Tom Casiello is a two-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, who began his soap opera career at "Another World" as a Writers' Intern in 1998. He received his first real writing job as an Associate Head Writer (Breakdown Writer) at "As The World Turns" in 2000, where he won both of his Daytime Emmy's. He left the show in 2002. From 2004-2006, Casiello wrote for "One Life To Live." After a brief stint at "The Young and The Restless," Casiello was reunited with his former boss (Hogan Sheffer; "ATWT") at "Days of our Lives" in late 2006 and worked there until the Writers Strike began on November 5, 2007. In February of 2008, Casiello, along with 8 other members of the writing staff, were unceremoniously let go from the show. So even after going through one of the toughest times in his career, Casiello found the time to chat with this soap opera fan.
Xavier Toups: Why did you decide to want to become a soap opera writer? Did you grow up watching the soaps?
Tom Casiello: I grew up watching soaps. My grandmother watched the ABC shows, and my mother watched NBC. I can't remember a time growing up when a soap opera wasn't being watched somewhere in my house, be it live or taped on a VCR. I loved the whole concept of stories never ending - of characters growing and evolving. I loved seeing a character make a decision based on things that happened to them on camera, three/five/even twenty years earlier. I loved that all of these writers and actors could come together from the past, present and future - and build such a unique world, with so many complex levels. I remember telling all of my friends in high school that someday I'd be a soap writer. Everything I worked for from the second I graduated was to find a way to get my foot in the door. My high school buddies still can't believe I actually pulled it off. [Laughs]
Toups: So when you got the internship at "Another World" you must've been pretty damn excited.
Casiello: That's the understatement of the century. "Another World" was "my show". Of all the soaps I grew up watching, I loved it the most. There were other soaps I loved too - "DAYS," "One Life," "All My Children," etc. But the characters on "Another World" spoke to me on a whole different level. So to not only begin my career there, but also have the opportunity to be there for the last seven months it was on the air? It's a memory I'll always treasure and it was truly a fluke that it ended up being at the show I was so emotionally connected to - my screenwriting teacher knew the head writer at "Another World," and got me an interview. I would have worked anywhere, but to have my first gig be Bay City? I can't even put it in words.
Toups: What does a Writers' Intern exactly do?
Casiello: Handle paper, lots of it. [Laughs] Most shows I've worked at have a couple people working in the writers' office, but "Another World" only had one. So basically, I was the Assistant-to-the-Assistant. I distributed scripts and breakdowns to everyone in the studio, kept a weekly continuity document for all the characters on the show. Served a lot of lunches and coffee and helped with the medical and legal research. I'll always remember "neutropenia" as my first contribution to the soap world - it's the condition that ended up killing Josie's baby.
Toups: For people who might want to get into the soap opera industry, getting an internship is a great way to start. Do you have any suggestions or advice for them?
Casiello: Working in production was absolutely the key to getting my foot in the door of writing. Soaps are such a machine, it really helps in your writing if you get to know all the different departments, and what their concerns are when the weekly breakdowns come out. It just makes you a better writer in terms of the technical stuff. You're writing under such tight constraints. My only advice is to keep knocking on doors, and don't give up, which is so freakin' cliché, I hate myself for saying it. Once you're in? WORK YOUR ASS OFF. There are so many fans out there I've talked to who, like me, wish they could work in soaps. But as important as a love of the genre is, it's all about proving you're a team player, and going above and beyond your job description.
Toups: After "Another World" ended, you joined "As The World Turns" as an Assistant to the Writers. What kind of jobs does the assistant do?
Casiello: It was basically the job I was already doing at Another World, except I got health insurance. [Laughs] And I got to sit in on the writers' meetings and the long story meetings, which was SO INVALUABLE. I really got to see how the writers worked and how each individual writer had a different process, yet still worked together to reach a common goal. I also learned when NOT to open your mouth in a meeting. Took me a few blunders to learn that lesson. [Laughs]
Toups: A few blunders? Anything you're allowed to share….. maybe warn other interns as to not what to do?
Casiello: Well, it's basically this - you're young and you're a soap fan and you finally get your foot in the door. You get a note about a scene or a character and you're impulsive and passionate and you want to tell a network suit: "No! You're wrong!" Meanwhile, you're just a 22 year old kid and these are people who have a job to do, and have been doing it for about as long as you've been a fan. It doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong - they're doing their job and you have to do yours. Sometimes it's better not to be "the fan" and just roll with it. You have to learn to pick your battles, and if they want you to end one scene in a way that doesn't necessarily make you happy - well, it's just ONE SCENE. You have to learn to let things go, otherwise you'll find yourself stuck as an intern forever.
Toups: So after many years as an Intern and as an Assistant to the Writers, you finally got a big break and you got a chance to write an actual episode. Do you remember what it was?
