The Daring and the Lovely will wrap up Ladies’s Historical past Month in a monumental manner on March 27 with an all-female episode, written and directed by Heather Tom (Katie Logan), who may even seem within the present.
For Tom, who has been directing on the cleaning soap for years and started writing for it final fall, penning the script was a private accomplishment. “I’ve been directing for the present for fairly a while now and I simply began writing for the present in September of final yr, and I’ve clearly been performing on the present now for 17 years, and it additionally occurs to be my thirty fifth yr in daytime,” Tom begins. “So, Brad [Bell, executive producer of B&B] known as me and stated, ‘Hey, I need to do an all-in present the place you write it and direct it and act it,’ which has by no means been carried out in daytime for a large number of causes, nevertheless it’s additionally solely been carried out a handful of occasions throughout any tv platform. I feel there’s two different women [Gillian Anderson on The X-Files and Amy Poehler on Parks and Recreation] which have really pulled that off. So, I used to be fairly honored to be part of that group, and since we’re type of making historical past, we thought that it was essential for it to air throughout Ladies’s Historical past Month.”
The episode, Tom previews, places the emphasis on feminine household dynamics. “I talked with Brad and we determined to concentrate on moms and daughters as a result of I feel that relationship is simply so fraught; it’s probably the most private relationship you may have with somebody in the event you’re a girl,” presents Tom. “Your mom can both be probably the most supportive and probably the most pivotal or a relationship that has quite a lot of drama to mine. So, it primarily takes place between Steffy [Jacqueline MacInnes Wood] and Taylor [Rebecca Budig], who’re type of on this euphoric place of their story, and Brooke [Katherine Kelly Lang] and Hope [Annika Noelle], who’re on this very tumultuous place of their story. After which Katie, my character, additionally had some scenes along with her sister the place they discuss their mom [Beth Logan], who has handed away. I introduced slightly little bit of myself into these scenes simply personally as a result of I misplaced my mom final yr and, effectively, each time I discuss this I cry, however I additionally cry for a dwelling and I’ve been crying for the final 35 years, so I’m a straightforward mark.”
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Tom says she took her time with the script in order that it hit all the appropriate marks. “I write from a really emotional place,” she explains. “I write very a lot from an actor’s standpoint, and hopefully within the voice of the character, so it doesn’t really feel like dialogue might be interchangeable. That’s crucial to me, that it seems like this character is the one one that might say this stuff. So, I did take longer on the script as a result of I actually wished the actors to shine and to provide them one thing to sink their tooth into. I wished this present to be particular. Brad gave me this superb alternative, so I wished to do him proud.”
Carrying a number of hats on the day of filming may have been a problem, however Tom studies it went seamlessly. “It was an incredible expertise; it actually it went off with no hitch,” she shares. “We rehearsed so much, and we actually ready for it. For the scenes that I used to be in, I had a monitor on stage so I may see the photographs. I mapped out all of the photographs as a result of the director has to snap the cues within the sales space, which is troublesome to do in the event you’re on stage, performing, so one other one among our feminine administrators really snapped the cues within the sales space and I used to be capable of see and modify if we would have liked to. Then we simply made positive that we actually rehearsed it in order that the cameras actually knew what they had been doing and the actresses that I used to be working with all felt comfy as a result of the scenes that we had been in had been very, very emotional.”
Tom felt the love all through the day from her coworkers. “I hope they actually loved it; I really feel like they did,” she says. “I feel that they had been very excited to be part of it. This was an all-female present, all the way down to our stage supervisor. Everybody however Casey [Kasprzyk], who’s our producer, however we had been like, ‘We’ll simply put a wig on him.’ The solid and the crew simply have at all times been so extremely supportive of me doing these new endeavors.”
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Making her mark in daytime is nothing new for Tom, who holds information along with her Daytime Emmy wins — at six, she is tied for probably the most gained by a girl and holds the excellence of successful in each class: Excellent Youthful Actress, Excellent Supporting Actress, and Excellent Lead Actress — and feels her laborious work over time has led her so far. “My mom at all times stated that luck is when preparation and alternative meet, so I’ve tried to be as ready as I may for this,” Tom explains. “I went to the CBS directing program and directed exterior of the present, however in the event you don’t get the chance, then the preparation doesn’t imply something. They don’t lower me any slack and I respect that as a result of I wouldn’t need them to. I’m extremely grateful for the chance as a result of this doesn’t occur. To have somebody like Brad simply on my facet and champion me, it flooring me and I’m so grateful.”
Tom says she was thrilled with the ultimate product — “I’m actually proud of it. I hope Brad is, too” — and feels it’s step one in what guarantees to be a memorable yr for her. “I keep in mind signing my first contract once I was 14, turning 15, and it was a three-year deal,” she remembers. “I used to be like, ‘Oh, my God! How am I gonna be right here for 3 years?’ Minimize to 35 years later, it doesn’t appear potential. I used to be on The Younger and the Stressed [as Victoria Newman] for 13 years, and on One Life to Dwell [as Kelly Cramer] for 4, and now I’ve been on B&B for 17. I actually can’t wrap my head round it. So, August would be the official 35th and actually, I can not probably consider a greater method to rejoice it than to do a present like this.”
The Daring and the Lovely, Weekdays, CBS