Diary of an Actress

Shaking her hair out of its tight bun to further suit the casting breakdown (“Italian bombshell, busty, curvaceous, Sophia Loren type”), she unbuttons the red receptionist uniform to reveal a low-cut strapless dress.
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An entertaining, fictional look at the rigours faced by the jobbing actress…

“You are in room 302, enjoy your stay!” Belinda Denton hands over the room security card as she secretly checks her reflection in the sliding glass doors opening and closing upon a variety of nationalities fit to rival a UNICEF conference. Like any other well-trained hotel receptionist, the smile does not leave her face until businessman number ten of the morning, marching briskly to the lifts, has disappeared out of view. What he doesn’t know is that perfectly groomed Belinda, with the dapper red suit and matching lipstick snatched from her dresser in haste this morning, was handing out leaflets in Leicester Square dressed up as a chicken last week. The week before that, she was serving cocktails in the ground floor bar of the Longacre Hotel, graciously refusing invitations from oily-gelled, gold-toothed punters” while a few months earlier she was promoting a pouty C-lister’s new perfume in Selfridges, sporting leopard-print tights. Her next job will involve selling tickets at a box office call centre. The clothes vary but the smile always stays the same.

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Jennifer Reischel
About the Author
Originally of German heritage, Jennifer Reischel was raised and schooled in various languages, predominantly in the Far East. Completing a BA Hons in musical theatre at Mountview Academy London) in 2002 at age 21, Jennifer has since gathered various professional performance experience on stage and screen. After several years of experiencing the pitfalls and difficulties of this industry first hand, she decided to compile her knowledge in the form of a practical, no-nonsense and to-the-point guide, including advice on a career in musical theatre. The result, "So you want to tread the boards" is published by JRBooks with a foreword by Oscar-winning composer Leslie Bricusse. Further writing includes articles for the "Actors Yearbook 2008" and The Stage newspaper. For links to all of her performing and writing work, reviews and the book's foreword, please visit her website performingarts-auditionguide.com.