Jessica or Ashley? “Pitch Perfect” star and University alumna Shelley Regner is making a name for herself.
Regner graduated in 2011 from the University’s theatre program. As a freshman at the University, Regner said she was not sure what path she wanted to pursue. After taking a year off from theatre, she knew she could not live without acting, and decided to pursue a degree in theatre performance.
She has performed on stage since she was 6 years old while dancing at Jeffie Jean Studio in Baton Rouge.
Shortly after she graduated, there were open auditions for the movie “Pitch Perfect” at the University.
“It was just one of those experiences where I just tried not to blink as much as I could, so I wouldn’t miss anything,” Regner said.
Regner said she originally thought she was auditioning to be an extra.
Regner received a call on a Friday night that asked her to be cast as one of the girls in the lead girl group, she said. She said filming in her hometown was bizarre at first as she didn’t have to be away from anybody, as acting so often requires.
Regner said one of her most memorable moments on set was when she invited some of the cast and crew to her house for Thanksgiving dinner.
“It was a huge hodgepodge of wine and food,” Regner said. “It was just a good time being home and trying to provide a home for some people when they’re away from home. We still talk about that night to this day.”
Regner said her favorite role was Amy in Stephen Sondheim’s musical “Company.”
His songs were probably the hardest for musicians to play, and the hardest for singers to sing, she said.
Regner is currently working on “Jennifer’s Body: The Unauthorized Musical from Hell,” where she plays the lead role of Jennifer in Los Angeles. She is also traveling to New York to film the series “New Dogs, Old Tricks.”
“I get really homesick during football season and Mardi Gras season,” Regner said. “No one else in America celebrates like they do in the South during those times, and especially in Louisiana.”
In her next project, she said she will be working with the music producer from “Pitch Perfect” in a live-touring a cappella show for Disney called “D Cappella” in 2019.
