Jessica Luza, STC 07, was an actress long before she became a Ramblin’ Wreck. Growing up in Smyrna, Ga., she caught the showbiz bug early, appearing in commercials and TV movies as a teenager. Since getting out, she has appeared in TV shows including House M.D., Necessary Roughness and Men at Work. On the heels of wrapping her first role in a studio feature, she gave the Alumni Magazine a glimpse into the life of an aspiring star.
Hearing the call
From a very young age, I loved performing for a crowd of imaginary friends in my backyard and begged my parents to let me be on a show like Full House. I identified with the kids I was watching on screen. They looked like they were having so much fun, and I wanted to be a part of it. My mom helped me to get my first agent when I was in the third or fourth grade, but then I had braces until the fifth grade, so that really put a damper on my dreams of child stardom. The day I got my braces removed, I wrote letters to a few local Atlanta agencies and got signed. I booked my first commercial the following year.
Drawn to Tech
I got accepted to UGA for broadcast journalism but was drawn to the reputation, academia and location of Georgia Tech. I took as many film and media studies classes as possible and participated in DramaTech productions. Dissecting literature and writing papers helped to create a foundation similar to that needed when I dissect a script and write a character backstory.
Schedule
My work schedule is extremely unpredictable and forces me to be very flexible. Acting is a full-time job, but a job that you don’t always get paid for. I could have three auditions in a week and spend 3-4 hours prepping for each one, then driving to and from the auditions in L.A. traffic, possibly coaching for any or all of them, attending acting class one of the evenings, having a few business lunches during the week with agents and friends in the business, having “business” drinks one night, and not get paid a cent for any of my time and effort.
An average day on set
Set hours can be up to 15-hour workdays and can be very fast paced or very laid back, depending on the production. Whenever your call time on set is, you show up, check in with a production assistant, head to your trailer or room, get dressed in your designated character’s wardrobe, and head to hair and makeup. If you are in the first scene, you will head to set when you and production are ready and start blocking and then shooting. There is always lots of down time between scenes for lighting and camera setup, so I always bring a bag with a book, my laptop or iPad, phone charger and sometimes a pillow or blanket if it’s going to be a night shoot or long day. Scenes are generally shot multiple times and from different camera angles. Sometimes a scene can take many takes, and sometimes the director will get what he needs after just two or three.
Tools of the trade
Flexibility is very important. Determination is key, because in my field there’s more competition than most. Cell phone, email, printer, highlighters, GPS, iPad, headshots and resumes, Dropbox, Yousendit—these are all things that I need. My iPad is crucial. I try to read as many scripts as possible to stay informed about what is selling and being made. My GPS and car are also things I could not live without. Much of my days are spent driving to and from auditions.
Near miss
I had an experience being on the cutting room floor last year. I was hired as a potentially recurring character on the Kevin Bacon thriller The Following for Fox. The show got picked up, and when my episode aired all of my lines had been cut. That was a huge bummer, because how can a character be recurring if they are never established? Sometimes you think one role is going to give you some buzz and star power and help catapult you to larger roles, and then the role just disappears.
Career goals
I want to be a series regular on a half-hour multi-cam sitcom, but I also want to guest star or recur on a darker and edgier more character-driven dramatic series. I would prefer to make audiences laugh than cry, but I really admire and enjoy a lot of the dramatic shows out there now. I aspire to be in movies as well and actually just shot my first studio feature last week here in Atlanta. It is called Let’s Be Cops and will be in theaters nationwide next spring.
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