I ENTERTAINMENT sometimes I was single. I always had an alias. I was always re-locating and needed a new car. Sometimes I would get into a muddle, and the salesman would ask personal questions, and I would get to build a whole story about `myself.' I left business cards, and I'd get follow-up calls." A week later the salespeople were assembled for a sales training workshop. Sets were specially con- structed for the new arrival cars. Reiss and her partner were seated behind a podium, and slides were shown of the pair "mystery shopping." "You could hear gasps from the audience as the salespeople realized they'd been spoofed:" Reiss recalls. "We did a scripted show, and then we Local actress Wendy Reiss is very vocal in the acting assignments she undertakes I GOING PLACES WEEK OF Feb. 5- 11 SPECIAL EVENTS DETROIT SYMPHONY RADIO MARATHON: WQRS- FM (105) Radio auction to benifit the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Thursday and Feb. 12, 832-4330 during broadcast hours. CATHERINE MCAULEY HEALTH CENTER Rackham Auditorium, Ann Arbor, AIDS Benefit Concert, 8 p.m. Saturday, admission, 764-0450. COMEDY DUFFY'S ON THE LAKE 3133 Union Lake Rd., Union Lake, Bob Posch and John Cionca, now through February, 9:30 and 11:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, admission, reservations, 363-9469.Mark Hamilton, Steve Iott, Craig Mc Cart, now through Jan. 30, admission, 634-5208. COMEDY CASTLE " C I CD CD CD Wendy Reiss spends much of her working life in front of a microphone doing voice overs and narrations. It's All In The Voice JUDY MARX Special to The Jewish News ost of us regard our tel- ephone answering ma- chines as necessary evils. We create messages we hope aren't too trite or too outrageous, and then, trembling, we try to sound natural when we record them. To Wendy Reiss of West Bloom- field, the answering machine is not just a convenient tool of the '80s. It's been "a way of selling myself:' and Reiss credits hers with landing her more than one job. Reiss makes her living from her voice. As an actress, many of her roles take the form of voice-overs or narra- tion for industrial or commercial films. She is a non-traditionalist. She says she's always been "kind of wacky," a risk-taker, and she enjoys attempting unusual acting assignments. One of her most challenging re- cent jobs, Reiss explains, was a "per- formance" for a major automobile company where she and a partner posed as "mystery shoppers" and visited dealerships in five East Coast cities. "Sometimes I was married; localized our stories to involve the salespeople we'd encountered. It was interesting and exciting for me, and apparently it worked very well in terms of sales training?' Another recent stint for a com- peting manufacturer gave Reiss the chance to travel with a small crew in a two-engine Cessna plane and serve as a "hostess" for "soft-feature management interviews?' In addition to assuming a host of varied theatrical roles on the East Coast since her college days, Reiss played a small part in the movie, Col- lision Course. Last year, she was seen as a young mother in a film for Ford and also did some narration in a com- mercial for General Motors. Next on tap: more auditions. "When my agents call me about an audition, they tell me what character to be that day. They say, `Wendy, we want you to dress up as a nurse; or 'We want you to be a school teacher.' Last week I was a sexy robot." Reiss says that one is "never ful- ly prepared for an audition. You're handed a script, but you never know the whole scenario?' She says she was lucky that her first local audition last summer landed her a national com- mercial for Chrysler. A native Detroiter, Reiss was always in the wings awaiting her cue. "When I was a little kid and I used to go to bar mitzvahs and weddings, I would stare at the band leaders, always sure that I would get my chance to go up and steal the 2593 Woodward, Berkley, Rick Overton, now through Saturday, Jeff Altman, Tuesday through Feb. 13 admission, 542-9900. THEATER HENRY FORD MUSEUM & GREENFIELD VILLAGE Henry Ford Museum Theater, Kiss and Tell Friday through March 19, admission, 271-1620. MUSIC HALL CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 350 Madison Ave., Detroit, H.M.S. Pinafore Tuesday through Feb. 13, admission, 963-7680. OAKLAND UNIVERSITY Varner Studio Theater, Rochester, Crimes of the Heart Friday through Feb. 21, admission 370-3013. WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY Hilberry Theater, The Dresser Saturday through March 12, admission, 577-2972. JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER 6600 W. Maple Rd., W. Bloomfield, Starting Here Starting Now Saturday, and Sunday, admission, 354 0545. STAGECRAFTERS - Baldwin Theater, Royal Oak, Brigadoon. Friday through Feb. 21, admission, 541-6430. WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY Bonstelle Theater, Wild Oats now through Sunday, admission, 557-2960. Continued on Page 59 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 57