I went to a high school called, South Texas High School for Health Professions (Med High), geared for students wanting to pursue careers in the medical field and in eleventh grade, they required us to take an elective: either art or theater. Because I couldn’t even draw stick figures, I decided to sign up for theater and fell in love. In college, I started performing in musical theater, plays and even did a traveling children’s troupe.
indieactivity: Did you study what you do?
Jessica Boss (JB): I changed my major in college from Pre-Med to Radio, TV and Film at the University of Texas, Austin and I didn’t use my film school education for the longest time, until last year when my partners and I produced our first feature film. All of a sudden, I remembered tools that I learned back then and was able to apply them to our production.
What is your filmmaking process?
Jessica Boss (JB): I use all types of tools when I act from imagination to Meisner. I do my homework based on the 12 steps by Ivana Chubbuck, who I’ve been taking ongoing acting classes with. Recently, I did a coaching session with Howard Fine, who is fantastic, and I’ve been implementing his eight step program into my homework for my upcoming feature film, IJEOMA’S TALE.
Watch the trailer for Anonymous 616 starring Jessica Boss
Tell us about the work you have produced?
Jessica Boss (JB): Last year, my partners Mike Boss (writer/director), and Peter Fuhrman (cinematographer), and I (actress) opened a production company called Nail Driver Productions, and we produced our first feature film titled ANONYMOUS 616, a thriller/horror about an anonymous computer that tells a man that he knows everything about him including his secrets and innermost desires. Our film is now available to rent and buy on Amazon and Google Play.
I believe that acting is more than just a look or saying certain lines correctly; it is an art form that requires a lot of hard work and digging to understand your character and to know why you need to say the lines the writer wrote. It’s a fascinating art form that has taken me over ten years of studying and I still learn new things about it.
Honestly, producing our first feature film was a big challenge and very stressful, but it was also a great learning opportunity where I learned the importance of delegating and preparing as much as possible. Because it was our first film and we self-financed it, we all had to wear many hats on top of our main hats. Producing took up so much attention, that it didn’t leave much time to focus on my performance, and that was hard. However, for the next projects, I’ve started doing my homework way in advanced so that when I have to turn my attention to producing, I’m not left trying to squeeze in rehearsal time.
Do you take courses to improve you craft?
Jessica Boss (JB): Absolutely! I take ongoing scene study classes and private coaching sessions for specific film projects. Although I’m not currently in class, I have been self studying by doing acting homework, rehearsing with peers and private coaching with acting coach Howard Fine on my upcoming feature film titled, IJEOMA’S TALE, about a struggling Nigerian hair stylist, who is promised work in America only to be manipulated, sold and forced into the world of sex trafficking.
How do you combine acting and producing?
Jessica Boss (JB): ANONYMOUS 616 was the first project that I acted in and produced and we have a slate of projects where I will do the same for IJEOMA’S TALE (writer: Jessica Boss), DIE AND LIVE AGAIN (writer: Mike Boss) and MR. SCRATCH (writer: Mike Boss). These are all projects that will be produced through our production company, Nail Driver Productions. For the first film, I didn’t realize how much work producing takes up, so it took a lot of my attention and focus because if we didn’t get that stuff together, we wouldn’t be able to film.
I had to squeeze in time to rehearse and for the next projects, that will be the thing that I change. Acting is very important and it requires a lot of attention and focus too. For the next projects, I have already started putting on my homework and coaching on them because the audience doesn’t see the prep work for the producing, they see the acting, and that’s the part you don’t want to screw up.
How did you get into the film business?
Jessica Boss (JB): I moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning and working on anything I could get into. I’ve mainly worked on independent projects and commercials, but I am working toward making our projects become more mainstream for a wider audience. The key is surrounding yourself with other great people who are serious and have integrity. That’s one of the best ways to get work, by being friends with great people. I’ve been blessed to work with many friends on their productions and vice versa. Although, there are a couple of people that I’ve had to cut ties with due to their lack of integrity, but it’s all good lessons learned.
How do you create character?
Jessica Boss (JB): I start with reading the script several times to get as many clues and information that the writer already provided. After that, I start to fill in the blanks with questions about who my character is, where my character is from, what they want and what drives them. I find out what makes them who they are based on their many years of being alive.
Then I go scene by scene and figure out what my character wants and why they want it. I usually try to figure out as much information about my character first before even trying to memorize or learn the lines. For me, that comes last. The interesting thing is though, the more I know who my character is, the easier it is to know my lines because I give inner objects to what I’m going after in each scene, so memorizing happens innately.
