The only common denominator that we as artists all have is rejection. It is part of the game. In this article I want to chat about how to live with all this rejection. I cannot tell you how many countless auditions I have been on in my ten plus years as an actress…. And guess what… I was rejected, denied, not hired, not even a call back on hundreds of them. It’s impossible to book everything you audition for and it’s totally normal to not book a majority you go out for. This is part of the game, but it…
Author: Jessica Sonneborn
Jessica Sonneborn
Jessica Sonneborn grew up in Connecticut and earned a BA in Anthropology from Wheaton College and a graduate teaching degree from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. After teaching in Boston for a couple of years she turned her attention to acting in Independent movies, eventually deciding to make a serious try in the film industry by moving to Los Angeles in 2005. Jessica has had leads in a variety of genres from thrillers: "Lure", which she also wrote and produced, Sci-Fi: "The Witches of Oz" (Christopher Lloyd, Billy Boyd, Sean Astin), comedy: Kevin Smith’s Movie Club presents: "Money Shot" (Jason Mewes), which she also wrote and produced, Horror: "Alice D." (Kane Hodder, Al Snow), which she also wrote and directed, "Bloody Bloody Bible Camp" (Reggie Bannister and Tim Sullivan) and just released: Leigh Scott's, "Piranha Sharks" (Kevin Sorbo). She is in numerous other independent productions including: "American Girls" (Bai Ling), "Rabid Love", "Alpha House", "Never Open the Door", "Red Sleep", "Love Squared" and also had guest stars on Stephen Merchants', "Hello Ladies", Diablo Cody's, "United States of Tara", and Charles Shyers, "Him and Us" (pilot). Most recently she plays the lead in dramatic thrillers, "Silence", written and directed by Nelson Reis and produced by Carlyne Fournier, and "The House Across the Street", surrounded by Eric Roberts, Alex Rocco, Ethan Embry, and Courtney Gains, directed by Arthur Luhn and in the up coming Leigh Scott comedy, "Extra Curricular Activities". Jessica has several movies lined up for 2014 and early 2015, including the horror remake: Psycho a Go Go, mutant horror, Contaminated, and was just cast in the military drama, based on a true story: "Light Wounds" and horror: "One Night of Fear".
I’m an actress and a filmmaker. I understand both how hard it is to be an actress and how hard it is to get a movie made. In this article I want to talk to you about coming to set prepared, and I don’t mean just having your lines memorized or shot lists ready. 1) Medical conditions and allergies. ALWAYS communicate ahead of time any medical conditions and allergies you have with your producer. Pack your medication with you, in case of emergency. If you are going on a location shoot where you will be away from home, make sure…
Many years ago I landed my first Hollywood agent. As I drove home from my meeting with her, I was so excited and frankly terrified, by all of the work I thought she was going to get me. Well friends, if I had waited for her to get me work; I’d still be sitting home on the couch, with no credits. I’ve learned after many years in the business, that if sit home and wait is your motto; you’re most likely going to be sitting around waiting, like, forever. Most of the work I get is from referral, or by…
Like most actresses, I’ve been one my entire life… sing-songing in front of family members and putting on plays, while dreaming of one day being on Broadway. Our little girl dreams and expectations of, “Life upon the wicked stage”, are in fact, “never what a girl supposes…” to quote the song from Showboat. I never did make it to Broadway, but I started working on indies over a dozen years ago and have worked on many different budget levels… from “the bag of Doritos for lunch” level, to the “lamb chops” level. I’ve noticed one common denominator on set that…
We are actresses, filmmakers, and professional make- believers. Part of our job is imagining the impossible and creating kingdoms in our head, unfortunately sometimes we are also faced with things that are too good to be true. A few weeks ago I was asked to have a meeting with several ” high profile” producers, after I had submitted myself for a casting (on a reputable casting site). The email came from one of the producers’ assistants. She explained how high profile here bosses were, and that I would be having a pre-meeting, along with several actresses, before they started official…
You saw it. It’s in your head. Someone hated your movie, or your performance… they thought you should dig a hole, crawl in it and never show your face again… and most likely you are thinking, where can I get a shovel? Criticism of our artwork is very painful and can give the most seasoned artist self-doubt. Well ladies, I’m here to tell you… we are all in the same boat and we have ALL read bad things about ourselves, or a project we helped create. (And if you haven’t, unfortunately at some point in your career… you probably will).…
You did it. You wrote or found the perfect script, somehow put together financing, put on your war paint and fought through handling the barrage of emails and phone calls, all the pre-productions bumps. Next came the filming ups and downs, and temperamental artists, the stress of getting the scenes shot just right in cold rooms under hot lights. But it was a blast and you did it! Everyone seemed to be calling you, cheering you on, “liking” your status on social media. Your parents told everyone their daughter was practically Spielberg. You felt on top of the world, and…