Jason Greene

Tonight's blog is in tribute to Jason Greene.  Jason was a student at the acting school I manage until around June of last year.  He was delightful, quirky, and sometimes very frustrating to deal with. 

If you are a regular viewer of American Idol, you may have seen him in last night's episode.  You couldn't miss him, actually.  He was the one rolling on the floor, making goo-goo eyes at the judges (all of them) while singing "I Touch Myself" by the Divinyls.  If, by some miracle, you still don't know who he is, here is his website:  http://www.jason-greene.net/

So, why am I writing in tribute of Jason?  Because I have long admired his verve and his zest for life.  He operates entirely under his own set of rules.  He lives fully alive, and seems to have a lot of fun while doing it.  The frustrating part for me was that I had to try and hold him to our school's rules, and it was very much akin to trying to get a house cat to listen to you.  You get a a lot of blank stares, some hissing, and quite a few paw slaps. 

By the by, don't let what you may have seen last night fool you - he is one seriously talented kid.  He did a scene in one of our Works in Progress evenings that I remember vividly, mostly because Jason lived it 1000%.  I remember lecturing him about how his talent would go to waste if he didn't stop playing around and learn how to get down to work.  I realized last night, though, that I may have been wrong. Jason, and people like him, find plenty of ways to creatively skirt the rules to get what they want, and quite often they end up doing very well for themselves.

So, here's to you, Jason!  You had what may have been the funniest, most memorable audition that I have ever seen on Idol.  I fully expect your appearance to lead to great things, and I am really proud of you.  :)

~Jenn