Watch Martha Byrne on Crisis April 6th, also appearing at
Casino Night for Bergen CASA April 8th. Tickets still
available.
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| Martha Byrne is Spokesperson for Bergen CASA |
If you’re a fan of TV, have watched NBC in the past month, or
been on YouTube, you’ve probably seen the suspenseful promo for NBC’s newest
crime thriller Crisis, starring Dermot Mulroney, Gillian Anderson,
Rachel Taylor and Lance Gross.
In those intriguing commercials one may see a
very compelling scene of a woman with a row of bombs strapped to her waist,
standing in the lobby of the CIA, hysterical, about to push the button on the
detonator in her right hand. She emits a terrifying, “Help me”.
Here's the link:
Here's the link:
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| Will she activate the detonator? |
The woman with the suicide vest is Emmy Winner Martha Byrne. Generations of viewers may recognize Martha for her role as Lily Walsh Snyder on As the World Turns for two decades. Since departing the show this Jersey Girl has continued to keep busy in the field of entertainment, producing her own web drama (Emmy-nominated Gotham, available on Vimeo), played the evil Andrea Floyd on General Hospital, wrote scripts for Bold and the Beautiful, starred in the yet to be released film, Preying for Mercy and built a talent agency in NJ. Performing being Martha’s first passion, she auditions as much as possible.
“This role on Crisis was all about timing,” she said. “There is
no such thing as a coincidence. I’m a firm believer in that. People come in and
out of your life for a reason. Sometimes you understand why in the moment, and
other times you don’t realize it until many years later.”
She states, “Fred Keller, someone I
worked with as a child and directed #Crisis, called me and said there was a role
I was right for on the show and I should have my manager submit me. After
putting myself on tape and waiting to be approved by the production
company, (20th Century Fox)
and #NBC, I found out I got the role of Marie. So I flew out to Chicago this
past winter several times for filming. If you can believe it, it was colder
than Jersey”.
Martha plays Marie Wirth, the wife of Congressman. The premise
of the show is an evil mastermind (Dermot Mulroney), has kidnapped a bunch of
students on a bus on their way to a field trip. The students are from an elite
school in Washington DC that the President’s son attends as do children of
other VIP’s in the DC area. Some critics have called it very “24-like”.
“I’ve done a lot on intense scenes in my life,” she said,
talking about this role, "But getting into character, getting into the
mind of that mom, with bombs strapped to my body, well, that was not just
challenging but chilling.”
The promo and premise for the show is, “What would you for your
children?” In the series, the kidnappers make outrageous and deadly demands on
the parents and sometimes - just sometimes as we are starting to see - the
parents actually get their kids back. Keep in mind the demands are not easy, and
parents are pushed to the brink to fulfill them. Hence we see in the promo that
Martha is willing to blow up herself and innocent people to get her daughter
back. (For recaps of the show visit: http://www.suzeebehindthescenes.com/2014/03/nbc-crisis-episode-1-recap-if-you-are.html and check out the Crisis page)
Ironically, as a mother of three, Martha knows that parents
would do whatever they can to protect their children. Though the show is for
entertainment, she finds crossover in that parents really do anything for their
kids. She says, “I’m fortunate that I had two great parents that were
always there for me and supported me in whatever I did. All parents make
sacrifices for their children, sometimes those sacrifices are more extreme than
others.” She continues, “And it isn’t always a parent who sacrifices something
for a child, it can be someone outside the family unit that can be a child’s greatest
hero.”
"I’ve been thinking for some time that I’d like to help
children who don’t have parents or are victims of family tragedies and
struggles. I’ve been on the Professional Advisory Board for St. Jude’s
Children’s Hospital for over 10 years and love my work with the organization. I
continue to be an advocate for the children of St. Jude every day. Children are
our most innocent and the future of humanity. I wanted to expand my support to
children who are in foster care. I’d heard too many
stories of children who slipped through the cracks of the system. It was
breaking my heart"
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| Theresa Kehoe, Bergen CASA program director and Spokesperson Martha Byrne |
"Someone I know who was fostered told me about CASA for
Children. It’s a little-known national organization that has chapters all over
the US, usually on a state and county level, that provides one-one-one
advocates for each child in the foster care system to help insure that they are
getting everything they deserve. They legally advocate for the child as well as
giving emotional support. They are the voice of each child. These kids have a
social worker, but that social worker may have dozens of children to place, so
these advocates are really the only ONE person who is dedicated to them.”
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| Kyle Dubiel and Max Mucha make a last minute check |
“I went on the Internet and called my local office, CASA for
Children of Bergen County, and asked about becoming an advocate. The training
process was not too bad, but there was a one year commitment and I knew with my
work I would just feel terrible if I was not there for the child when they
needed me, so I figured I would put that on hold for awhile.”
“Then, and this goes back to nothing ever being a coincidence,
a friend who volunteers for Bergen CASA asked me if I could help out by
becoming their spokesperson. She said that the organization in Bergen needs
awareness and also that she didn’t think CASA had any current spokespeople
anywhere. “I jumped at the chance. That would be perfect,” I said. “Just tell
me what you need me to do.”
Martha’s first project for CASA for Children of Bergen County
was filming a public service announcement for their annual fundraiser, Casino
Night, which is being held for the third year at Season’s in Washington
Township, NJ, on April 8th. The video was filmed by two Mahwah high school film
students, Kyle Dubiel and Max Mucha. “They were great,” said Martha. “They came
to my house and were so professional. It was a fun project for all of us.” View the video here:
Martha said that the video was already featured on In the
Spotlight on News12NJ, courtesy of Della Crews.
“So come over to Casino Night", Martha added, "and if
you can consider helping out your local CASA in some way. There are so many
ways to help this organization and children in foster care in general.”
Tickets are still available for Casino Night for CASA for
Children of Bergen County. The event runs from 6:00-10:00 at Season’s in
Washington Township. Donations for baskets and sponsors are welcome. For more
info visit: www.BergenCASA.org.
For more information on Martha and Crisis please Like/Visit her
on Facebook at:
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