike, delay the set change, and let me hear about it in notes later. I’d worked with a lot of actors who would have taken that route, a trial by fire mentality, but instead she’d backed me up.
During what would be intermission, I changed my costume and hairstyle to reflect the passage of time in the show. I grabbed a bottle of water and had a few minutes left before Act II was to begin. I decided to stop by Adrienne’s dressing room. I felt she’d gone out of her way to make this an easy process for me out there, and I wanted to let her know I had noticed.
The door was open so I poked my head inside. Adrienne was sitting at her dressing table as the show’s wig mistress made some final adjustments to Evan’s Act II hair. Ben was sitting on her couch laughing at something she had said. Adrienne smiled along with him.
“Knock, knock,” I said quietly, not wanting to interrupt. “Well, well,” Ben said, “if it isn’t the next new Broadway starlet.
You’re doing awesome out there, Jen. I’m seriously impressed.” “Thank you,” I said.
“Now that we know you’ve got the nice girl thing down, I can’t wait to see you play the bitch in Act Two.”
I laughed. He was right. My character showed her true colors in the second half of the show, giving me the chance to play the complete opposite side of the coin. It made the role of Alexis a lot of fun, getting to go from one extreme to the other.
I turned my attention to Adrienne, who hadn’t said much since I’d entered the dressing room. “I wanted to say thanks, Adrienne,
for going full force out there,” I said. “You went out of your way to
The rest of the cast arrived and got into costume and hair for the rehearsal. We would run it from beginning to end with the goal of not stopping unless something went drastically wrong. Sienna would be resuming her ensemble track now that I was taking over as Alexis. She seemed extra cold today, which could have been because I was taking a role she desperately wanted or quite possibly because she had seen what happened between Adrienne and me the night before. It was hard to say. I didn’t see or talk to Adrienne before the rehearsal began, but I watched from the wings as she sang her opening ballad. I got goose bumps on my forearms as I listened to her. Her voice was the most beautiful I had ever heard and I didn’t think I would ever get used to it, no matter how many times I heard her sing.
Finally, it was my turn to take the stage with the rest of the cast for the fast-paced group number. It was energizing to finally have everyone else dancing alongside me, as opposed to just Lanie in rehearsal. It was cool to feel it all come together and to be a part of that.
My first scene with Adrienne was a little nerve-racking. I respected her so much as an actress and I didn’t want to embarrass myself or not hold my own in the scene. For the first half of the show, Alexis was Evan’s sidekick, her best friend, and confidant. It was important that we had a comfortable chemistry. However, three minutes into the scene, I was concentrating more on the logistics of the show, the blocking, the light cues, and making sure I was at the
right place at the right time. It was Adrienne’s hand on my forearm coupled with her character’s genuine laughter in response to one of my funnier lines that reminded me I was supposed to feel as well as hit my mark. When I realized she was purposefully trying to pull me into the scene, all the small details faded into the background, and I made the relationship of these two women matter most.
But there was a lot to remember, and I made several key mistakes. One of the biggest was missing an important cross that got me out of the way of a set change. Without missing a beat, Adrienne took me by the hand and guided me to where I needed to be on the stage. She could have let disaster strike, delay the set change, and let me hear about it in notes later. I’d worked with a lot of actors who would have taken that route, a trial by fire mentality, but instead she’d backed me up.
During what would be intermission, I changed my costume and hairstyle to reflect the passage of time in the show. I grabbed a bottle of water and had a few minutes left before Act II was to begin. I decided to stop by Adrienne’s dressing room. I felt she’d gone out of her way to make this an easy process for me out there, and I wanted to let her know I had noticed.
The door was open so I poked my head inside. Adrienne was sitting at her dressing table as the show’s wig mistress made some final adjustments to Evan’s Act II hair. Ben was sitting on her couch laughing at something she had said. Adrienne smiled along with him.
“Knock, knock,” I said quietly, not wanting to interrupt. “Well, well,” Ben said, “if it isn’t the next new Broadway starlet.
You’re doing awesome out there, Jen. I’m seriously impressed.” “Thank you,” I said.
“Now that we know you’ve got the nice girl thing down, I can’t wait to see you play the bitch in Act Two.”
I laughed. He was right. My character showed her true colors in the second half of the show, giving me the chance to play the complete opposite side of the coin. It made the role of Alexis a lot of fun, getting to go from one extreme to the other.
I turned my attention to Adrienne, who hadn’t said much since I’d entered the dressing room. “I wanted to say thanks, Adrienne,
for going full force out there,” I said. “You went out of your way to
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