Deep Soap: Actors Keep It Real

By Sara A. Bibel
Fancast.com

Victoria Rowell Isn’t Afraid of Burning Bridges
In the latest Internet-Related Soap Scandal ™ Victoria Rowell (ex-Dru The Young & The Restless) has just done a podcast for Daytime Confidential. Most soap actors won’t say anything negative in interviews, even if off the record they hate everything about their show. Not Ms. Rowell. As outspoken as her beloved character, she let loose on her former co-stars, writers and producers. As someone who was writing for the show when she left I feel compelled to offer my response. In my opinion, Rowell is one of the best actresses ever to grace Y&R. Her passion for her work is apparent to everyone who ever watched her in action. Dru was one of the shamefully few iconic African-American soap characters. She was a feisty, strong, intelligent, funny diva who was fiercely loyal to the people that she loved. It was fun to write for Dru. She didn’t pull any punches and could say all the things that fans were thinking. Like Rowell, I choose to believe that Dru survived her trip over the waterfall. In my fantasy Y&R, she is running a hat shop while she waits for her memory to return.

Talented people aren’t always easygoing. Sometimes the most talented are the most difficult. That’s true in any profession. Like most soap writers, I wasn’t on the set so I can’t confirm or refute any of the incidents she discusses. When I worked in the production office, the majority of the cast got along well. I paid little attention to the occasional bouts of high-school like behavior. Writers only find out that actors aren’t getting along on the rare occasions when either the actors or the producers bring it to their attention. Producers are trying to get the show shot on time and on budget. If Actor A and Actor B get into arguments every time they work together, they slow production down. Producers hate that even more than they hate having to referee. Most people have at least one co-worker they dislike. Soap actors get paid six figures to do what they love. In my opinion, unless they’re actually being harassed, they ought to suck it up and behave like adults.

Rowell was one of Y&R’s biggest assets. As she points out, research indicated that Dru was as popular a character as Victor (Eric Braeden) is. Unfortunately there were a number of people, both in front and behind the camera, who found her difficult to work with during her last year on the show. We writers were asked not to put her in scenes with several actors. In my opinion, Rowell is probably right that she was denied an Emmy pre-nomination for her work because some of her castmates chose to vote for other actresses they got along with better. I don’t think it was about racism. Kristoff St. John (Neil) and Bryton (Devon) were both pre-nominated by the same people. Both have won Emmys. Bryton’s was a huge upset. Maybe I’m a Pollyanna, but I think that actors are tolerant enough to set aside whatever prejudices they might have and judge Emmy tapes on merit.

That said, Rowell is right about the troubling lack of diversity in daytime. There should be prominent, multi-dimensional African American, Latino and Asian American characters on every show. It’s not just about providing equal opportunities. The success of primetime shows with diverse casts like Grey’s Anatomy proves that it’s good business. The Emmys are largely white because talented actors of color rarely get Emmy caliber roles. (It’s criminal that One Life To Live let Timothy Stickney [RJ] languish on the backburner before writing him off.) It’s wrong that Y&R doesn’t have any African-American writers despite its primetime level ratings among African-Americans. Given how many writers Lynn Marie Latham hired and fired, the show should have ended up with at least one non-white writer simply due to the laws of probability. The Devon storyline was Rowell’s idea. However, other actors on the show also successfully pitched storylines. None of them were paid writing fees . Coming up with an idea is not the same as actually writing scripts, breakdowns and long term story.

Rowell chose to quit the show mid-contract to the surprise of everyone. The show scrambled to write her out, changing long term story plans. I agree with her that death-by-stock-footage-waterfall was not the best way to do it. I have no idea if her claims about hair and wardrobe are true. As a white girl whose frizzy hair became shiny and lustrous after switching to a stylist with a predominantly African American clientele, I know how different the styling techniques are. If there isn’t anyone on the staff who is good at styling African American hair, then an additional stylist with expertise should be hired. Given how different the wardrobes of Dru and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) were, I find it unlikely that Rowell’s clothes were Scott’s cast-offs.
Fans have been clamoring for Dru’s return since Rowell left the show. I hope that it’s not too late for everyone to mend fences so that the audience will get to see Dru again.
Will They Call It “Suds of Love?”

In more amusing actor news, Variety reports that Antonio Sabato Jr. (Jagger General Hospital: Night Shift) will star in VH1’s latest “celebreality” dating show. Apparently, the show will be shot “like a soap opera” with women participating in the requisite silly challenges for a shot at a phony TV romance. My thoughts are: A) This is the first celebrity dating show where the man is actually hot. B) What does, “shot like a soap opera” mean? Will there be three cameras? Will each scene end with a close-up? Will it go on location in Peapack New Jersey? The article mentions that Sabato will be narrating, which is not a traditional soap device. C) A lot of women who watched GH in the early 90s will be tempted to risk the humiliation of being on a reality show to try out for this one. And by “a lot of women” I mean me. Just kidding. Sort of. D) Sadly, this “guilty pleasure” parody may portray women in a better light than General Hospital does.