ESPRIT LIBRE // Press Archive

Performer of the Week: Bree Williamson (Soap Opera Digest 5/9/06)

People with brash exteriors are often compensating for a vulnerability somehwere deep inside. In Tess's case, it's to hide the unthinkable pain and hurt of abuse that Jessica cannot bear to face. Although this tale of two Jessicas is admittedly a bit outlandish, portrayer Bree Williamson's ability to show -- sometimes within a single scene -- how this dynamic lies at the heart of her mentally ill character has made the DID story engrossing.

Williamson grave her strongest performance yet as Tess when the character began integration therapy. With Nash in tow, she summoned the strength to face Viki, Clint and Antonio, using her tough girl front at first, admonishing them for the "ambush." Tess is smart, though. She'd done her research and knew that even if integration was nessecary for the good of her baby, she wasn't going to let everyone sugarcoat what was about to happen: "There is no such thing as integration, only annihilation," she insisted. "The host always wins." But then, when Clint mentioned the baby's best interests, Williamson turned on a dime and Tess became a quivering child, admitting that she was, in fact, afraid.

When Tess finally let Dr. Crosby hypnotize her and allow Jessica to remember what happened all those years ago, she reverted to the scared little girl who endured it. Williamson sniffled, pushed out her lower lip and answered with short, direct replies. It heightened her vulernability as she detailed the horrible abuse she suffered. It was heartbreaking, and a little hard to watch, but because of Williamson's ability to take chances at each beat, we also felt a sense of catharsis as we experienced a moment we'd long ago realized was inevitable.