Click for larger pictures

The Kid from Little Pond
by Kathy Kaufield

Kindred Spirits - Spring 1997

With her long, flowing blonde hair and remarkable acting talent, ten-year-old Jessica Pellerin brings wild child Ilse Burnley to life in the television series "Emily."

Beverly Pellerin looked up sharply from her seat in the waiting area when she heard her young daughter screaming at the top of her lungs.

I could hear her getting mad. I could hear the yelling all the way down the hall, says Pellerin.

Behind closed doors in a nearby room, her nine-year-o1d daughter Jessica was in the midst of her audition for a part in the new television series Emily of New Moon, based on the book by L.M. Montgomery.

None of the other kids (at the audition) did this, said Pellerin. I didn't know what was going on.

The only thing going on behind those closed doors was Jessica's remarkable acting, which earned the unknown little girl from Little Pond, P.E.I. the role of wild child Ilse Burnley in Emily. The show, filmed on Prince Edward Island, will air across Canada in September.

With no formal acting training and only one acting job on her resume, Jessica wowed producers with her natural acting ability. It also helped that she has thick blonde hair flowing down to her knees just like her character Ilse.

The producer told us that they could have used wigs and hair pieces for the hair, says Pellerin. It was convenient that Jessica had the right hair, but it was her acting that got her the part.

And acting just seems to come naturally to Jessica, who recently turned 10 years old. Even during everyday conversations, she takes on different characters, mimics voices and uses animated gestures to tell stories.

Look at this, she says excitedly, demonstrating her impression of an elephant waving his trunk and roaring.

When asked how she cares for her long hair, Jessica responds quickly with a little demonstration.

You have to use a lot of shampoo, she says, showing, with sound effects, how she squeezes massive amounts of shampoo out of the bottle for every wash.

She doesn't mean to do it (act during conversations), says her mother. It just happens.

In fact, Jessica has entertained family and friends with her impressions and stories since she was a young child, but no one, Jessica included, ever thought she would become an actress.

Sometimes, we'd say this child is destined for the stage... but we never thought she'd be in a television show, says Pellerin.

The oldest of four children, Jessica got her first break in the summer of 1995 when she attended an open casting call to star in Prince Edward Island's tourism ads. She didn't get the part, but tourism officials liked her so much that they asked her to act in one of the commercials. Her co-star in the ad was 11-year-old Martha MacIsaac of Charlottetown who later went on to land the starring role of Emily Starr in the Emily series. The two girls became fast friends during the commercial shoot, and when Emily producer and head writer Marlene Matthews asked Martha if she knew any girls with long blonde hair who could act mischievous, Martha immediately suggested her friend from Little Pond.

Once Jessica landed the role of Ilse, her mother bought the Emily books and read part of them to Jessica to help her prepare for the role.

Jessica says she really enjoys playing Ilse, especially since the character is so different from herself. Ilse, who is Emily's best friend on the show, is the wild and temperamental daughter of the local doctor. Her mother disappeared when Ilse was young and her father neglects her to the point that she wears potato sacks as dresses and rarely combs her hair or washes.

She screams a lot, says bad words, doesn't clean her room, says Jessica. She's a good kid when she wants to be, but she can mouth off.

Mouthing off is not something Jessica would do off-screen. She won't even repeat the bad words Ilse says on the show.

I don't like saying them. I only say them when I'd dressed up in my costume.

Despite that, Jessica didn't have any trouble with the many scenes which call for her to get angry. She says she sometimes gets mad at her real-life brothers and sister - Jennifer, 7, Brodie, 4, and Robert, 2 - so she uses those experiences to help motivate her when she has to act angry.

I love them though (her brothers and sister), but sometimes they bug me, she says. I don't even have to think about getting mad (during a scene), but it's hard to cry.

Jessica's life, and the life of her entire family, has become a whirlwind of activity since she landed her role. While the show was filming in Summerside last fall and winter, Jessica had to leave her classmates at Fortune Consolidated School (she is tutored on the set) and stay in Summerside during the week. Her mother, a youth worker, took a leave of absence from her job so that she and her two youngest children could stay with Jessica during the week. Jessica's father, Gilles, a lobster fisherman, stayed in Little Pond with Jennifer, who is in grade one.

It's been hectic. I don't know how in the name of God we did it, concedes Pellerin, adding that life will become even more hectic when filming begins again this summer and Gilles leaves to fish in New Brunswick, where his lobster license is located.

Throughout all the hoopla that comes with starring in a TV show, Jessica has remained the same little girl she was before she started acting, says Pellerin.

There's no star treatment in our house.. Jessica is a special little girl. She's very sensitive, intuitive, very aware of other people's feelings, and I want her to stay that way, says Pellerin.

Mom told me if she ever sees me turning into a different person, thinking I'm better than anyone else, she wouldn't give me another chance (to act), says Jessica.

At this point, however, Jessica isn't even sure if she wants to be an actress when she grows up. She says she might like to be an artist or a swimming teacher.

But for now, she is more than happy with her life onEmily.

I like everything, she says.

And when the show airs this fall on ATV, the Pellerin family is looking forward to putting their feet up and watching the show with Jessica every week.

In some ways, it isn't real. I'ts like I'm in the Twilight Zone, says Pellerin. It was a tradition in our house to get together every Sunday night and watch Road to Avonlea. It's going to really strange to sit (here beside Jessica and watch Emily. I never dreamed it would happen. Not in my wildest dreams.

And your dreams are wild Mom, adds Jessica, laughing.

This is an unofficial fan page for fan enjoyment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended!

Picture and article copyright Kindred Spirits of PEI magazine

Return to: My Unofficial Emily of New Moon page