Melissa attended a chat on AOL, on the 24th June, at 8PM.

This is the transcript of that chat, with thanks to?
Email me if you did this transcript originally (it came from the Clarissa mailing list BTW)

In my obsession with perfection, I've fixed any obvious spelling mistakes I noticed in the transcript, and added any punctuation necessary.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend this chat, as I was doing my last final exam for my IT certificate course. But, that's enough of my whinging.. now read what Melissa has to say :-)

OnlineHost: It appears that even Teenage
OnlineHost: Witches can't do anything about
OnlineHost: the phone lines.
OnlineHost: Thank you for your patience.
OnlineHost: ^ÓMHartLIVE^Ô has entered the room.
AOLiveMC4: Welcome to AOL Live Melissa Joan Hart! Thank you for being here tonight!

MHartLIVE: Thank you for having me!

AOLiveMC4: Are you ready to answer some questions?
MHartLIVE: Absolutely!

Question: Hi I love your show....What are some of the things that will be
Question: happening in the next season? Thanks Tracie

MHartLIVE: We're gonna bring in some new cast members.
MHartLIVE: And Sabrina will develop a crush! But that's all I can say for now.

Question: do u plan to make any movies?

MHartLIVE: I have a movie coming out October 1 called "Next to You."
MHartLIVE: It's about a boy and girl who live next door
MHartLIVE: to each other and don't get along,
MHartLIVE: but decide to date to make
MHartLIVE: other people jealous.
MHartLIVE: It's kind of like "Can't Buy Me Love."

Question: Hey, Melissa.. how'd you get picked to be a cover girl? How many
Question: photos did they take of you before they chose one?

MHartLIVE: Well, Atuoosa at CosmoGIRL! has given
MHartLIVE: me many reasons why they chose me
MHartLIVE: to be the cover girl, and they
MHartLIVE: took pictures for about two days.
MHartLIVE: For the whole article.

Question: On Sabrina you have sung. Would you ever consider releasing a record?

MHartLIVE: :::laughs::: That's not in my near future. :-)
MHartLIVE: I'm too embarrassed to sing.

Question: Melissa if u had a choice which show would u rather be in Sabrina
Question: the Teenage Witch or Clarissa explains it all???

MHartLIVE: Well, I got to be in both, so I don't have to choose.

Question: How is it to be pampered as a Cover Girl...by the way..you looked great!

MHartLIVE: Thank you.
MHartLIVE: It's very flattering.
MHartLIVE: But it's also a lot of work.
MHartLIVE: I guess I mean to say, I don't feel
MHartLIVE: very comfortable at photo shoots.

Question: Hey Mellisa, This is Aimee. I just wanted to know if you were really
Question: a witch what would you do first??

MHartLIVE: Well, if I had magic, I would
MHartLIVE: The first place I'd probably go
MHartLIVE: is Rio de Janiero.

Question: What are your plans after your hit show Sabrina?

MHartLIVE: I'd like to go back to New York
MHartLIVE: and finish college.
MHartLIVE: Maybe do a Broadway play.
MHartLIVE: And see what happens after that.

Question: Whats it like to be a MAJOR teen role model?

MHartLIVE: It's flattering. It's a little stressful too,
MHartLIVE: but it comes with the job.

AOLiveMC4: Melissa, alot of our members would like to know if you have a Website : )

MHartLIVE: Um... I'm not sure about that!
MHartLIVE: I know there's quite a bit on me on the Internet,
MHartLIVE: I'm not sure how to find it.

Question: Melissa, how is your Sabrina character different from Clarissa?

MHartLIVE: Sabrina's not as confident,
MHartLIVE: and she's also a bit more naive.

Question: WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN YOUR LIFE THAT YOU'VE EVER HAD TO OVERCOME?

MHartLIVE: That's tough...
MHartLIVE: I guess trying to keep my sanity :::laughs:::
MHartLIVE: and stay in this business,
MHartLIVE: and make sure that what's important to me
MHartLIVE: stays in perspective.

Question: How long have you been acting? How do you feel about portraying
Question: someone younger than you?

MHartLIVE: I've been acting for 19 years.
MHartLIVE: And I look young, so I wouldn't expect
MHartLIVE: to play anyone older.
MHartLIVE: Plus, there's not many roles out there
MHartLIVE: for 23 year olds, but there's a whole
MHartLIVE: bunch of roles for teenagers.

Question: Hey Melissa! I saw you on The View and I was wondering if you get
Question: nervous before you go on talk shows like that.

MHartLIVE: I got a little nervous,
MHartLIVE: but I was really tired from jet lag! :::laughs:::
MHartLIVE: And those girls made it easy.

Question: I love your show and think you're really funny, how do you
Question: remember all your lines?

MHartLIVE: Well, after being on "Clarissa,"
MHartLIVE: where I had two two-page monologues
MHartLIVE: in each show, it's easy to do it
MHartLIVE: on "Sabrina" 'cause the scenes are shorter.

Question: what advice would u give a young pre-teen who wants to become a actress?

MHartLIVE: Stay in school and try taking
MHartLIVE: some drama classes or dance classes.
MHartLIVE: And wait until you're older.

Question: Are you laughing alot on the set?

MHartLIVE: Yes! We have a great time!
MHartLIVE: the whole crew is a lot of fun.

Question: Are your plans more on TV or Movies for the future?

MHartLIVE: After "Sabrina," I'd like to try to
MHartLIVE: concentrate on film.

Question: Is it hard acting with the robotic cat?

MHartLIVE: No, it's easy -- he never talks back.

Question: I have a question: I am now 'officially' a teen and I have a question,
Question: was growing up for you any different for you being popular than
Question: normal? By the way I love your show!

