Yaszmine Foucha’s acting journey began in elementary school, though it didn’t involve a stage or screen. She didn’t even know it yet, in fact.
“I did not like school when I was 5,” the Ama native quipped. “I would pretend to be sick and every day they were calling my parents to get me because I was sick, I wasn’t feeling well or something happened.”
Of course, she had to adapt her tactics as time went on, and the stories began to get more elaborate.
“I was one day when I just did something that sparked the secretary,” Foucha said. “She was like, you know what, I’m going to put her into acting because this is ridiculous. It’s always something with this child. Let’s get her tested for talented theatre.”
That led her to the stage – and, this Sunday, to the screen. AMC Palace Theater at Clearview is hosting a theatrical premiere of Lovelorn, in which Foucha plays Tiana Davenport, a lawyer who acts as the glue of her friend group, offering advice – though often not following through on that guidance herself in her own experiences.
“It’s all about the trials and tribulations people go through of being in love,” Foucha said.
The premiere begins at 6:30 p.m.
Lovelorn is structured as several short episodic segments that are shown back-to-back. Sunday’s premiere is a one-time screening event, following which the episodes will be available to stream on YouTube and Patreon. Tickets for the premier can be purchased by calling (504) 407-6744 or by emailing viewsbyobj@gmail.com.
“It’s exciting. We’ve kind of turned it into a big thing … for us (involved in the film) we’re making it a black tie event, tuxes, fancy dresses, things like that,” Foucha said, noting the cast will be there themselves to screen the movie for the very first time. “We’ve built a nice buzz about it.”
Foucha noted trailers and clips of the film have gotten a lot of attention on social media and that tickets have sold well thus far.
She began acting at Luling Elementary, then did more once she reached R.K. Smith Middle School.
“I played the Big Bad Wolf, one of Cinderella’s stepsisters … I just really enjoyed it,” Foucha said.
She went to Hahnville High next before earning her degree in film and theatre at the University of New Orleans.
Foucha began diving into work and finding opportunities to get her name out, acting in short films including Return of the Mask (2021). During the 2020 COVID pandemic, she stayed busy by playing a part in the FOX drama pilot “Blood Relative,” but the show was not picked up.
The Lovelorn format wasn’t completely unique to her, as she began her own series in the format called Going Ghost – she began that project to promote her music, as Foucha is also a singer.
“Our director actually found me from that,” Foucha said. “It was a little short content format with the music in the background … (Sunday) is going to be our first time seeing it, beyond the trailers. From what we have seen, it’s been exciting – he’ll edit it a certain way that we didn’t expect, hit some details, some little things that just make it work that much better.”
She put all of herself into the role.
“I method-acted all the way through October … we filmed for a month and I just stayed in character,” Foucha said.
Foucha says her character, Tiana, is a bit of a journey from her real-life personality – but that, she said, is the fun of acting.
“She’s very confident and graceful, and I’d consider myself more charismatic and bubbly,” she said. “But I get to go and flip that switch, be a lawyer, put yourself in that space and explore possibilities that I wouldn’t necessarily explore being me. So it’s great to be able to do that.”