Casiello: Absolutely! It was about two episodes after the Endicott Awards. It was also the first Simon/Katie scene ever actually. We had no plans to make them a couple at that point, but I remember it was the episode where Lily was in Simon's room in the Lakeview, and she told him she was going back to Holden and Katie had just moved into Craig's, after being totally outed at the awards ceremony. I had absolutely nothing for either character to do in the second half of the episode, so I threw them together at the Lakeview bar, with Katie telling Simon he's an idiot for thinking he'd actually break up Lily and Holden - and she should know. So even though I didn't write romance between them, I like to think I planted the seed that led to Simon and Katie. Humor me. [Laughs]
Toups: What are some of your favorite episodes you wrote at "World Turns"?
Casiello: There are so many. Oakdale was such a special place for me, because it was a town I wasn't all that familiar with. So it was the first time in my career that I really had to study a show, because I knew so little about it. I had seen it occasionally growing up, and of course, loved how Doug Marland structured his stories. But a fifteen-year old can only watch so many soaps a day. So I really had to do my homework and because of having to work that much harder, I was prouder of the episodes I turned in. My absolute favorite episode was right after Bryant died. I wrote the day Craig saw his son's body for the first time, and Barbara showed up at the hospital and said she hoped he felt that way for the rest of his life. I still get chills. I also wrote a few key crazy Julia Lindsay episodes early on, and those were a blast. Oh, and I also got to write Jake and Vicky, which was INSANE since "Another World" had just gone off the air. Even though it was ghost-Vicky, it was wonderful to write for Tommy [Eplin] and Jensen [Buchanan], having gotten to know them at "Another World." I wrote Jake saying goodbye to Vicky at the Lassiter swings, on a completely different show - very surreal.
Toups: Next up for you was a stop in Llanview. Was writing for an ABC soap different from a P&G soap?
Casiello: Yes and no. It's different in that ABC/Disney is such a huge corporation, so there's much more of a corporate structure. So it was tough for me to reconcile that with writing for the fans. But "One Life to Live" was a really important job for me, because the same people had helped me get from intern to writer at "Another World" and "As The World Turns" - and I wanted to prove that while I was grateful for all that they did, I was capable of embarking on this career on my own, without relying on others.
Toups: Did you have to go through the ABC Writers Development Program?
Casiello: I did! I had already written for "As The World Turns" for two years, and won both Emmys. But the truth is, that's not a meal ticket. You still need to prove yourself, and I'm so glad I did go through the program. I got to work extensively with Millee Taggert, who was a DREAM. I made some great friends I still keep in touch with, had an opportunity to meet Francesca James, who has such a passion for this genre, I can't even tell you. What I loved about the Development Program was how much they encouraged us to "write to the light", to write real life, to not fall into "soap opera traps." Millee taught all of us to write for character and not plot. We ended up writing General Hospital scripts - not for air, of course. I remember that was the summer Ric was revealed to be Sonny's brother, so it was fun to have a chance to write that story, even if it was just for practice.
Toups: Any favorite "One Life" episodes that you enjoyed writing?
Casiello: I am so proud of the work we did on the Daniel Colson story, and I know I'm going to get flak from some fans for saying that, so I'm ducking for cover right now. I wrote the day after the reveal, when Nora confronted Daniel in the police station - the day that ended with the montage of Marcie taking down the memorial, and Riley drinking again. I remember the song that played - "Wasted." It was such a tough story to write because you wanted it to be true. But being able to write a gay hero in Mark and a gay villain in Daniel was something I don't know if I'll ever have a chance to do in daytime again. I also wrote the day Tess drove Viki to a heart attack, and I LOVED that episode. I remember thinking there was no way I could sell an entire Act Four that had no dialogue - when each of Viki's kids got the call, and it was just set to music. I couldn't believe it when it passed through the notes meeting! Oh, and Jessica/Tess confronting Norman Leeds. Those two episodes were really important to me, as it was subject matter that hit home.
Toups: In late summer/early fall of 2006 you wrote for "The Young and The Restless." How was your stay in Genoa City?
Casiello: Brief. [Laughs] It just wasn't a good fit, and I could feel it from the beginning. It wasn't a personal issue. The people there were really wonderful - I didn't know what it would be like breaking into a Bell show, since they usually hire within their ranks. But they were SO welcoming and SO warm. I really struggled, but that's not a measure of my abilities or theirs. I just couldn't get a handle on the characters or the story, and it showed. I worked really hard to overcome that, but sometimes, you just don't click with a show and the lesson I learned there was that it's okay if that happens. Not every writer can write for every show.
Toups: After leaving Genoa City, you finally arrived in Salem. What was it like when Hogan asked you to come write with him at "Days Of Our Lives"?
Casiello: It was definitely proof that there is a God. I was feeling really down about my abilities after being let go from "One Life To Live" and "Y&R" within six months. Then Hogan called - the guy who gave me my first shot at "As The World Turns" years earlier - and it was for a show I KNEW I had a handle on. I knew those characters and those stories. In fact, I remember writing my first episode - it was a simple little show in January of 2007, and there were a bunch of Marlena/Kayla scenes - and for the first time in ages, I wasn't nervous at all, wondering how my first show would turn out. I remember writing those scenes, and thinking, "I get this!"
