Behind the Scenes: What happened to Austin? |
Soap opera actors, producers
and directors have been at the forefront of the movement and transition towards
online programming. Securing investors, casting, lower-budget shooting and
building audiences have become the new way of production. This new method
breeds creativity and innovation because old boundaries are removed. The next
challenge is finding the right platform, possibly sponsors, and an audience
amidst the clutter of internet, streaming and traditional TV programming.
By Suzanne Ordas Curry
The latest entry into this
genre is Tainted Dreams, a soap
within a soap, produced by Emmy-award winning director/producer Sonia Blangiardo, who worked on As The World Turns, All My Children and One Life To Live. Tainted Dreams is the story of
the behind the scenes shenanigans behind a fictional soap, Painted
Dreams. For all you soap fans, here's some trivia: Painted Dreams was actually the first daytime radio soap opera program, having been broadcast out of Chicago in 1930.
The
cast is tremendous with a line-up of names any fan of daytime will recognize. I
got a little melancholy just thinking about all these great dramas that are no
more.
RHONJ Dina Manzo, Producer Sonia Blangiardo and Anthony Wilkinson |
The
cast includes: Alicia Minshew (All My
Children), Austin Peck (As the World
Turns, Days of Our Lives, One Life to
Live), Collen Zenk (As The World
Turns), Terri Ivens (All My Children), Kelley Menighan
Hensley (As The World Turns), Grant
Alexsander (Guiding Light), Walt
Whiley (All My Children), Natalia
Livingston (General Hospital), Marnie Schulenburg (As The World Turns), Michael
Lowry (One Live To Live and
All My Children), Bobbie Eakes (All
My Children, Bold and The Beautiful),
James DePaiva (One Life to Live),
Nathan Purdee (One
Life To Live), Larkin Malloy (The Edge of Knight and All My Children),
Illen Kristen (One Life to Live and Ryan's Hope) Tonja Walker (One Life To
Live).
Alicia and Bobbie |
TD
also welcomes RHONJ Dina Manzo (also of Dina's Party on HGTV (Read about Dina's LadyBug Foundation on Suzee). Also new to this medium are Anthony Wilkinson (My Big Gay Italian Wedding and the new My Big Gay Italian Funeral), Lisa Marie Varon (Impact
Wresting) and Jessie Godderz “Mr.
PEC-Tacular” (Impact Wrestling,
Big Brother and CAWLTo Arms) and Paul Moon (Film actor, The Sleeper and Through the Flowers). Journalist Carolyn Hinsey plays herself. There are also some new faces in
the mix.
SuzeeBehindtheScenes went
behind the scenes of this behind the scenes look at a soap opera!. Sonia was
eager to talk about her new project and I talked to actor Paul Moon, who plays
Brian on TD. New to the soap world but with a few films under his belt, you may recognize him from a few appearances
on All My Children. Paul wears many hats in the production of TD.
Suzee: Why are you excited about this new venture?
Sonia: Tainted Dreams is important to me because I was able to tell stories
that have enriched my life for years. It gives you an inside peak on what went
on day in and day out in producing these shows.
Suzee: That is quite a cast, so many familiar
faces that I am sure soap fans would like to see in action again. Tell me about
it.
Sonia: The blessing in all of this is that I
was lucky enough to have a true dream team of actors who not only are the most
talented daytime has ever seen, but passionate about the show and the best,
kindest people I know in this business. I was able to combine all talent that
has crossed my path, including actors from my 2 off-broadway plays, "My
Big Gay Italian Wedding" and "My big Gay Italian Funeral"
and now truly have the best TD family I ever could have hoped for.
Suzee: What are you future
plans for this show, scheduling and story-wise?
Sonia: Since we are
currently looking for the right home for TD, it's hard to predict when we will
be shooting season 2, but my hope is by the summer. As far as story goes, I'm
very happy with how the season has shaped up. We plan on introducing a few key
characters who will be intertwined with some of our established ones. Hopefully
the stories will entertain, make the fans feel and educate them on some social
issues that are part of our everyday lives.
I also talked to actor Paul
Moon, who plays Brian on TD. New to the soap world, you may recognize him from
a few appearances on All My Children. Paul wear many hats in the production of
TD.
Suzee: How did you like working with
this cast?
Paul: It was interesting working as a cast member
and a member of the crew. Being in charge of continuity and set decoration kept
me on set constantly so I got to know all the actors and watch them work.
Working with a mainly daytime cast was amazing. They are some of the most
reliable actors.
Suzee: Have
you learned anything working with these veterans?
Paul: They're
used to being handed a new script everyday of up to or over 100 pages and have
to MEMORIZE it all. They always knew their lines and worked quickly and
efficiently. I feel I learned a lot just from watching them work as well as
being in so many scenes with them all.
Suzee: What else would you like to point out?
Paul: It was
also nice to see reality stars like Dina Manzo and Jessie Godderz work in a
scripted TV show because they rose to the challenge and it was a pleasant
surprise to see the talent that came through. Overall I had a blast shooting
Tainted Dreams and getting to do all the jobs I did. I learned a lot and I will
cherish this experience.
For a sneak
preview of the first three episodes, visit www.TaintedDreamstheseries.com.
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