JENN HARRIS
Jenn Harris begins performances June 24 in Silence! The Musical — the "unauthorized parody of 'The Silence of the Lambs'" — at Off-Broadway's Theater 80. Harris, who is best known for her Lucille Lortel and Theatre World award-winning performance in Modern Orthodox, portrays Clarice Starling — the role created on film by Academy Award winner Jodie Foster — in the limited engagement that features direction and choreography Christopher Gattelli. Joining Harris on stage in the new musical by Hunter Bell and Jon and Al Kaplan are Brent Barrett, Callan Bergmann, Stephen Bienskie, Harry Bouvy, Ashlee Dupre, Deidre Goodwin, Jeff Hiller, Howard Kayeand Lucia Spina. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of chatting with the humorous actress, whose stage credits also include New Jerusalem, Mercy on the Doorstep, Ashley Montana, Pageant Play and The Heidi Chronicles; that brief interview follows.

Question: Since we haven't spoken before, can you tell me where you were born and raised?
Harris: I was born and raised just outside of Chicago in a town called Plano, Illinois—just plain-o, Illinois.

Question: How old were you when you started performing?
Harris: I've always performed! My sister used to like to film me [when I was] on a mini-trampoline, and I would re-create music videos. That's my earliest memory of me performing was my sister videoing me bouncing on a trampoline to "Like a Virgin" when I was like six… But, the first time I ever did a show was my junior year in high school.

Question: That's pretty good!
Harris: I went to an all-girls Catholic college-prep high school, and I was going to go to college for medicine, and then I did that show, and I was like, "Oh my God! This is fun!" My parents actually were the ones who suggested I try going to college for theatre instead of med school. My father said, "You should try theatre school," so I was like, "Okay!"

Question: Where did you end up going?
Harris: I went to Boston University.

Question: When did you get to New York?
Harris: Right after I graduated. I graduated BU in 2000, and then I went to Williamstown Theatre Festival. I got in to the Act One Company and I did that, and then I moved to New York right after that summer. But I spent three summers in Williamstown. I did Act One, and then I did two summers in their non-equity company, and then I turned equity up there. So Williamstown was sort of like my grad school.

Question: What was your first professional job in New York?
Harris: Well, my first professional-professional job—I mean, we had a theatre company and did a bunch of stuff—but my first thing I did was Jeff Whitty's Plank Project at the Kraine Theatre—maybe 2001 or '02, I'm not even sure—and it was the same time that Avenue Q was being done at the Vineyard. He would come from a meeting with Jim Henson over to the Kraine Theatre, and that was my first show—The Plank Project—where I actually got a paycheck, and it was amazing.

	Harris in Modern Orthodox

Question: Tell me, how did Silence! come about? When did you first get involved?
Harris: Well, I was doing Modern Orthodox at the New World Stages, and we were in there the same time that Altar Boyz was going on… That was sort of my first Off-Broadway show, my first big-show… where I actually got paid money [laughs]—besides like a stipend. And Altar Boyz was going on behind, which Christopher Gattelli was choreographing, and he knew that he was going to do Silence! at the Fringe. His boyfriend, Steven, had seen me in the show—had seen Modern Orthodox—and a couple other people had seen Modern Orthodox and were like, "Have Jenn Harris come in and audition for Clarice," and so I did… When I heard the music—Jon and Al Kaplan wrote the music—when I heard it off their website, I was like, "Oh my… I have to do this. I have to do this." And I just sort of went balls-in and just watched the film a bunch of times, and then got a couple ideas of what to do for my audition. I sang Bon Jovi's "Wanted, Dead or Alive" for my audition, and then I got it.

Question: That was for the Fringe Festival in '05?
Harris: Yeah, that was for the Fringe Festival in '05.

Question: Have you been involved in other productions of Silence! since then?
Harris: Well, we did one other workshop a year later. It was uptown at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre… Then it was going to move Off-Broadway in '07, and we didn't have Dee Goodwin at the time, so we were auditioning Ardelias, and it was all set to go. I was doing Blithe Spirit in Williamstown… and then like three days before our first rehearsal, it got pulled because of financing—you know—drama that goes down. Then, last January, Christopher did a production in London, and it opened on my birthday, so I went over there. Stephen, who plays Buffalo Bill, was there and we watched it, and we were just like, "Oh! We want to do it so bad!" And we're getting to—we're doing it.

Question: How did the London audience react to it? What was their response?
Harris: I mean, as best as a British audience can respond to comedy. [Laughs.] I mean, no, they loved it. It got rave reviews. It was sold out. They loved it. It was great… Everyone really enjoys this show. It's really universal—it's my parent's favorite show. [Laughs.] With songs like "If I Could Smell Her C***" and "Put the F***ing Lotion in the Basket," I mean I've got pretty rad parents, I do have to say, but everyone really loves this show.