Jenna's Diary appears biweekly

March 24th

I have no idea what to wear to my first acting class tomorrow night! All of Rod and Tabetha's actor friends wear kind of bizarre stuff. They all seem to wear striped turtlenecks with old woolen coats and little toques with long red moth-eaten scarves. It is so weird. It's like they are trying to make an anti-fashion statement yet they are all wearing the same thing. That makes it a fashion doesn't it? I wonder why actors want to look like starving artists? Judging by Rod's friends they have no shortage of money when it comes to booze. It doesn't make sense. Starving usually means you're not very good at what you do. If I filed tax returns I wouldn't use a starving accountant.

I asked Tabetha where she gets her clothes and she told me she shops at Goodwill. She invited me to go along with her on her next trip but I told that that because I live in Forest Heights I can't afford to dress down and that although I want to look like an actor I don't want to look plain and dowdy.

Maybe Diana's got some sort of designer/broke actor/ artisty thing in her closet.

March 26^th

I wore this beatnik-y thing that Diana had in the back of her closet. I felt it really made a statement like "I know what artists look like, but I have a lot of money." Unfortunately I had to wait for her to leave before I could sneak it out of her closet and I was almost an hour late for class!

I was very anxious when I arrived, but the teacher David Pepper was very jolly about it, he stopped and said "Oh, welcome fellow thespian!" and invited me to have a seat. He is about 60 and looks very distinguished. He has a very musical accent. I'm not sure if it's English, Irish, Scottish or French but it sounds very authentic.

Because the course is "Acting for Film and Television" David said we were going to skip the dreary breathing and trust exercises that take up most of the first year of acting school. We still had to spend some time on vowels thought. It was harder than I thought it would be, especially when we had to repeat after him.

David says at most conventional (the way he says conventional would make your lip curl!) acting schools you wouldn't see a script until the second year but at Performer's Choice you get a script the first night. That's how good they are. He says you can't learn to drive without a car and I could not agree more. He handed out scripts for TV commercials and we had to pick partners.

No one picked me!!! I was so embarrassed! It seemed that even though I was only an hour late the rest of the class had bonded. I was ready to grab my coat and walk out but fate stepped in! David said he'd be my partner! Whoo hoo! I could see everyone else wishing they'd had the presence of mind to be late!

We had a script for "Lucky Flakes" and I played a housewife who refuses to try anything new. David played a genie and it was really inspiring to watch him centre himself and actually become the character. He does this thing where he waves his hand across his face. When he waves his hand down he ends up with a sad face and when the wave is up he has a smiling face. We ran through the script twice and David said we were perfect, ready to go.

We had to go last because David said he is spent after a performance so I had to sit through everyone else's. I am soooooo glad it's a small class (7 people) because honestly I would have died from boredom. I really don't like to criticize, it's not in my nature, but watching the others do their scenes, I did wonder how they passed the rigorous screening process. One guy, I think his name is Leon looks like he should be collecting tolls under a bridge. He doesn't open his mouth when he talks and does not take criticism well. He got a script for a telephone commercial and kept saying "Save on your long distant calls" and bristled whenever David corrected him. Leon was partnered with Jean a woman around 70 who thought she'd be clever and memorize the script but she has like 2 second recall so she kept losing her place and treated us to a huge production number as she fumbled around her bosom for the chain holding her glasses.

The rest of the class wasn't much better and I thought they'd never finish but finally it was our turn to perform... It was BRILLIANT! After we were finished the class applauded and David said it was the best one yet, that it was a prime example of good acting. He was so full of praise, and he even had kind words for me. He said I added an extra layer to my performance, that it didn't seem like I was just talking about soap powder (actually I didn't think I was talking about soap powder. I thought Lucky Flakes was cereal, but so what.)

After class everyone crowded around David and a few people came up to me and told me that I was really good. I wanted to say the same to them but I couldn't so I just accepted their praise with grace.

Wow. When I pictured my first night in acting class I could see myself blowing everyone away with my talent but I didn't think it would actually happen.

This has been a night to remember!

March 28th

I told Rod all about my class and how good I was and he said he was glad that I was enjoying it. There's nothing really wrong with that answer but it seemed rather patronizing.

They were right in the middle of a rehearsal when I popped by so I got to see how their play is progressing and honestly, if anything it is even worse than before! I don't know if I'm watching with a more critical eye now that I'm in the business, but drone, drone, drone. Their other roommate Robyn has been hired to direct and he is dissecting every second word.

I don't think David would direct like that. I think David would probably let you go a whole paragraph without leaping onto the stage. Then again, David is a pro and probably wouldn't direct in his bare feet either.

By end of the third run Rod asked me what I thought. I asked him if he wanted me to be honest and he said he did. I took a deep breath and told him if they kept screaming out in angst like that the audience would be happy to see them get eaten. There were a few minutes of confusion and then there was this huge boring explanation about Oedipal vs. edible.

I was a little surprised at Rod's reaction. At first he got rather huffy and then when he realized my mistake (an easy one to make, Robyn just got his tongue pierced) he started laughing. I pretended to laugh along but really I was a little hurt. What makes him think he is better than me? OK, maybe his acting class was a couple of years longer but when it comes right down to it, it has everything to do with talent and talent can't be taught. I think my first class proved that.

This course was supposed to bring us together but oddly if things continue as they are it might drive a wedge between us. I really don't want to have to choose between Rod and my career and if it comes down to it I honestly don't know what I would choose. How weird is that?

Oh, God - am I falling out of love?

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