Made: Anna Is Made Into a Leading Lady

Anna is the type of girl who spends her free time writing science fiction and trying to learn Japanese. She is officially known by her classmates as a dork and the weirdest girl in school. For the past three years, Anna's dream has been to act in the school play at Overton High School, but she has yet to make the cut. This year she wants to be MADE into the star of the play. On Day 1, we meet Anna's MADE coach, John'O, an actor and a professor at Arkansas State University, who sets up a fake audition for her. Anna has no idea that the audition is a sham. At the end of her performance, John'O reveals who he is and tells her they have a lot of work to do. Her main problems are her lack of femininity and her overacting. They only have a month to work with so they waste no time in getting started. John'O puts Anna in an acting class and observes her improvising with other students. Overall, the other students are more amused than impressed by her and agree that she must tone down her acting. After class, John'O tries to get Anna into a skirt and begins the difficult process of getting her to feel more comfortable about looking and acting like a girl. Anna is not happy about this, but she tries it out for the sake of the play. The part she wants is Helena, the lead role in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," which requires femininity. The next step is a makeover, where Anna faces her fear of makeup. The next day at school, her classmates react positively to the change, but Anna doesn't know if she likes the new attention that she is getting. She begins to worry that she is losing her identity in making these new changes. John'O then introduces her to Flo, an acting coach to help Anna feel better about expressing her feminine side. She tries to get Anna to see the girly girl behind her tomboy image. The coaching gives Anna some new confidence and the beginnings of a new attitude. It is now time for Anna to put this new found confidence to work. Anna wants to become more social at school so John'O issues another challenge for her. He tells her that she needs to invite someone from school to work with them for a day. Anna picks Jeremy, an old crush and one of the best actors in school. The other girls at school, including Kelsey, a new friend, pump her up before she asks him, giving her some encouragement. When the time comes, Jeremy agrees, and Anna is excited but begins to feel the pressure of rehearsing with him. The session with Jeremy goes better than Anna could have hoped. John'O is so impressed with her progress that he invites Anna to be his date for the Memphis Theater Awards to test out her new feminine image. He convinces her to buy a pink dress, something she never thought she'd see herself in. After this event, the transformation is complete and Anna is ready to perform the monologue for her parents in her final rehearsal. She is very nervous but performs well. Her family is also impressed with her improvements and Anna feels that she is as ready as she will ever be to try out. Audition day finally comes and as if Anna isn't nervous enough already, she learns that she has to go on earlier than planned. Even still, she does her best and is happy with the results. The next day John'O visits the school so he can be there when Anna finds out the big news. The list is posted and Anna learns that she has gotten the part of the Philistrate--not the part she wanted, but a part she will still be happy with. On opening night everyone is proud of her performance, and more importantly, Anna is proud of herself. She knows that her hard work has paid off and that she has reached her goal. Not only did she land a part in the play, but she also made new friends and opened herself up to new possibilities. Most of all, she is happy to finally be able to officially call herself an actress.