BWW Blog: Jessica Grove of THE LITTLE MERMAID - The Juggling Act

People are always asking me, how do you balance rehearsing, performing, auditioning and mommy-ing. All I can say is, it truly takes a village. With a husband who is also a working actor, currently on leave from playing Bill in Mamma Mia while he directs LES MISERABLES at the The Encore Musical Theatre Company (the theatre he founded and artistic directs in Dexter, Michigan), we managed pretty well during Mermaid rehearsals with help only on Dan's 2 show days. But now that we are more or less on the same schedule, and while Dan is in Michigan, we are relying on more help. My mom has been an absolute saint, handling the majority of our babysitting needs...and I also happen to have a very helpful neighbor/friend (playwright Dayle Ann Hunt) who often will help with Gavin on the weekends. It definitely has its challenges, like operating on not quite enough sleep, having less time to prepare for auditions, really wanting to get to yoga but not having the time or energy, and attempting to keep the apartment tidy when all I really want to do is go to sleep or play with Gavin! But the rewards definitely outweigh the challenges in my opinion.

I gain strength and inspiration from my friends and colleagues who are also juggling this lifestyle with small children! There are lots of us out there and we support each other!

After seeing our opening night performance of The Little Mermaid, Dan said to me, "I think you owe Gavin for some acting lessons...I see a lot of him showing up in your performance!" I do draw on life experience as an actor, and observing my child experiencing new things, including learning to walk, as Ariel does in Act 2 when she is on land, has been hugely valuable for me in this role. So even though it is a balancing act, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love that he is on stage with me every night...what a gift!