Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Sharples.
Hi Jessica, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I knew I wanted to be a performer at the ripe age of five. After endlessly galavanting throughout my childhood home dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow on repeat, my parents got the hint and put me in a preschool summer program called The Pumpkin Theatre. Having an audience to perform in front of was definitely a step up from my at-home recitals and I couldn’t get enough of it.
At the age of seven, my parents enrolled me in private piano lessons and told me that as long as I lived under their roof, I would have to continue them. I wasn’t always on board with this but now I’m very grateful for it. By the age of 12, I was taking weekly singing lessons; in addition to my piano and dance classes. I continued performing in community theatre productions with roles like being one of the bird girls in Seussical and a dancer in A Chorus Line. Although I landed great roles in my middle school’s musicals, I never booked more than a chorus part in high school. Which is hilarious considering I was one of only two people from my high school to be accepted into the undergraduate drama program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
At Tisch I studied The Method at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. During my junior year, I was cast in Maxim Gorky’s “Vassa Zheleznova” that was directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, a Tony Award nominee for Best Direction of a Play in Broadway’s “Hand to God.” I was also cast in a workshop of the new play, “Love Lab” where the writer, Lila Feinberg, interviewed us actors and wrote our parts based off of our personalities.
After graduation, I immediately booked my dream role of Natalie in the pop-rock opera “Next to Normal.” Over the next few years living in New York City, I went on to book commercials for Marriott Hotels and Buick; an independent cult horror feature film, “Powerplegic”; the play, “Animal Tales” at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre; and the lead in a one act play, “Overnight” at the EstroGenius Play Festival. Another dream came true when I booked the role of physical therapist Naomi on Law & Order: SVU.
But New York City wore me down. I realized how difficult it is to support yourself in the theatre and decided it was time for me to move to Los Angeles. I’m currently in my 5th year of LA living and I love it. Since moving out here, I’ve booked commercials for Evite.com, Lumenis Laser Hair Removal, 6 Degreez App and Traeger Grills.
But my proudest work has been writing, producing and starring in my first short film, “Jen, 28.” I’ve always enjoyed writing but never thought of it as a potential career path because I was so focused on acting. A few years back, one of my agents got me a self-tape audition for a businesswoman. Normally I would be grateful for this opportunity but when I read the self-tape instructions, I discovered that they wanted me to perform the audition in a sports bra and booty shorts… would a businesswoman ever wear such a thing to a meeting? No.
It was in that moment I knew I had to start creating my own work and stop giving in to the outdated norm of the entertainment industry. I wanted to write and perform pieces about women’s stories and make way for women’s voices to be heard.
My short film, “Jen, 28” shines a light on the gray area of sexual assault, illuminating that it’s not so gray once you take a closer look at it. The film is based on my personal survivor story and is meant to bring empowerment through awareness. Audiences can’t help but discuss the film after they watch the assault happen on screen and the conversation between the survivor and perpetrator afterwards. I’m very proud to say that in 2021, we were accepted into 34 film festivals, won 13 awards and were nominated for 12 more. I won 3 of those awards for Best Actress, one being at the Montreal Independent Film Festival.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When you’re pursuing your dreams, it’s never a smooth road. There have been plenty of disappointments and struggles along my journey but I’ve been able to learn from each and every one of them.
As an actor, you are constantly being rejected. For example, I submitted 1-4 self-tape auditions per week in 2021. I only booked one role. Rejection is the name of the game. Sometimes it’s difficult to let go of that amazing audition you never heard back from but you can’t take it personally. There are a million reasons why the casting director, producer or director didn’t choose you and it’s not something you can control.
Then of course, there is the financial struggle of being an artist. Unless you are crazy lucky, you have to work a supporting job to pay the bills while you’re pursuing your dreams. There have been times where I wasn’t able to act or write as much as I wanted because most of my time was being taken up by my supporting job.
But I think the largest struggle I’ve faced in the entertainment industry is just figuring out how to get where I want to go. Everyone has different opinions on what you should be doing to meet certain people who can read your script or cast you in that big role. There’s no formula for success in this business. You just have to continue following your passion and creating art that you believe in. The best piece of solid advice I’ve have is that you have to make your own work. I did that with “Jen, 28” and I ended up getting into more film festivals and meeting more amazing creators than I ever could have dreamed of.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I couldn’t be happier with my newfound multi-hyphenate title: actor-writer-producer-filmmaker-singer. My passion is to create films and content that focus on women’s stories. The entertainment industry has been dominated by men (especially in the writing, directing, producing and crew roles) for so long that most of the films and TV we take in on a daily basis don’t showcase women in a well-rounded way. I want to shift the pendulum so that it’s normal for society to think of women as executives instead of assistants, three dimensional instead of two dimensional, and strong instead of weak.
I started this work with my award-winning short film, “Jen, 28” by having the film follow the lead female, Jen, throughout the entire film. We stay with her as she experiences the whole night going from a sweet, connection-filled date to an assault and ending with a confrontation. I really wanted the audience to see the events through Jen’s eyes, the woman’s experience, and understand what it’s like to go through something like this – something that so many women have survived.
If you’d like to see “Jen, 28” you can watch it on the silver screen at the NewFilmmakers LA Film Festival on March 19, 2022 at 8:30pm in DTLA. Get your tickets here: https://tinyurl.com/nfmlajen28
What sets me apart from others in the industry is that I take action. If I have an idea, I write it into a script or start shooting it with my community. There are so many people who have great ideas but fear making it a reality. Maybe it’s my training as a New Yorker but if I believe I have a solid creative idea, I make it happen.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Something surprising most people don’t know about me is that I spin fire. Clearly, I’ll take any opportunity to perform! I’ve been fire spinning for almost a year now and can spin poi and dragon staff. I’ve even gone so far as naming my dragon staff Price Staffon the Dragon Dancer. There’s something about fire that is so invigorating. Maybe it’s the fact that at any moment, specifically if you take yourself out of the moment and put your attention somewhere else, you could very possibly burn yourself or inadvertently light something on fire. It’s so much fun.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: jessicasharples.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jess_sharples/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/JessSharples
- Other: imdb.me/jessicasharples
Image Credits
Brandon Espy
