Jessica Miesel
@jessica_miesel on her sofa trying and succeeding in looking natural
-Film/TV-
“But Jessica got her start in theatre! She isn’t Film and TV! What kind of categorizing system is this?!”
She is a series regular on a real life television show. She has B-plots written for her character. B PLOTS PEOPLE!
I was excited to get to talk with Jessica because we hadn’t really had the chance to just talk like this before. I’d photographed her and seen her perform many times. I was thrilled to discover that we have a mutual love of books and if my partner would tolerate it I would decorate my home almost exactly like hers with pastels and flowers everywhere.
She is a true Atlanta success story and I was really curious how she was holding up.
Interviewed 6.1.20
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Casey: So first and foremost, how are you?
Jessica: All things considered, I feel pretty good. I feel like as an actor, we're so used to lots of downtime, at least I am. I'm used to segments of downtime with nothing to do. So that concept isn't foreign to me, but the length of which this has gone on, it messed with me. I would say about a month ago was tough, but I don't know. I think with the weather being what it is today and stuff, I feel better.
Casey: Why do you think it was tough a month ago?
Jessica: I don't know. I will say I had a death in the family. That was—that's still very hard. And so that, obviously, was tough. I think I just woke up one day and I just felt really sad for the state of the world. And then I have moments where I feel guilty because of that. I'm fine. Like, I'm bored, but I'm fine. And I think about the people that aren't, and then you feel like, "Oh, I'm not doing..." You know, it's just a cycle. You just start feeling even more guilty and like, what am I? You know? So I think that that hit me for a while, but then you just try to be as connected as you can, I guess, to other people.
Casey: So what have you been doing during quarantine?
Jessica: Not a whole lot. I've been making TikTok videos. I will say, I'm blown away by the creativity I see on that app, and just in general, from people that have been forced inside. And really the creativity just blows my mind. Just the things that people will do in their own home, the things people come up with, I love it. But other than that, I go on lots of walks. I've been trying to cook more. I never really fancied myself a cook. Trying to explore in the kitchen and FaceTime once a week with a couple of friends. I've been reading, which I hadn't been as avid of a reader as of late, but the last month I've been reading.
Casey: You seem pretty content here. How has it been quarantining alone?
Jessica: I'm so introverted that I love being just with myself, which I guess is good … I'm really good at being a hermit. I don't know how healthy that is, but I love it. I will say that I miss my friends, and I miss hugs, and I miss going to see theatre, and I miss walking down to the square and going to a restaurant, you know? Those things, I'm starting to really ache for. You start to wonder, will we ever get back to a place where that's normal?
Casey: What do you miss? We talked about restaurants and hugs. Is there anything else?
Jessica: I really miss working.
Casey: When was your last day on set?
Jessica: Oh my gosh, let's see, when did we shut down?
Casey: Like March 14th-ish.
Jessica: Okay, so like right before that. And I was supposed to work on the 16th that Monday or—Anyway, I was supposed to work on a Monday and they shut it down on Friday before. So I was like, "Oh." So yeah, it's been a while. It's been many, many months.
Casey: When do you think it'll come back?
Jessica: We're thinking September is when they'll pick up again shooting and then we won't air until 2021. Yeah. That's what they're saying so far, so I hope that sticks. So at least we have another season, though. We've been picked up for another season, and so we know that it will happen eventually. So that's good to know that that's ahead.
Casey: Do you have any new routines or rituals that you started in quarantine that you want to take forward into the post-quarantine world?
Jessica: There's been a few things that I've gotten good at cooking, a couple of meals. I'm like, "Okay, I can put this in rotation in my life now." Another thing I miss—I really miss working out. There's a gym I go to called Vibe Ride, they've shut down now for a while, and that's been tough not having that. TikTok-ing. I'll continue TikTok-ing because I think it's a great creative outlet and I think it makes people smile, and that's a good thing to put out into the world. I don't really know that too much of my life is different.
Casey: You've been definitely creative on TikTok. How are you finding the motivation to do those?
Jessica: I enjoy it. I mean, I really look forward to it. It also gives me a reason to take a shower and wash my hair, you know? And I love the idea that people are like, "This made me smile today." I'm like, "Okay, then I'm going to do another one," because that's what we need, I think, right now.
Casey: What do you think the world will take out of this experience? What will you take out of this?
Jessica: From the perspective of race, I think it's just important that I, as a very privileged white person, I continue to learn, and grow, and ask questions, and challenge people, and speak out, and don't be afraid to be uncomfortable. So that's something that's really been on my mind a lot this week, in terms of what that looks like and how I can best help without requiring my fellow Black and brown friends to hold my hand through it because that's not their job to do. So I don't know quite how that will look different, but I think take it one day at a time. One moment at a time. I hope more people wash their hands. I've always been a very avid hand-washer, but hopefully, now more and more people will do that.
Casey: What do you think won't come back that you'll miss?
Jessica: Especially when I think of it as an actor, I think we're so used to having an intimate relationship with our friends and with our fellow peers, and we're not afraid to get close, and we're not afraid to hug and be affectionate in ways that other people that aren't actors don't do. And one isn't wrong [or] right. That's just how we kind of operate in the world, I think. And I wonder if that's going to look different, and that makes me sad because I love connecting with people like that. I'm not particularly touchy-feely, but I do love expressing my love for somebody in a hug, you know? So I think I'll miss that. I think I'll miss the intimacy of a friendship.
Casey: When do you think you will feel safe enough to go to theatre or go out socially?
Jessica: I don't know. It's weird. I feel like I'm almost numb to all the stuff happening with the virus cause I think we've heard so much about it that like now it almost—I don't know how to describe it. Obviously I'm not forgetting about it, but maybe it's becoming more normalized? I don't know, but I would like to be back in a theater, or movies, or something sooner than later, or like restaurants. But then again, I don't know. I don't know what the answer is … Like for my mental health, I say now. But I mean, it could be not until the end of the year. Depends, I guess, on this vaccine and stuff.
