Jennifer Lynn--a Boise-born and raised ballet dancer turned professional L.A.-based actor and writer--is coming to town to perform her one-woman show. Lynn graduated in 1989 from our very own Boise High and subsequently took off for Los Angeles to pursue the familiar and impossible dream of making it in show business. Armed with a winning combination of talent, drive and luck, Lynn has amassed an impressive resume of experience--including national commercial spots, a recent stint on ER, production of her own pilot, and writing and performing her own one-woman show entitled Love Jennifer.
A courageous self-starter, Lynn acknowledges that professional actor life in L.A. is not always easy. "Being an actor in L.A. is completely crazy; it's a miracle to get a job because the business is so saturated. If you audition for 30 or 50 commercials and you get one, that's really good." She says commercials are great because they may pay you for an entire year, but that they are not very fulfilling artistically. Her own creative projects are what fuel her and keep her from becoming just another bitter, downtrodden L.A. actor.
Her one-woman show, Love Jenn, is one such project. In 1991, Lynn was invited to participate in the solo flights workshop at the reputable Ensemble Studio Theater's West Coast branch. Ensemble Studio Theater (EST) is a major force in American theater, having developed some of the country's most accomplished voices including Christopher Durang, David Mamet and Wendy Wasserstein. At EST, Lynn hooked up with Jim Fyfe, who became not only her director and dramaturge for Love Jenn but one of her primary artistic inspirations.
The show is a comedy about a rebellious telemarketer who uses her job to meet men even though she strives for autonomy and denies any desire to find Mr. Right. In the scope of a day, Jenn is found suppressing fantasies of firemen, eulogizing her neighbor's shitzu and hiding her disappointment over a blind date with bad gums. Convinced she's destined to be a "cat lady," Jenn literally hits bottom on the bathroom floor of a Starbucks. An impatient knock on the door leads her to uncover the best part of her day ...
Love Jenn has been successfully produced several times in L.A. In 2001, Love Jenn was part of an evening of one-person shows produced by Ensemble Studio Theater that received "Critics Pick" in Backstage West. One critic compared Lynn to a young Shirley MacLaine, with equal parts charm and comic brilliance.
Lynn herself says the show is physical and fun and that it will appeal to anyone who has ever looked for love. In response to the inevitable "true story" query, Lynn safely says the show was inspired by her own life but is not truly autobiographical. In the future, Lynn hopes to add a third act to the show and to make a short film version for submission to film festivals around the country. In the meantime, she's excited to perform Love Jenn during a brief, two-night run at the Esther Simplot Performing Arts Academy in her humble hometown.
Photograph (Jennifer Lynn)
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