Jenna Zablocki was practically bred to be a performer.

"My grandmother had a piano that I always loved," she said. "So I always loved music and my mom always played tons of records."

Her mother, who played piano and sang in the church choir, also worked for the Philadelphia Opera Company and would take Jenna from their home in Bucks County, Pa., to see opera and orchestra performances. Jenna taught herself how to play piano at age six, got into singing around age 10 and then branched out into acting when she was 15.

All of this led her to music theatre. She was cast in the play "Bye Bye Birdie" and she immediately felt at home.

"The first night I stepped on stage I realized that's what I needed to do for the rest of my life," Jenna said. "I needed to perform."

She continued to pursue acting in college. Originally, she wanted to do a double major of musical theatre and opera, but "they basically laughed at me and told me I couldn't." So Jenna chose to focus on musical theatre.

While living in New York, Jenna auditioned for a female pop group. "It was my first foray into anything pop music," Jenna said. She made the group, but the producers were unable to secure funding, so it never went anywhere.

Exactly one year later, a chance meeting at JFK Airport finally got her career rolling.

"I was sitting there at the bar waiting for my mother, just minding my own business, watching the TV when I was approached by Gerald Wolff."

Wolff, who managed the early careers of Linda Ronstadt, Ozzy Osbourne and Dionee Warwick, was in the airport bar with a film producer, who urged Wolff to strike up a conversation with her. "He asked me if I had an agent," Jenna says. When she asked him why, he replied, "Because everybody that looks like you has an agent in California."

She wasn't sure if he was really a film producer, but despite the fact that he didn't even have a business card to back up his claim, she gave Wolff the benefit of the doubt and gave him her headshot and resume. Jenna spoke to him again later that week, and a few months later she flew out to California. After a series of meetings, Wolff decided to take her on as a client, so she moved to California to pursue her dreams.

Things moved quickly for her once she relocated to the West Coast. Some producers heard a tape of her singing songs from Phantom of the Opera and "it's been a big roller coaster since then." She has lived in California for five years now and she seems on the verge of becoming a star.

Jenna Zablocki

Jenna has a debut album schedule for release in this February on Access Records. She recently traveled to New York City to promote the CD, where she visited several radio networks, hosted a gathering at the Elizabeth Arden Salon and Spa and posed for new publicity photos. The album will be a mix of different genres.

"There's a fullness to Jenna's voice that is a combination of different genres," Al Manerson, the general manager of Access Records. "It's heartland music with a pop-rock twist." Jenna has heard a slightly different description for the album, "Someone else described it as a ‘musical burrito.'"

Either way, Jenna is very pleased with the outcome. "I'm more proud of this album than anything I've ever recorded." She plans to tour the United States and Europe in 2006.

Jenna is also poised for success on the big screen. She has signed on to play a lead role in a film called The Dark, which will begin filming in Louisanna early next year. The movie, written and directed by Mitch Marcus, is a psychological thriller about three friends who find a way to visually record dreams.

"It's like Flatliners meets Mulholland Drive meets Memento," Jenna said. The movie will also star Giovanni Ribisi and Christian Slater. She is also attached to play "Mrs. Weissman" in a family-oriented comedy titled Faking It, that should be released nationally next year.

"2006 is going to be a very busy year, but that's okay," Jenna said. She enjoys being able to act and sing. "I've always done both. I've always done them together and I love them equally."

Further down the road, Jenna hopes to get a chance to return to her musical theatre background and do a few Broadway shows. She would also love a chance to work with Shirley MacLaine. The two were supposed to work on a film together, but the project fell through. One thing is clear though, whatever the future holds for Jenna Zablocki, she will continue to shine in the spotlight.

Written by Joel Murphy, December 2005. To hear a sample of Jenna's new CD, visit Access Records website.