Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage: No Longer A "Yes (Wo)Man"

I did something really stupid last week. I mean, it was just plain idiotic. I've been beating myself up about it, sleeping restlessly and wishing I hadn't been so ambitious. How many times can I slap myself on the head in penance? Answer: not enough.

Turns out, that stupid thing I did? (And believe me, it was dumb.) It may have been the smartest stupid thing I've ever done!

I started a new internship, of sorts, last week. Remember my tales of Mr. Awesome? Oh man, as much as I want to use real names so you'll realize how dumb I was, I just can't do it. Anyway, I had sent Mr. Awesome a thank-you note after our meeting a few weeks ago, and in the letter, I mentioned that if he ever needed help around his office to let me know. I explained that I wasn't looking for a paid gig, but I was interested in learning more about story development, casting and producing. I've always thought that I would make a great hyphenate: Stacey Jackson, actor-writer-producer! Well, he took me up on my offer and I sprinted to his office on one of my days off.

I quickly realized that I was not going to get very close to the action that I had imagined. The other interns dialed me in as I rolled calls and printed some emails. I was bored. But then the head intern handed me a script to cover! I love reading scripts. If you've never covered a script, basically you read it for your producer, type up a synopsis and then give your personal comments and opinions on the script. You wrap it up by rating the story, the writer and the concept/premise on a recommend, consider or pass basis. I decided that I should make good use of my time and impress Mr. Awesome with my script reading abilities. I'm a super fast reader after all, and I always got A's in English!

30 pages into the script, I was ready to throw it against the wall. I hated it. I asked the head intern if he had heard of the script or the writer. He hadn't. I googled and IMDB'd the names attached to the script. Nothing impressive. I kept reading and I wanted to barf. As I typed up my (very opinionated) coverage on it, I began to feel self-conscious. I, again, mined the veteran interns for their opinions. Are you sure Mr. Awesome won't mind? Is this too harsh? Will you just read my coverage and see if it sounds okay? When I turned my coverage into Mr. Awesome at the end of the day with a pass, pass, pass rating on all accounts, I was feeling pretty proud of myself.

If you haven't guessed, I panned a script that Mr. Awesome had already agreed to executive produce on my first day in the office! D'oh! I looked him in the eye and said, "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't enjoy it very much." There was no further discussion and everything seemed fine, but I felt like the biggest loser ever. I took a handful of scripts to cover outside of the office and slinked out to an audition when his door was closed.

I had already decided that I wasn't going to learn what I wanted to learn through the day-to-day chores in Mr. Awesome's office, but that wasn't what worried me. I was afraid that I had ruined an important relationship. I got all kinds of advice last week, but the most important one was this: nobody likes a "Yes" man. I've always been opinionated, but I'm also polite. I started thinking, "Maybe I have been a "Yes" (wo)man all of these years."

Well, yes woman no more (unless we're talking about chocolate) because Friday I got an email from Mr. Awesome stating that he had passed my information onto <insert insanely famous veteran actress>. She was looking for a little help on the film that they are working on together (she's writing, adapting and directing and he's executive producing) and he wondered if I'd be interested in meeting with her. At 3 pm on Friday, I was sitting in her house and watching my future open in a way that I never expected. It was beyond surreal.

Over the next couple of months, I'm going to be assisting an incredible team with the adaptation of a Tony Award Winning play for the screen. I will spill details when I can. For now, I'm just trying to hang in there and play in the big leagues. It's going to be hands on. It's going to be insane. It's a dream come true. And all because I put my foot into my mouth...

Oh, the irony.

--Stacey Jackson