Playwright/Performer Jessica Lynn Johnson received her BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State University where she was granted both the John Goodman and Kathleen Turner talent scholarships. At Harvard, she studied with Yuri Yeremin as part of the Moscow Art Theater's Stanislavsky Summer Academy Program. Since arriving in NYC only a year ago from St. Charles, Missouri, Jessica has guest starred as Beverly on One Life To Live and portrayed both Daisy Duke in CMT's promo for The Dukes of Hazzard and Onion Girl in MTV' national promo for The Reality Show. For more info on the show and Jessica click here.

Interviewed by Kipley Wentz

Jessica as "Carrie" photo by Steve Barrett

First off, tell us about your fabulous solo show, Oblivious to Everyone. What’s it about, and how do you describe the show?
Thanks for the compliments on the show! I’m thrilled you enjoyed it so much. In answer to your question, OTE is a schizophrenic media mania, and I promise you will laugh A LOT. The main character Carrie is a Paris Hilton Wannabe who is obsessed with pop culture. This fixation on the media has caused her to develop multiple personalities. Rapidly flipping personalities like TV stations, Carrie becomes everything from a Playboy Bunny on the Howard Stern show to a Trailer Trash man on the Jerry Springer Show. I play ten characters total in this solo show exploring the media’s fierce impact on our society.

Please describe the process of creating the show – did you sit down and write it all out, then begin rehearsals? Or did you workshop parts of it and assemble it slowly over time?
The first draft was about 2 minutes long. It was just a monologue encompassing all of my characters in a fast montage. Then by the end of my senior year in college I decided to extend it into a twenty minute one act. When I moved to New York I shopped it around with different producing companies, put it up just about every month for a week or so, and over the course of the past 2 years, the show just kept growing and growing. It is now a full length 75 minute solo show. There is no set formula to how the show develops, sometimes I discover things in rehearsal or performance and then add the additions to the script afterward. Sometimes I will just feel the urge to sit at my computer and brainstorm, or I’ll see a new thing in a tabloid or on a talk-show and I’ll think “that HAS to go in the show.”

What role did director Christopher Sorensen play in the development of the piece? How did you know you’d found the right director?
I met Chris when he cast me in a production at Interlochen Arts Academy back when I was in High School. I kept in touch with him over the years and he has always been a mentor of mine. It was never a question for me if HE was the RIGHT guy for the job, it was a question of if HE would have the time to help me out. Chris is extremely generous with his time and his insight, so he met with me on several occasions to brainstorm and watch the show for any technical difficulties. He is always giving me pointers and sending important people my way to see the show.

On the surface, all your characters appear to be completely different from each other. What do they have in common?
They each represent people who have been misrepresented in the media. A stereotype of sorts. More importantly, they each represent a side of Carrie, the racist side, the homophobic side, the self-hating, self-deprecating side. And even some of her good traits. One of the characters is a little girl. She is probably the most insightful of all the characters because she asks the really tough questions, and is the only personality that gets Carrie to actually acknowledge her oblivious tendencies.

Was this show conceived as a “showcase” for you? What impact has creating and performing the show had on your career?
Yes it was absolutely meant to showcase me as a performer. However, it was also a therapeutic way for me to get my thoughts out about the media’s effect on our society. I think it is very important for art to be both selfish and selfless at the same time. I wrote OTE in order that I might be able to portray men and children and other roles no one would typically cast me as, but it was also important for me to write something that would give my audience a message to chew on.

Oblivious was selected for this year’s Fringe Festival in New York. Please describe that experience. What were your expectations, and was the experience what you hoped?
It was an Amazing experience! I encourage everyone to try to get their work into that festival. It has such a strong reputation and has given my show a great deal of credibility that it never had before. It put OTE on the map so to speak. Of course, I still have far grander goals for OTE, so the Fringe was merely a stepping stone not the end of the journey.

In your opinion, who should apply for the Fringe Festival, and why?
Everyone should try. And if you don’t get in the first time, go to writing groups, volunteer at the Fringe, try to figure out what your weaknesses were the first go-around and then try again. The Fringe yearns for NEW work, provocative work, and the Fringe loves to give opportunities to up and coming artists. If you can get in that door I say go for it and milk it for all its worth. Hire a publicist, beat the pavement. Don’t take it for granted because anything and everything can happen from a festival like that. Urinetown started there and look how well it did.

photo by Robbie Renfrow

Off-Broadway theater goers in New York tend towards the liberal. How do you think your show would be received by a conservative audience? Have you performed the show outside New York?
Not to knock New Yorkers, as they have been a GREAT audience, but my BEST audience so far was Kansas City Missouri believe it or not. I did their Fringe Festival last summer just before I did the one in NYC. I thought I may get booed off the stage or walked out on. I just truly worried that some of the provocative themes in the show would be a little too much for a Midwestern audience. But I literally had standing room only by the last show and people begging me to send them a DVD of the show. It was amazing. I would do it there again in a heartbeat.

