Robin Strasser
Dorian Lord
"Better to make the wrong choice than no choice at all." That's the motto that Emmy Award- and Soap Opera Digest Award-winner Robin Strasser, one of daytime's best loved and hated performers, says she'd like to see on her tombstone. Now playing the quintessential woman viewers love to hate‹Dorian Lord on "One Life to Live"‹she also created the role of Rachel Davis on "Another World" and played Christina Karras on "All My Children."
Strasser attended the High School of the Performing Arts in New York City and Yale School of Drama on a full scholarship. Because theatre is her first love, she's been seen on Broadway in "The Shadow Box" and "Chapter Two." She's also a founding member of San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater. Back Stage spoke to Strasser (where else, but backstage?) as she ran lines for a project she's very excited about: returning to the N.Y.C. stage for the Dec. 16 opening of "Freedomland," at Playwrights Horizons. She notes, "It's delicious to be this frightened at this stage of my life!"
"My first work in the soaps was a great gift." Strasser recalls, "I had a steady paycheck at 21 and Constance Ford playing my mother taught me an awful lot." She observes, "These days schools teach more about working on camera and film. I still like to play my role with 50-seat theatre energy. I never was one of those whispering soap actresses. I always want to be bigger than life." Laughingly describing herself as "a repeat offender," she notes that at one point she took a six-year hiatus from soaps (which she's been involved with for close to 30 years) and starred in a number of prime-time mini-series. She had recurring roles on "Knots Landing," "Coach," and did many guest shots as well.
Strasser tries to stay away from analyzing her very popular current role of Dorian Lord. "I'm inside her. I feel if I comment on her, it sets me up to always have to play her the same." She especially enjoys and misses "the magnificence of how a live audience changes a performance," while adding, "I love what I do and think it's a privilege." Although her soap audience may not be there in person at a taping, Strasser stresses that she gets a great deal of feedback, respect, and affection from fans, via the Internet. "They notice everything there," she confides. "The road to hell is paved by compromising or underestimating your audience's standards and intellect." She never has trouble keeping her roles fresh: "I can't just toss one off; everything matters to me. I guess that's why I'm cast to play characters like that."
Strasser also enjoys wearing other entertainment hats, recently shooting and editing a video that is very close to her heart, on options for women seeking support during mid-life transition‹something she couldn't find on the market when her own entry into perimenopause "scared the heck out of me." She is a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher and her own daily regimen includes yoga and a 45-minute walk. She enjoys directing and teaching, and has donated teaching soap classes to benefit Broadway Cares. Her advice includes: Own the part, make strong decisions and rich audition choices, [because] they're waiting to see what you can offer. Be unpredictable, even a little crazy, but don't be passive. Invest in what you're doing; never make a vanilla or gray choice; and take the net away from your acting. Especially in soaps you get very little time with a director and have to do your homework and create your own back-story for your character.
‹Amelia David
Wortham Krimmer
Rev. Andrew Carpenter
"Nothing I tell you is going to be unique or original," warns Wortham Krimmer, displaying his wry, often self-deprecating disposition at the onset of our interview. "Anything I say you will have heard from another actor."
Oh, don't be so sure of that. After all, not every actor is as articulate and passionate with his responses as Krimmer is, whether he's contemplating the future of "One Life to Live" or musing about how lucky he's been in both the personal and professional spheres. And how many times have you heard an actor describe himself as a type of financial investment?
"I look at myself as a really good mutual fund," Krimmer says, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but using the analogy to illustrate the gradual ascension of his career. "If you drew a line through it all, it would be a steady upward line. I haven't had the big ups and I haven't had the big downs. I'm not one of these speculative stocks that make a lot of money real quick and then you never hear from them again."
Krimmer admits that his cautious approach to the business may have prevented him from reaching greater heights. But the actor, who brings spirit and subtlety to the pragmatic and altruistic Rev. Andrew Carpenter, considers not just himself, but also his family in the career choices he makes. Since getting his MFA from the American Conservatory Theater, he's embarked on a series of acting jobs that have offered security. In addition to stage roles in California‹at ACT, South Coast Repertory, and the Mark Taper Forum‹he had a recurring role on CBS' "The Paper Chase" for four years, which was followed by 270 episodes of the syndicated series "Family Medical Center." His daytime debut came in 1989 as Cal Winters on "Days of Our Lives," a private investigator whose obsession drove him to commit murder. And in 1991 Krimmer began what has become an eight-year odyssey with "OLTL."
"If I were a single person, I'd be much more risk-taking. But I'm a dad," he chirps, his voice ebullient and proud. "I'm home with my family 10 to 15 days a month, and I'm completely unencumbered." Born and raised in Chicago, Krimmer presently divides his time between Manhattan, where "OLTL" is taped, and California, where he makes his permanent home with his wife of 20 years, Mary Ellen, and their children, Max, 10, and Tess, five.
