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 A round-up of answers to the usual questions from one of As the
World Turns' newest cast members. Jessica plays Alison Stewart,
Emily Stewart's sister… and biological daughter.
Head Start:
I always wanted to act. I was always putting on plays as a kid.
I live outside of Philadelphia, and I was going to an acting school
in Philadelphia. The owner of that acting school introduced me to
his wife who is a talent manager in New York, and then, a couple
of years ago, I just started going on auditions. I've done a few
independent films, and I did Storytelling, the Todd Solondz
film. I just did The Sopranos. I think my episode will
air at the end of October. It was lots of fun.
Anyplace But Here:
I had auditioned for ATWT and then, a month later, they called all
of a sudden and were like, "We need to see you for a call-back.
Today!" And I was actually filming The Sopranos and
I said, "Sorry, I can't make it." I was filming in New
Jersey, and my manager wanted me to get to Brooklyn for the audition
on my lunch hour! And I said, "I'm in the middle of New Jersey!
I can't go anywhere! My break is only 15 minutes!" So,
I missed that first call-back. But, then, they couldn't find anyone
for the part, so they had another call-back, which was really lucky
for me. The day of the second call-back, I had a 5:30AM call for
The Sopranos, so I left my house at one in the morning and
filmed all day in the South Bronx. I was so tired, and it was snowing
that day, too. I just felt so blech. But I still had to go to my
call-back for ATWT. So I went to my manager's apartment, took a
nap for an hour, then headed to Brooklyn. I shlep my way there,
and I come in. There are all these girls beautifying themselves,
and I'm just a mess; I'm so exhausted.
All About Alison:
I didn't have a screen-test. I just did one scene with the casting
director, and then I read for the producer. The person that I auditioned
for, the character that I read was more like Peyton's (List; Lucy)
character. When they sent me the script, it was her script, and
they just wrote "Alison" on it. And I read it, and I thought,
"This is NOT Alison." Because Alison has an attitude.
She's not totally mean or out to get someone, but she's a "no-hassle"
kind of girl. I know that Emily, the sister, used to be a wild child,
like me, and she's kind of my biological mother. So I auditioned
with this Lucy monologue that was all sad and stuff, but Alison
is a "don't mess with me" kind of character. I really
got into that. It's fun, especially Allison's wardrobe. It's kind
of eclectic. I usually wear the kind of stuff that Peyton wears.
Prissy kinds of outfits. So, this is really fun. She's not like
any character I've ever played before. After we shoot a scene, I'm
always saying, "I'm so sorry, Peyton, I really don't mean that!
I'm not mean, don't be mad at me!"
Getting to Know You:
Whenever I film something, when I first go in, I don't really get
nervous anymore. But I do get anxious, because you don't know what
the people are going to be like and everyone has their own little
clique and family on set. But, the ATWT people are just so nice.
They really walked me through everything, and I met everyone the
first day when I became Alison. It was a lot of fun, and I'm really
glad I'm doing it.
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