If you haven’t heard of ‘Glee‘ yet – Fox’s new musical comedy premiering Wednesday night at 9pm ET, you’ve probably been hiding under a rock, or at least out of touch with the pop culture world for the last few months. After a successful sneak peek after the season finale of ‘American Idol‘ in the spring, ‘Glee’ is back and ready to ramp things up with shocking musical numbers, high school drama and lots of great musical guest stars.

I got the chance to talk with Jenna Ushkowitz, who plays Tina, one of the ‘Glee’ club members, recently for a quick interview on one of the most anticipated new shows of the Fall.

How did you come to be on the show and what is your musical and dance background?
I started when I was in the “King and I” when I was on Broadway when I was nine. It kinda just kicked off from there – I went to a performing arts high school. I was a total Gleek! I was in show choir, and we had acting classes during the day, dance classes during the day. But it was a Catholic school, so I did take regular classes. I went to college for it- minored in musical theater. And then, I wanted to do Broadway again, so I went and did “Spring Awakening,” actually with Lea (Michele, who plays Rachel) for awhile, so that was fun. Right outta that, the casting associate out of New York for ‘Glee’ was the casting director for “Spring Awakening,” so he saw all of us. I walked out of that audition and said, “I didn’t get that” and they called me back, and then they called me to LA and I went in for a day and I tested for network, and Tina just kinda happened from there.

What is your character like?
Tina is the gothic stutterer. She’s really quiet, really shy. You see her smile when she’s performing because that’s really where her happiness lies. I think she’s got a lot of layers- people may say, “Oh, she’s the gothic one, she’s not going to be happy” but I think there’s a lot of happiness underneath.

The show has a lot of heart and I think that’s where it kinda spills out onto the characters. We have a lot of soul – she kinda fits into the club in that her and Artie have a definite connection, and then the rest of the kids – they might not like each other all perfectly and get along, but I think we agree that we’re the outcasts and the underdogs, and that’s where we’re gonna be for awhile.

Who are some of the musical guests coming onto the show?
Eve first of all. She doesn’t sing in the show, and hopefully she’ll come back and sing, but she just plays this awesome character. Kristen Chenoweth sings like five sings on the show- and rehearsing with her, and working with her – she is a consummate professional. You learn every day what to do, and what not to do with her. Especially coming from theater, you watch how she makes that transition- which is kinda what we’re all trying to do at this point. So it was a really, really wonderful learning experience and eye-opening and shocking at the same time.

What’s the reception been like since the show’s sneak peek in May?
It’s been nothing but positive and fantastic and so gratifying and rewarding for use because we’re in this little bubble shooting all these episodes and we don’t really get to see what people feel because none of the episodes have aired. The pilot – it was just phenomenal really. I was shocked at the response. I think we all kind of were. We have to take it step-by-step because it’s something really special and we all feel it. I hope people watch – every day has just been a blessing for us and we all really appreciate it.

What TV shows do you watch?
Oh God, I watch everything! Right now I’m re-watching ‘Dawson’s Creek.’ I love ‘Six Feet Under,’ ‘24,’ ‘Lost.’ I’m a big TV buff. ‘The Hills!’ Housewives of …everything. ‘Kendra.’ I wasn’t a huge fan of reality shows, because I’m like “they’re taking away from the actors,” but sometimes mindless is just wonderful.

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