That's not to say that Krimmer would stay with "OLTL" merely to pay the bills. In fact, two years ago, he was miserable and prepared to make his exit in six months. But when new producers and writers were brought in, he was persuaded to stay. "What they had planned was wonderful," he recalls. "If I feel they're really appreciating what I'm bringing to the table, that's enough for me. I don't need a lot; I just need enough.
"If someone offered me a good role on the West Coast that was equal in pay and in challenge and in all other respects to what I've got here, I would fulfill my contractual obligation to "One Life to Live' and take it. But the way the industry works is you've got to leave a job and take a chance, and with a 10-year-old and a five-year-old, that's not easy to do." Krimmer has been able to squeeze in TV series guest spots during breaks from the show‹including several appearances as Emperor Cartagia on "Babylon 5"‹but notes that winning a role and being able to fit it into your schedule is a complex maneuver.
As one of only two actors currently on daytime who play a member of the clergy, Krimmer says he feels a certain responsibility to sustain the integrity of the character, but he doesn't want to see Andrew become too holy for his collar. "I feel a responsibility to push the envelope in terms of how you depict clergy," he maintains. "It's been an interesting journey over the last eight years to go from a somewhat straitlaced clergy figure to someone who has experienced divorce and children and affairs and throughout all that strives to be a good person."
And Krimmer doesn't feel stifled as an actor by Andrew's virtuous disposition. "In any form, the bad guy is generally the catalyst," he observes. "The good guys then react. So I think some actors equate being in the reactive role to passivity. I've never found being reactive passive. I've found it to be just what it is‹re-active."
While some actors feel drained by the soaps' fast-paced shooting schedules, Krimmer contends that they stimulate his performance. "I've always viewed daytime television as controlled improvisation," he says. "We never have enough time to prepare, so as a result we're on the fly, and that creates an improvisational energy that I think keeps things fresh."
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Asked about his most memorable story lines, Krimmer first mentions the landmark homophobia one that "OLTL" produced in 1992, in which Andrew was falsely accused of seducing a young male parishioner. After becoming a victim of bigotry, Andrew arranged for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt to come to town, revealed that his late brother had been gay and had died of AIDS, and added his brother's panel to the quilt. Krimmer next cites the recent love triangle in which the newly divorced Andrew had an affair with a woman who was married, but only as part of a financial arrangement. Krimmer got flack from fans for the story line, but says it was because Andrew was coming between a couple fans were rooting for‹T a (Florencia Lozano) and the immensely popular Todd (Roger Howarth).
"[Viewers] understood that for Andrew this was a holy war," Krimmer says. "He viewed himself as really fighting the devil fora's soul." Now that Howarth has left the show, Krimmer adds that he'd like to explore some of the unresolved areas of Andrew anda's relationship.
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Although he'd love to have the time to squeeze in some theatre roles, Krimmer says he's content with his life so far‹something that became immediately apparent during a frightening encounter just after the Thanksgiving holiday. He was on board the United Airlines flight that had to make an emergency landing in Denver after the cockpit caught fire.
"During that 15- or 20-minute descent into Denver, there was a time when I thought to myself, this might be it. And I didn't have a single regret. I've done exactly what I set out to do. I'm a working actor, I have an incredible family, and that's what I wanted to experience."
‹Diane Snyder
Erika Slezak
Victoria Buchanan Carpenter
Imagine you're a young actress who grew up in Hollywood, with a respected film and Broadway actor (Tony Award-winner Walter Slezak) as a father and role model. After the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and starring in four seasons from Shakespeare to Noel Coward, you find yourself in New York for a secret casting session. Add to the mix that you're also hired in secret and are replacing an actress who doesn't yet know she's being replaced. Sound like a soap opera plot? So began the 28-years-and-still-going-strong relationship between Erika Slezak (Victoria Buchanan Carpenter) and "One Life to Live."
Slezak has been honored with a record five Emmy Awards for Victoria, known fondly to "OLTL" viewers as "Vicki." Her character has had to fight multiple personality disorder (She was the first to do so in daytime television‹"What fun to get to be so many different people!" she exclaims.) and rebuild her life, while dealing with divorce and feelings resurfacing for her ex. She's had story lines involving the Old West and Heaven too, but believes in leaving what happens to Vicki for "only the writers to decide." She recalls, " "All My Children' and "One Life to Live' had the same casting director and I was read and hired in secret. I came into the role almost three years into the show. People were very welcoming and within six months we were like a family. With the kind of schedule we have, you have to be."
The multiple productions of a repertory season prepared her for the sometimes 100 pages of dialogue daily, allowing her to stay focused enough to nail the one take usually allotted to shoot all three acts and prologue. (That was the style of the original half-hour "OLTL." The expanded hour-long format still gives her 100 pages each day.) Nothing, however, prepared Slezak for changes created by working with a soap's multiple cameras. "Thank God for director David Pressman," she confides. "He taught me how to work for TV. Without him I would've been fired." The stage-trained actress, whose goal has always been to appear in a Broadway play, continues, "The hardest thing for me was to switch from doing stage-in-the-round to learning how to bring truth and honesty while staying in the camera frame. You have to control your intensity. I used to drive the audio man crazy with my voice." She laughingly observes, "With mikes today you can whisper. Now they have to remind you to speak up."
