Jenny Cooper – Open Heart

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) “Open Heart” is the most recent project and it runs for the next few months.

Q) Please tell us the premise for “Open Heart” and about your character.

A) It’s about a teenager named Dylan Blake (Karis Cameron) who uses her stint as a volunteer in a hospital to investigate the disappearance of her father. I play her mother and the character is Jane Blake. She is sort of a headstrong trauma surgeon who is not used to being a very hands on mom. She is suddenly thrust into this role as primary caregiver for Dylan and her sister London (Tori Anderson). She is not doing a terribly good job at it because she is a very serious doctor and has always been the working mom and the dad was a hands-on parent. Now, the dad is missing.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the show?

A) It’s such an interesting show that works on different levels. It’s this very fun and youthful adventure with a gorgeous teenage lead. She is kind of exciting and rebellious. I think at first glance it is geared towards the youth market, but I think there is also this really intense family drama at the heart of it. I really think that the viewers are going to expand beyond the teenage market. These days parents are always prescreening things and they are going to tune in thinking, “What is this? This is really interesting.” It’s really about this family at odds and there is a lot of conflict there that needs to be sorted out, especially between my character and the daughters. We are all at different places in terms of how we feel about the father disappearing and there is a lot going on. There is a lot of tension, but it is exciting and different. Also, it’s set in a hospital! So, in addition to the adventure and family mystery there is hospital drama on top of it all.

Q) The show is only thirty minutes long! How do you convey all of that in such a short time?

A) I think you would have to ask our Executive Producer Ramona Barckert because conceived the show and I’m not even sure that she meant to put all of this into one show. I’m guessing she did! I think it is that so much thought has gone into it that instead of just writing the show about a teenager looking for her father that it is really about where she came from, the family and the friends. At the heart of it, it’s a teenager looking for her place in the world. It really explores her whole world and I think that is why it is going to be so relatable. I also think the great part of it is that she is not just a passive teenager. She is not just texting on her phone and not communicating. She is in there fighting for what she believes in. I think that is an interesting example to have on the TV landscape.

Q) Was there anything you added to your role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) There wasn’t a lot of improvisation because the writer/producer had thought through everything so clearly. I think she knows what happened twenty years ago and what will happen in ten years, as far as the story goes. So, there wasn’t a lot that needed to be filled in. It was more of a question of relating to the character because I am a very hands-on nurturing mom and Jane is not (at least she doesn’t start out that way). That was a challenge for me to come at it from a place of being a strict woman who is by the book and not warm and fuzzy. To play a character who puts her job before being a mom was a really interesting challenge.

Q) Was there instant cast chemistry when everyone began working together?

A) The interesting thing about this (and I’m sure this is what most people say) was that we were all sat together on our very first day of the read through and there really was instant chemistry. Some of the people knew each other because they had been on a show called “Degrassi,” which was a long running show in Canada. Then, there is this young beautiful actress playing the lead and she is a teenager in real life. She has not done a lot in the past so this is a giant opportunity for her. It’s a really challenging, complex role. So, I think in everyone’s efforts to make her feel comfortable we made each other feel comfortable. We were just kind of off and running with dinner and hanging out outside of the job. With our very first scenes, we couldn’t believe the chemistry was instantly there. I don’t think there were very many moments of tension on set during the three months we were there, which is very rare.

Q) How will the dynamics of the characters change throughout the season?

A) When the series starts, everyone is at odds because the father has disappeared. What I can tell you is that my character thinks he left with another woman and my daughters don’t believe that. Right away, the three of us are at odds and very different places. The thing that I love about it is that they are kind of each fighting for their right to believe what they believe. I think that is great! There are a lot of shows that portray teenagers being in their own world and arguing with their parents while going off to do whatever it is they are going to do anyway. Or, they are showing them overly warm and fuzzy. This is kind of in the middle. These are people at odds, but they are fighting to communicate, but they are still a family and they are still living under one roof. They are still getting together for family dinners, but there is all this conflict. I think they are all fighting to get on the same page and that there is a really wonderful familial arch throughout the season where they will grow to see each others’ points of view. This is a mom who hasn’t been home much and I think that she has it all figured out like, “If I just do my job, then everything is fine.” But there is so much more to life than that. I think the show is really about that you have your family and you have to sort it out or nothing is right.

Q) Will you be live tweeting during the series premiere?

A) I’m pretty sure that we are live tweeting during the premiere. It is premiering at 9pm ET and then all the time zones fall in suit. That way, nothing comes online and ruins it for the West Coast. There is a lot of social media stuff going on already. I think there is an app that can be downloaded as to collect the clues about her dad. They pop up on your phone and throughout the week. I think it is fun for the teenage crowd. I think there will be a lot of things popping up for the show.

Q) What else do you want to be sure fans know about “Open Heart?”

A) I just think that people are going to be pleasantly surprised how rich the show is and how it works on so many different levels. I really believe that they are going to tune in because of the premise and the wonderful leading lady. They are just going to find this treasure chest of kind emotions and relationships. I’m really proud of this show because it was something that wasn’t easy for me to do because I live in Los Angeles and I have young children. It filmed in Toronto, but it just spoke to me as a mom, a daughter and a sister. I think people are going to relate to it on a number of levels and I hope they are going to relate to it as much as we do.