MHartLIVE: When I was 14 I left my junior
MHartLIVE: high school to shoot "Clarissa"
MHartLIVE: and I got tutored after that, but
MHartLIVE: up until then, I got teased and
MHartLIVE: pushed around as much as anyone else.

Question: Melissa, do you ever go ONLINE?

MHartLIVE: Yeah, usually when I'm out of state,
MHartLIVE: I'll talk to my friends, keep in touch
MHartLIVE: that way.

Question: Who has influenced you to get into acting?

MHartLIVE: My mother is basically responsible,
MHartLIVE: but when I got older, it was my determination.

Question: hi melissa! i love your show! in the episode when N*SYNC was
Question: there, what did they say to you?

MHartLIVE: They're friends of mine -- I went to
MHartLIVE: high school -- sorry, I got tutored -- with JC and Joey,
MHartLIVE: and hadn't seen them in years, so we
MHartLIVE: caught up.

Question: Are you friends with your cast members off the set?

MHartLIVE: Yup, absolutely.
MHartLIVE: The girl who plays Valerie is my best friend.

Question: How do you do the magic in the show?

MHartLIVE: It depends -- some of it's computer effects,
MHartLIVE: some of it's special effects, and some of it's
MHartLIVE: trick photography.

Question: What do you think of the Columbine School Shooting?

MHartLIVE: I think it's a terrible tragedy.
MHartLIVE: And it's too bad the kids killed themselves,
MHartLIVE: 'cause they should be in jail.
MHartLIVE: They took the easy way out.

Question: HOW LONG DOES IT ACTUALLY TAKE TO MAKE ONE EPISODE OF SABRINA???

MHartLIVE: One week. Two days of rehearsal,
MHartLIVE: and three days of shooting.

Question: Do you have a cartoon series in the works

MHartLIVE: Yeah, it should be released in September,
MHartLIVE: with my little sister Emily.
MHartLIVE: I play the two aunts.

Question: Do you play any instruments?

MHartLIVE: I used to play the flute in high school,
MHartLIVE: and I've tried to play guitar, but I'm not
MHartLIVE: very good -- I didn't have the patience.

Question: What made you audition for the part of Sabrina?

MHartLIVE: I didn't audition -- my mother and I
MHartLIVE: produced the show.
MHartLIVE: So we sold it to ABC.

Question: When your mother got the rights to the Sabrina character, did you
Question: have input on developing the series with her and Nell Scovell, in the
Question: transition from comic book to TV movie to TV series?

MHartLIVE: A little bit. I left it up to the professionals, though.

Question: What is in the new Cosmogirl magazine and what age group is it for?

MHartLIVE: It's for teenagers, like 12 to 18,
MHartLIVE: and it's a smart magazine geared towards
MHartLIVE: girls, trying to be a big sister to them,
MHartLIVE: help them make the right decisions
MHartLIVE: and give them the information they
MHartLIVE: need as teenagers.

Question: Do you like all the attension that fans give you or would you like to
Question: be a normal person and still act?

MHartLIVE: That's a tough question.
MHartLIVE: It depends -- sometimes half and half,
MHartLIVE: I would say. Sometimes you want to be
MHartLIVE: anonymous, and sometimes it's nice to have
MHartLIVE: your work recognized.

Question: how many brothers and sisters do you have

MHartLIVE: I have one brother and six sisters.

Question: what was your first tv performance?

MHartLIVE: First TV performance... um, I did a commercial
MHartLIVE: when I was 4 years old for a bathtub doll
MHartLIVE: called Splashy.

Question: Umm who is you inspiration as an actor?

MHartLIVE: Shirley Temple and Audrey Hepburn.

Question: Did you enjoy working with Nickelodeon?

MHartLIVE: Yeah, they were great! They were like
MHartLIVE: family to me.

Question: in your career who was the best person you ever had to work with?

MHartLIVE: Um... Stephen Collins from "Seventh Heaven."
MHartLIVE: We shot a scene in a hot air balloon
MHartLIVE: for my new movie and had just the greatest
MHartLIVE: talks and had a lot of fun, even though
MHartLIVE: it was 4 in the morning up in a hot air balloon.
MHartLIVE: And I also have a great time working
MHartLIVE: with my friend Tara, who's in the Sabrina
MHartLIVE: movies with me.

AOLiveMC4: We only have time for one last question

Question: What are your plans for year 2000?

MHartLIVE: I might go be with my family in New York.
MHartLIVE: That's about it right now.

AOLiveMC4: Thank you so much for being here and answering the questions!

MHartLIVE: Thank you for having me! I hope everyone
MHartLIVE: will go check out the new CosmoGIRL!

AOLiveMC4: And Thank you to the audience for having such great questions!
AOLiveMC4: Good Night!

OnlineHost: ^ÓMHartLIVE^Ô has left the room.

OK, since this is my website, I think I'll blab on for a while :-) If you want to fast forward what I have to say, click here :-)

When you read this transcript, and compare it with what Melissa said in her bike safety chat you can see she is trying to stress a couple of points.

The first major thing I've noticed, from reviewing all the interviews and chats Melissa has done, is that she wants kids to stay in school. Whenever anybody asks about becoming an actor, she almost immediately says "stay in school". Did something happen to make Melissa regret leaving school, and being tutored on the set of Clarissa?

Another thing I've noticed, is the way Melissa deals with questions about websites about her. Again, if you compare this to the bike safety chat, you can see she says "I know about websites about me, but can't find them". Someone made a good point, and said that Melissa was probably just being diplomatic, and not wanting to draw attention to some good sites (like Donald Lancon's) while not mentioning others (like mine :-).

OK..that's all the points I can think of at the moment. I might add more later. You can go back to the start page now.