Actor tell students to pray, work toward goals

Jenn Gotzon, a leading actor in the soon-to-be-released “Doonby” and “Alone Yet Not Alone” movies, paid a visit to Holy Cross School before the Christmas break to encourage students to pursue their dreams.
    “Dream big. Pray hard. Persevere. Have Faith,” Gotzon, 33, told approximately 54 drama workshop students. “God has a special plan and purpose for every one of you.”
    Gotzon was in town Dec. 12-13 to promote “Doonby,” a movie with a pro-life message that has been endorsed by the Vatican.
    “The story is about the consequences of the choices we make,” she said.
Faith shared in workshop
    Gotzon stopped by Holy Cross as part of her nonprofit Inspiring Audiences program that she established  in 2008 after God put on her heart the need to share her dreams and life journey with young people.
    She mentioned overcoming obstacles to achieve her dreams, including a high school drama teacher telling her she would never be an actor. But, she persevered and got a job at a murder-mystery dinner theater at a local hotel, then applied for and received a scholarship to study at the Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in New York.
    She worked hard, prayed and landed roles that led to her big break portraying Tricia Nixon in the 2008 movie, “Frost/Nixon.” 
    Gotzon shared an exercise she has employed throughout her journey of life and asked students to jot down their passion and to think out-of-the-box how to achieve it by setting short- and long-term goals. Her initial dream was to be a protagonist character in a major studio movie. Now, she wants to star in movies that tell stories that inspire and make an impact.
    She said nothing is impossible with God and said a prayer with students, calling on God to “whisper in their soul the direction you want them to go.”
Inspire through storytelling
    Holy Cross drama workshop students previewed “Doonby” before her workshop.
    “It was a great movie,” junior Cameron Lofton said. “We learned a life lesson – don’t take life for granted. Any day you could be gone; any day could be your last.”
    Gotzon then used sophomore Daniel Williams’ dramatic performance about a jazz musician dying of AIDS to demonstrate how to get the most from acting.
    “It’s really just a beautiful piece,” Gotzon told Williams. She asked if there was any part of his performance he wanted to improve and taught him an imagination exercise to put him in a cold, hospital room without visitors so he could use those emotions with the written dialogue to re-act the scene. Williams’ second take had more meaning and emotion.
    “Good job,” Gotzon told him.
    “Normally there is a level I just can’t reach,” Williams said. “I felt I got it. I was there.”
    Holy Cross’ English and drama/teacher Maria Baisier asked Gotzon to discuss other aspects of the movie industry, salaries and how to get involved in “Hollywood South” movies being shot in and around New Orleans. She said jobs in sound, post-production, being a boom man and sound mixer were areas with great employment potential.
    Baisier asked how one gets trained for such jobs. Gotzon advised calling the Louisiana Film Commission and asking for independent films shooting in Louisiana, contacting  the production office or the unit production manager and volunteering to be a production assistant to get on-the-job training.
    “This industry is about relationships; being at the right place at the right time,” Gotzon said.
    It is also about preparation. She had eight years of preparation before her big break came and has since starred in the movies “God’s Country”; “Untouched”; “The Screenwriters”; “Dragon Day” and “I Am Gabriel.”
    She told students to go to actorsaccess.com, the top source to find out about auditions, and nowcasting.com and home.castingnetworks.com.
    Gotzon encouraged her audience to “pray, persevere and step out,” adding how FEAR is an acronym for “false evidence appearing real.”
     “You’re going to have fear, but you need to step out and keep your eyes on Jesus,” like Peter did when he stepped out of the boat. “Jesus is saying I want you to look at me and hold me, and I will guide you.”
    Gotzon was born and raised a Catholic but now considers herself more of an  evangelical, attending Bible study on the Fox Studio lot. Enamored by acting since age 15, she said it was when she regained a love and trust in God that her career began to take off with the role in “Frost/Nixon.”
    Her character Laura in “Doonby” is the love interest of main character Sam Doonby played by John Schneider of “Dukes of Hazard” fame.
    “She’s a spoiled, rich man’s daughter,” Gotzon said, and Doonby tries to show her there is more to life and she can make a difference.
    Gotzon said she hopes that her Inspire Audiences workshops encourage students to explore their dreams and find their purpose and calling from God.
    “It would be amazing if they would feel clarity and direction in their life as a whole and learn what they want to take next,” she said.
    Christine Bordelon can be reached at cbordelon@clarion herald.org.