Do "The Jenna P"

by Jenna Pastuszek

A few years ago, during a particularly rough audition season, I had lunch with my friend Emily in between non-union cattle, I mean chorus, calls. I told her about my frustration with my inability to perform my best work despite the conditions (crowded, smelly hallways, loud and far-from-focused holding rooms, anxiously listening to a monitor call through a list of hundreds of names in the fear that you’ve waited for six hours already so you can’t miss hearing yours, shoulder pain from all of the bags with all of the shoes, 20% phone battery, nowhere to warm up, 8-bars, etc).

She patiently listened and then said, “Why don’t you just do ‘The Jenna P’?”

“The Jenna P?!”, I asked, “What is that?!”

Apparently, “The Jenna P” was a piece of advice I had given Emily years before, and it had now become a movement at her college. At that lunch, she gifted the advice back to me.

It goes like this:

Right before you do something nerve-wracking, simply shrug your shoulders, exhale, and say:

F*ck it.

In line at an audition? Right before you open the door.

Name gets called during a dance call? Right before you take that upstage spot.

On take 3 of a self-tape submission? Right before you click record.

Sending a “scary reach out”? Right before you hit send.

Trust that you’ve done the work, that you’re a good enough person, that you might even deserve a small win today.

F*ck it.

PS- If you’re ready to dust off that audition binder, join us for our upcoming Virtual Book Party on June 2nd!