Danny Jarabek
Wendy Braun had five weeks of rehearsal and studied the language of private equity to prepare for the role of a villain in Season Two of the acclaimed reality hoax comedy series, Jury Duty: Company Retreat. Despite all that prep, she was still walking into a completely unpredictable situation and had to make it all work in real time alongside a cast full of comedy and improv geniuses, as well as Anthony Norman, the season’s hero. As Elizabeth Prescott, the sharp and calculating executive from the Truikas Group attempting to close a deal to buy out Rockin’ Grandmas hot sauce, Braun serves as the primary antagonist of the high-wire scripted comedy series built around an unsuspecting real person at its center. Awards Radar spoke with Braun about navigating the multilayered approach to her character, what it was like to know Anthony needed to distrust her, and what was running through her head during that unforgettable finale.
Read our full conversation with Wendy Braun below.
I am fascinated by this show and the premise of it, and I am so curious because as an outsider, I’m just thinking about it all the time, but what is it like being inside Jury Duty?
Wendy Braun: It is like walking a high wire without a net, but you have the collective trust and safety and collaboration of over a hundred people. High pressure, high stakes, and a ton of fun.
You play Elizabeth Prescott, an executive with the Truikas Group. What I find so fascinating about the character is that you are not only upholding the premise of the show, but you also have multiple layers to manage with the facade you present to Rockin’ Grandmas, and how you operate within the Truikas Group itself. How did you handle all of that at once?
Wendy Braun: I really appreciate that because this character was the most fun and very layered. I wanted to give her depth and humanity and gravitas, and there is a lot going on. Things change often, but I do love playing the messy character who has multiple layers of secrets and perspectives. Her identity is really rooted in one goal, but to get there, there are a lot of different ways she has to navigate. The key when you play a villain is that the villain does not think they are a villain. So I did not come in playing evil. I wanted to show all the sides of what it looks like when you want something and there are a lot of ways you go about getting it.
What did the preparation and rehearsal process look like, and how did that compare to how things actually played out in real time?
Wendy Braun: We had about five weeks of rehearsal, and it was a very creatively collaborative process with the writers and the team, where we could really craft and grow this character over time. Down to talking to wardrobe about how big I wanted her bag and her whole look, it was very collaborative in that way.
I also did a lot of research to learn the logic and the language of private equity. At one point they asked me, off camera, to come in and give a twenty-minute speech on private equity, and I did that. You really build up this world that you are so immersed in, and then you walk into a completely unpredictable situation and trust that you have done your homework and that you know what you are doing. It was definitely a delicate dance of thorough preparation followed by going in and seeing what happens.
How much of the show is scripted, and how much of it is improvised on the spot?
Wendy Braun: What people do not realize is how much of a scripted series it actually is. Everything you see has been rehearsed, thought out, and planned. It is meticulously written in terms of beats, story arcs, character journeys, and all of that. But in the moment, as an actor I had to draw on everything I have ever done: years of TV and film, improv, stand-up, martial arts, dance, live theater. All of it, in a situation where Anthony is going to lead the way and we have to ebb and flow with him no matter what the script says. It was a challenging role and a challenging show to work on, but so rewarding when it works. Every day it worked, we were all high-fiving each other. It was so thrilling.
With Anthony at the center as the hero, what was it like interacting with him while maintaining your character and knowing, somewhere in the back of your head, that he has no idea what is going on?
Wendy Braun: I have such a different role than the rest of the Rockin’ Grandmas cast, because they are all trying to get to know and love him, and I am trying to get the deal. So I have this separate challenge with him. I need him to not like me. Every time I would hear feedback like, “he hates you,” my response was, great, okay, perfect. At the same time, I was never really worried about him as a person, because he is so good-hearted and good-natured and was clearly having such an amazing experience. I thought,”He is going to be okay, this is fun for him, and he was having a good time.” I had to disconnect from worrying about him and just be in the character to deliver the performance I needed to deliver. Afterwards, we became friends. We texted just this morning. He was a little scared of me at first, but now he knows I am a normal person. At the very end he said the only one he did not trust was me, and my reaction was, great, I did my job.
That pivotal moment when the contract was about to be signed and Anthony rushed in, I’ll admit I was on the edge of my seat about to burst into tears watching it. Can you take me inside what it felt like to witness that in real time?
Wendy Braun: I literally have goosebumps thinking back to it. Even when we watch it back, our hearts race. We are in that room, we know Anthony is coming, we know Dougie is going to trip and fall, and we do not know if Anthony is going to go back to get Dougie or not. He does not. He is coming. We all know what has to happen, but now it is full improv. I know my goal in the scene, but I am also witnessing Anthony talk to Doug in real time in the way that he does, and I do not want to stop that. I try to interrupt, but he keeps going, so I am working with that. What people also do not realize is that we have earwigs in our ears and the director is giving us notes on how to move so we do not block a shot. In the middle of all of this, in the middle of the biggest moment of the finale, I am getting real-time direction in my ear. It is a lot. And then when I said, “Are you really going to listen to him?” and he just kept repeating his point, that was gold. You cannot write that. He was the perfect scene partner in the perfect moment. The tension in that room was incredible. When Doug did not sign and I got to storm out, it was such a release. It was thrilling. To be part of that finale experience that I knew would make people cry and feel and scream at their TVs at me, that is the goal.
You have such an amazing ensemble of comedic actors working alongside you, and it is even bigger than Season One. What was it like having that camaraderie, knowing you were all executing this crazy high-wire act together?
Wendy Braun: People do not realize it truly is a collective, an ensemble troupe where we all have each other’s backs. Once we are live on set, it is very much Truikas versus Rock and Grandma, and my Truikas team, we are thick as thieves. But we all know that in any scene, we have each other’s backs. We are all so present, and we all rose to a really challenging situation in this unpredictable world. Every day that our scenes would land, we would celebrate. To be on the other side of it now, with the awards attention and all of this, is icing on an already really beautiful cake made with amazing people that I am friends with forever.
Well, amazing. I can’t imagine the feeling it’s like to have that off your shoulders now and be on the other side of it. But congratulations on the series and the work. The performance is so much fun to watch and the show is just incredible. So thank you for the time and really appreciate some insight into it.
Wendy Braun: Gosh, Danny, thank you so much. A pleasure to talk to you. I’m just glad people are loving it.
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