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Jeff, tell me a little about yourself, including how you got into acting. Well, I'm from Oregon originally, and have lived in New York City for about five years. My first year in the city was spent just getting settled -- and seeing hundreds of plays! I auditioned for and was accepted into the New York University MFA Acting Program, where I spent the next three years. I've been "out in the business" for just over a year and a half, doing several stage productions in and out of the city. Did you move to NY specifically to get into acting? Yes -- it's either here or Los Angeles, and I feel much more at home in New York! I often receive letters from people asking how they can get a role on ATWT. So, how did you do it? For me it was a very strange experience! I had met both of the casting directors previously. I met the head casting director, Mikie, in a meeting when I first graduated from NYU, when she was working at ABC television. And I had met Tom, her associate, almost a year before -- at an opening-night dinner after a play I did downtown. So they weren't total strangers. I had just finished six weeks performing in a play Off-Broadway called Freedomland at Playwrights Horizons. (Incidentally, for those who watch other soaps, a fellow cast member in the play was the wonderful Robin Strasser of One Life to Live!) The show closed on Sunday, and on Tuesday I got a call from my agent at 6:15 pm, saying, "Get up to 57th street as soon as you can! As The World Turns needs to cast a role to tape on Friday morning!" He said I should get there before 7:00 -- forty-five minutes! As it happened, I hadn't shaved or showered that day, but dutifully cabbed northward and arrived before seven. I got the "Charles Beaumont" sides for the assistant manager role. ("Sides" are the lines you use in the audition.)
It turned out that Tom, the casting associate, had seen me in Freedomland and thought of me for the part, for which I am grateful. With about five minutes to prepare, I read for Mikie and Tom. I didn't quite understand the character or what was going on, as I don't have cable and can't watch the shows! But they liked me, apparently, as they offered me the role during the meeting. I shot the first day three days later. Is ATWT the first soap opera you've appeared on? Yes, though I hope it's not my last. For a short-term role like this, does the show send you a script in advance? Yes, you get the day's shooting script in advance, though there's not really anything to tell you what is going on. I actually got the first two scripts, which helped me get a sense of the character -- he turned out to be quite a snotty guy, which I liked and was fun to play. But there is no one really to tell you what is going on in the plot -- fortunately, the cast members were very helpful in filling me in. What is the taping day like? I'll tell you about my first day (I shot three). I arrived at the studio at 7am for "dry rehearsal" (which for me is quite a feat, as I'm a late riser), and was directed to a rehearsal room on the second floor. I stepped in the room, and was immediately in rehearsal for my first scene. They don't rehearse "on-set" because in many cases the set is still being built. Instead, they use chairs to delineate furniture. After rehearsing my "big" scene with Jack and Julia, we worked on the smaller scenes, and then it was off to hair and makeup. I got my costume (I especially liked my "Mr. Beaumont" name badge) and got my makeup done and hair, such as it is. On the schedule, my scene with Jack and Julia (where I separate them for the big Carly limo switch) was the seventh one to be shot. I was grateful, because I would be able to watch the first six scenes shoot and get a sense of how things operated. I went down to the studio. But of course, the first six scenes were shot in a limousine, and I couldn't see or hear a thing. And then it was -- my turn! Michael Park and Annie Parisse were very helpful -- we ran lines together as the cameras set up, and they gave me some illumination into what my character was doing (see, I didn't even realize that I was up to no good in separating Jack and Julia -- once I discovered that, the scene became quite nice to play). Michael said, "We'll probably need to shoot this several times, because they want to make sure that Annie looks great in the scene." We rehearsed it once for the cameras, and then it was time to shoot. In the scene, Jack and Julia start snuggling on the bed, and then I "knock" and Jack answers the door. (Though the knock was added later as a sound effect). "And five, four, ..." said the stage manager, and the scene was rolling! Suddenly, a makeup woman whispered, "Hang on" and began to put more powder on my face -- as the scene was shooting, waiting for my "knock" -- and she finished literally one second before Jack opened the door. I turned to my left and I was on a soap! "Ah, Mr. Snyder, I am Charles Beaumont, the assistant hotel manager..." I got my lines and we shot the scene fine. "That was a buy," said a voice on the intercom. "What does that mean?" I asked Michael. "That means we're moving on to the next scene," he said. "But I thought we would do several takes..." "I just said that so you wouldn't feel bad if you messed up -- sometimes people panic when the red light goes on," he said, pointing to a camera. Which was quite nice of him, I thought. I found the entire "regular" cast very nice and helpful, across the board. Which cast members did you work with? What was your impression of them?
As I said, they were all very kind. I especially enjoyed doing my adversarial scenes with Lesli, where Molly is trying to get information from me about Brad's whereabouts, and I am snide to her. (Incidentally, the guy playing Jerry the cameraman, Michael Hall, is a friend of mine from NYU -- small world!). What was your overall impression of working at ATWT? It was great on-camera experience. Now I know what to expect in the future. I really admire the actors who do it every day -- it's a cliche to say, "It's not glamorous at all -- it's hard work!" but it's the absolute truth. They get there at 6:30 oftentimes and stay until after five, sometimes much later. They have pages of script to memorize every day, and perform it with almost no rehearsal. Though I doubt Charles Beaumont, the New York assistant hotel manager, would show up in Oakdale, I'd do it again in a second -- Molly needs someone to argue with, after all. Thanks, Jeff, maybe we'll see you in Oakdale. You wouldn't be the first actor to return to the show in a different role! Thank you! |
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