Jenna Ortega had an unforgettable time during the taping of season one of Wednesday. Beforehand, she even took lessons in fencing and cello to be prepared for her role! However, Jenna was not immune from burnout as a result of her busy schedule- at one point during filming, she contracted COVID-19. In light of this experience, Jenna opened up about how taxing the shooting process could be on a person’s wellbeing.
At a Q&A, the actress shared her experience of having to show up two hours early to set and work tirelessly for 12-14 hours before completing her day with Zoom lessons. She would also be tasked with squeezing in music classes on weekend days when she wasn’t shooting – if possible. It was quite simply an endless cycle!
Perfecting the “Paint it Black” cello sequence was a feat for Jenna as she had to switch her music instructor due to moving overseas while filming, and the piece itself is typically intended for two separate cellos—however, she performed this on just one.
Jenna was in a state of total exhaustion, recounting to her father the relentless FaceTime calls she had with him while hysterically crying. Despite all this, Director-Producer Tim Burton remained encouraging and optimistic; he exclaimed to Jenna that everything would turn out alright as it will “look great”.
As filming progressed, Jenna lamented that they kept experiencing time constraints as “Wednesdays show up in practically every scene.”
Even though the production team was forced to utilize stunt doubles or cello doubles due to time constraints, she insisted on being as prepared as possible so that they would be able to use her in shots. She explained that this is much more believable if viewers can see your face– making it worth all of the effort!
Hopefully season two isn’t as rigorous for the actress!