What are your goals for the show… personal, artistic, career, etc.?
Now when I dream, I dream BIG. So, my goal would be to have HBO run it as a special where I could perform it for a huge audience and not have to censor it whatsoever. I would also love to see the show be on Broadway. I have seen what a vast audience OTE attracts and I think it would do quite well with the tourists and New Yorkers alike. Everyone can relate to it to some degree. I also think it would be amazing to have the singer Pink sign on as a producer. She seems to always be on the forefront of positive female messages. Her song “Stupid Girls” should be the theme of my show. We’d be a perfect team.

What has been the greatest challenge of getting butts in the seats? What is the most effective thing you’ve done to promote the show and sell tickets?
As you know NYC is the most competitive market for the arts. There is so much of it here which is phenomenal but it also makes it hard to make MY show stand out among all the others. So, hiring David Gibbs as my publicist was definitely the best thing I could have done. Next, email blasts are fairly effective. Just doing my show as often and with as many different companies as I can has gained me a nice sized following. Of course word-of-mouth is very effective too.

You recently moved to New York from Missouri. What did you do before moving to prepare? Do you have any first-year survival tips?
As soon as I got my degree in Theatre I was already in a u-haul heading for the East coast, so there was no real “preparation” time. I just dove right in. That is the best tip I can give people, don’t be scared, don’t put it off, New York is not as scary as it seems. Just get out here and give it everything you have. You definitely have to dream big to achieve big.

You’ve had remarkable success in your first year in New York, a city where many aspiring actors falter. In your opinion, which of your qualities have enabled you to thrive in such a competitive environment?
Ambition. I am ambitious almost to a fault. If I want something I tunnel vision my way to it, and sometimes I miss the red flags along the way. Fortunately, it has been a good quality here in New York. I am also a spiritual person. I have a great deal of faith. I believe that God has a plan for my life and I am just along for the ride. I don’t have time to be scared about rejection. I just keep moving forward.

If I am dreaming of moving to New York and becoming an actor, what habits should I develop?
An outstanding work ethic is key. This is not a city for lazy people. A good sense of self-worth. You will be told "no" more than you are told "yes", so you have to learn to just move on to the next thing without taking it personally. And persistence. Remember that developing a good reputation and a quality resume takes time. Of course talent is important too, but let’s not forget we live in a world where Anna Nicole Smith is famous. It truly can happen for anyone.

You received a BFA in Theatre Performance from Missouri State University and were accepted to the Moscow Art Theater’s Stanislavsky Summer Academy Program at Harvard. A lot of people struggle with whether to study acting at college. In your opinion, what are the pro’s and cons of getting a degree in theater? Did you feel “ready” when you graduated?
I was text book ready, but you can’t learn the “experience” in school. You just have to live it. I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t major in theatre if that is their ultimate goal? If you are already setting yourself for a backup plan before you’ve even got a degree, then go with the backup plan. There are just too many people who want this first and foremost. Again, there just isn’t room for being scared. Just decide what you want and take it.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned about showbiz?
It is anyone’s game. There is no formula. Money talks a lot unfortunately. Connections help a great deal. There is luck, there are also justified payoffs, often there is no rhyme or reason to why someone gets a role and someone else doesn’t. I mean there are just so many truths out there, so many different paths. You just have to focus your energy on your strengths, figure out how to market yourself with those strengths and then go for it, and the more people you can get to believe in you, the better.

What role do actors play in modern society? Why do we need actors?
Wow. I could go on all day in answer to that. Actors, especially celebrities, have an amazing power to influence. With all that is wrong with the world around us, I find that an actor is in the unique position to either a.) take people into another world and forget their problems or b.) make them look closer at the problems in the world around them. It is both a blessing and a curse that some actors are idolized the way they are, especially in American society. For instance, if Paris Hilton sports a pair of oversized Dior sunglasses, every twenty-something girl and her mother tries to find an affordable knock-off to emulate her. Imagine using that power of persuasion for things that actually matter.

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