JESSY SCHRAM is currently starring in Chicago Med on NBC.
We caught up with Jessy Schram to talk about her role on the new season.
AC: What can audiences expect from the new season of Chicago Med?
JESSY SCHRAM – New characters, a real sense of family within the Med team and an extremely active season!
AC: What do you think is your character’s ultimate goal?
JESSY SCHRAM – I think Hannah ultimately wants to belong, to be good enough, by way of being the best she can possibly be personally and professionally. She wants to heal, others and herself.
AC: Can you recall any funny moments from on-set filming?
JESSY SCHRAM – Most recently, Nick Ghelfus and I got to wear some medical gear that wasn’t the norm for the scene we were doing and it inspired a nice Beastie Boys dance-off next to the sound department cart. Set is super serious when it needs to be and has a healthy dose of ridiculous in just the right moments.
AC: As an actor, what are you still trying to learn?
JESSY SCHRAM – Everything! Always. I’m constantly coming back to a place of practicing being present and available, within the structure that has been created in the storyline and character. Each job and each period in life brings a different lesson to work on or discover as an actor/artist/human being. Right now, I’m given the opportunity and span of time on Chicago Med to invest in my character and grow her within a world of multiple storylines, hats and faces. So I guess I’m just working on being better at what I do and continuing to unravel the authenticity of what presents itself in the material and moment.
AC: How can you tell when you’re reading a great script?
JESSY SCHRAM – That’s a great question. I know that I can tell if a script is good within the first 3-15 pages! The scripts that stand out to me are the ones that have a voice. They don’t just move from scene to scene, location to location. They don’t just introduce shock value, or are described pretty, they have a purpose and a tone, a feeling or reason that drives the storyline through. It’s cohesive and inventive. Somewhere along the way you fall in love with elements. Ultimately, a good script makes you feel something. And it makes you think about it when you’re done reading.
AC: When did you begin to see acting as a potential career avenue?
JESSY SCHRAM – From a very young age. When I was around 10 or so, I went to a casting call for Harriet The Spy here in Chicago because a classmate of mine was going. I had absolutely no idea that it was a possibility to be on “the real TV.” She got a callback, I didn’t. But after, I asked my mom if I could keep trying and from there I booked jobs and a theatre production on Michigan Avenue. I was going to public school during the day and then leaving the last period early so I could go perform Downtown. So I knew from a young age that someone can make a living from the entertainment business, but I didn’t ever really look at it as a job for me. When it was time to graduate and figure out college, I made the choice to go to LA and skip school to see if I could “make it” out in Hollywood. That really was the decision to see if it could be a career. And though I definitely have a career, one I’m very proud of and grateful for, I’m still always asking myself if I could make a career out of what I do! Or how long it’ll continue or what’s possible. The business of acting is a fluctuating thing, the potential of its value changes all the time. But I think I saw myself in it at a young age and even when the business seems undesirable, I’ve never seen myself not in it.
AC: How important is social media to you right now?
JESSY SCHRAM – It’s important for my friendships and keeping in touch with people, but if it were to go away tomorrow it would just mean more valuable time, more eye contact and awareness in public places, more connection with those and situations right in front of me. More effort to see people’s babies in real life and less effort in subconsciously keeping up with the subconscious virtual Joneses. I enjoy social media, It’s exciting being able to interact with people that follow my projects and share what I’m excited about in daily life and to discover new people I never would’ve otherwise. It can be a beautiful and great thing when exposed to new culture and information. But I’m usually better without it. My mental health thanks me for taking long breaks and having a less hands-on relationship with it. So, social media is important to me for different reasons, but it’s more important to me that it’s only a tiny branch of my life.
AC: What’s the biggest realization you’ve had this past year?
JESSY SCHRAM – Indecisiveness is a lot more painful than making a grounded choice and moving forward.
AC: Everyone seems to have an app idea at the moment, what’s yours?
JESSY SCHRAM – I’d create an app that was a resource for sharing information based on environmental impact and hands-on charities. Something that is an east map for people to recycle/upcycle/volunteer. When you make things easy and accessible, people usually partake.
AC: What makes you feel nostalgic?
JESSY SCHRAM – Seasons. Right now the Fall air has me in all the good and nostalgic feels.
PHOTOGRAPHY: NICOLE BERGMAN & DOMINIC WHITE
INTERVIEW: ADAM CROOKES