While Slezak knows that soaps are sometimes suggested to actors as a "training ground" she adamantly stresses, "This is not a kindergarten. If that's what you're looking for, I say go elsewhere. Don't stop off here; this is not easy. It takes concentration and discipline and always being prepared. I've seen people come to soaps from film, who are used to shooting two pages in a day, and they're shocked by how hard this is. My husband [actor Brian Davies] says it's a miracle it gets done at all."
When considering the question of how she keeps it fresh after 28 years, she answers without a moment's hesitation: "That's my job‹to be fresh and make it real and be interesting every day. Slezak's regimen includes getting a lot of sleep, and she finds she must be alert the moment she arrives at work. "People don't realize there's very little time to prepare. Be ready to take all the rehearsal you can grab." She'll keep working "as long as I still enjoy it and can take pride in what I do."
‹AD
Robert S. Woods
Bo Buchanan
Cowboy boots and bolo ties were mainstays of Robert S. Woods' wardrobe when Bo Buchanan, the younger son in a wealthy and powerful Texas family, strode onto "One Life to Live" in 1979. In the years since Bo's arrival in Llanview, Pa., with brother Clint and dad Asa, his western attire has given way to more conventional garb. Still, he remains an endearing and popular character, defying the soap opera success odds that say characters who are exceedingly heroic and happily married yield a high yawn factor for both actor and audience.
A large part of that is due to Woods' performance. His ability to turn in one splendid performance after another isn't something that goes unnoticed by his co-stars. "Bob Woods' level of consistency is unbelievable," praises co-star Wortham Krimmer. "He's like a baseball player that bats .350 year after year."
"The Buchanans are still interesting guys, and I think it takes a lot of effort to maintain that as long as we have," says Woods, who's still working side by side with onscreen father Phil Carey. (Clint Ritchie, who plays Bo's brother, recently announced he's leaving "OLTL" this month after 19 years.) "We've been like a family. We've really worked closely and fought and been there for one another."
This year alone Woods has had more meaty scenes than many daytime actors half his age, who are traditionally thrust into the spotlight to woo younger viewers. Bo was charged with killing his wife's perky young assistant (whose sexual advances he rebuffed), lost his job as police commissioner when the allegations were pronounced, was held hostage in a cabin until the real murderer confessed, and ran off for a couple of days with his son's body after the rookie police officer was killed in the line of duty. For Woods, who won a Daytime Emmy in 1982 and has been nominated three times since, scenes of such enormous emotional intensity, like those involving Bo's son's death, are the most difficult to play. "Death scenes are always kind of challenging," says Woods, who also has had to respond to the deaths of a couple of Bo's wives over the years.
Like his character, Woods comes across as affable and sincere. The day before Thanksgiving, when he had a particularly hectic shooting schedule, the California native found the time to greet a tour group that his wife, former "OLTL" actress Loyita Chapel, was taking around the studio, and to speak with Back Stage over the phone.
When Woods joined "OLTL," he had a background in theatre (starring with Dorothy Lamour in "Barefoot in the Park") and prime time TV (most notably in the recurring role of Dr. David Spencer on "The Waltons"). He didn't expect to stay beyond the duration of his three-year contract, but he hung around until 1985, when he left the New York soap to return to the West Coast. There he took on some stage and TV roles, including the part of Commander Eugene Lindsey in the miniseries "War and Remembrance" and a stint on "Days of Our Lives."
The artistic and financial rewards of daytime brought him back to "OLTL" in 1988 and still keep him there. "When my friend Danny Lauria was grumbling about doing "The Wonder Years,' I said, "What are you worried about? They're throwing movie-of-the-week scripts at you; you're making a great living,' " Woods recalls. "He said, "Yeah, but I'm an actor and I wanna work. You do more in a week than I do in an entire season.' "
That may be a slight exaggeration. Woods, like all daytime actors, has been through stretches where his character was in the background for some time. But "OLTL" has not only kept him busy but has offered him the chance to inject some of his own life into the role. His 15-month stint as a Green Beret in Vietnam inspired the decision to make Bo a veteran of that war. "There were real pictures of me in Vietnam in Bo's office," Woods remembers.
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The former cotillion dance class student has also enlivened the show with his electrically charged dance numbers with Hillary B. Smith, who plays Bo's wife, Nora.
If the itch to work on other projects creeps up, Woods tries to work them around his soap schedule. One goal is to produce and star in a series of TV movies based on the Garth Ryland mystery novels by John R. Riggs. In the meantime, Woods' popularity as Bo affords him the sort of job security few actors ever know, and it also leaves him with a solid financial base and plenty of time to spend with his wife and their son, Tanner.
"You can buy a house, you can raise a family and know that you're not gonna have to move or travel," Woods reflects. "There's days off in the middle of the week, and for an actor to know where he's gonna be working next year is pretty hot. You can make some plans."
‹DS