They Like Me, They Really Like Me

A few days ago I was recognized at a bar.

And I don't mean someone recognized that I was the girl eating fried food at midnight or I was the person who still had a Nebraska driver's license even though she's lived in California for a year and a half.

I was recognized for being an actor. Some circles might say 'celebrity.' (That circle is made up of my mother, my grandpa, and myself in my wildest dreams.)

I was sitting there among friends, drinking and thinking about leaving when all of a sudden two twenty-something girls approached our booth. They looked at each other excitedly, nodded their heads, and sidled up next to us.

Are you the girl from the 'Jane Doe' play?

I stared at them and nodded my head.

Oh. MY. God. We thought it was you when we saw you from across the bar! We just wanted to come over and say how much we LOVED YOU in that show! It was so funny! We loved everyone! It was so good and we are SO EXCITED to meet you!

As you can imagine I had to pick my jaw up from the floor and hand my friend Rachel (who was visiting from Minnesota) an oxygen tank.

I stammered a thank you and wondered whom they knew in the production. And guess what, gang!? They didn't know ANYONE. They came becuase they wanted to see theatre. I may have blacked out when they told me that.

My first fans then insisted that I come to a party they were throwing the next night, gave us their number, and told me their other friend would 'FREAK OUT' if I was to come.

SOMEONE WOULD FREAK OUT IF I CAME TO A PARTY.

Eventually, they left in a bustle of smiles and 'OMGs.'

Did that just happen? Had I had one too many Citron and sodas?

Finally, after we regained consciousness Rachel looked at me, shocked.

Here I was hoping to see a celebrity in Los Angeles and it turns out I was sitting right next to one.

I do have to say, that might be one of the craziest things to happen to me out here yet. For that brief moment I felt like a celebrity - at least a B-list one.

And now the show is over and it's time to find a new project.

I am no longer Jane Doe.

I am Jessica Runck.

Who occasionally gets recognized in a bar.