Toups: I have to admit, there's been a lot of good and bad things that Hogan wrote, so let's get the bad out of the way first. In early 2007, "DAYS" shelved two supercouples in John/Marlena and Bo/Hope, which frustrated a lot of fans. Why were they back burned for such a long period of time?
Casiello: You know, this seems to be the question I get asked the most by fans. And honestly, I don't have the answer. Sure, I have theories and I'm sure they're not all that different from any of yours. I know money was really tight back then as it is at every soap right now. I know there's one camp that wants to point a finger at Hogan, and another camp that wants to point a finger at Ken, and a third pointing their finger at NBC and the thing is, it's never just one person or one decision at a soap. I knew when we were writing it that the show was missing its heart but for whatever reason, it was the mandate from somewhere. My job was to do the best job I possibly could with the stories I was told to play. I do think some positive things came out of last spring - the character of Chelsea went from a character who was universally loathed to someone much more three-dimensional. We worked hard on redefining who Philip was. It wasn't a total loss but it certainly wasn't the "DAYS" I thought I'd be writing.
Toups: One of the most controversial things to happen under Sheffer's regime was the rape of Sami by EJ. Why did the show downplay this so much? We never saw Sami's family react to her being raped and EJ never paid for his crime.
Casiello: I don't think we downplayed the rape. We certainly played it with Sami, EJ and Lucas. Sadly, not being able to play Marlena at that time really hurt us and we were all aware of that. I really wanted to somehow bring up Alan Harris in all of this - how Sami's been through this before, albeit in an entirely different situation. Look, rape is rape. Period. EJ raped Sami. Alan raped Sami. But the circumstances were ENTIRELY different and Sami is a strong enough woman to understand that. What I would have LOVED to see is EJ really come to terms with what he did over time. Really develop his character to a point of TRUE realization, and not just something wrapped up in a day. I'd love to see him struggle - how great would it be if somewhere YEARS down the road, EJ finally won Sami and then suddenly found himself impotent because of his guilt? This is the kind of story that should develop over time, but unfortunately, soaps don't have that luxury anymore. Somewhere along the way, everything had to be wrapped up in a bow. That's not just a "DAYS" issue. I feel it's like that across the board.
Toups: Then the show later proceeded to a possible romance between the rapist and his victim, which outraged a lot of viewers. What's your honest opinion on this storyline and how the show dealt with the situation?
Casiello: I stand by this - at no point were Sami and EJ a romantic couple while we were writing. EJ may be in love with Sami, but Sami hates EJ. However, she also sees herself in him. So there's a strange compassion she has for him, knowing what it's like to act out, to lie, to manipulate. Sami drugged Austin and slept with him! She's been in EJ's shoes, willing to do anything to get what she wants. She's outgrown that, but she sees in EJ the person she would be if it weren't for the love of Lucas and her family. But she's never once thought for one second she was in love with him. It's what Jake and Vicky were in the 90's on "Another World," pre-romance, or what Craig and Carly were on "As The World Turns" in 2000. It's a soap opera relationship that isn't romantic, but complex nonetheless. I loved writing EJ and Sami because there are so many levels to them.
Toups: The characters of Jett Carver and Jeremy Horton were pretty much a disaster the moment they hit the screen - the acting being a major problem. What else went wrong? Why did they crash and burn so quickly?
Casiello: Rule #1 - Introduce new characters through their families. Rule #2 - Don't isolate them in a story that physically takes them out of the town they live in. Rule #3 - If Rule #1 and Rule #2 are broken, you better pray to God your casting director has found someone who can play levels to the dialogue to save your ass. [Laughs]
Toups: The storyline with Shawn/Belle/Claire on Tinda Lau island was excruciating long. Why did it take them forever to get them off the island?
Casiello: That was a huge timing issue. It wasn't supposed to be that long originally. But there are were a lot of other factors involved - having to save certain things for sweeps, not knowing if we had the actors back to begin the vendetta story, etc. What can I say? The spring was tough for a lot of reasons.
Toups: I wasn't a big fan of psycho Steve in the looney bin either.
Casiello: I loved writing that stuff. I know, I know. Ducking for cover again. Steve's always been such a tortured character. I loved taking him to that dark place. In a perfect world, Jack and Adrienne would have been much more involved. I would have loved some references to Duke in all of that. Steve became a man who abandoned his family. No matter how brief, he did what he swore he'd never do - be a bad father. That was the angle I always looked for, although there wasn't much room for it. As long as you can bring a story on a soap back to families and friends and love, you can salvage anything. I think crazy-Steve worked the best when he was with Stephanie, Kayla and Adrienne.
Toups: Now, onto the good things from Hogan's tenure. I really loved John Black's hit-and-run and death episodes. I thought everything was perfect from the acting, the directing, the writing, and the production values. How did this storyline come about and was it always the plan to resurrect John?
Casiello: Good stuff, right? Man, did Ed Scott deliver. I love that man. I really do. I'd be an idiot to say I know how it came about, or what the grand plan was, because I'm in New York, and they're out in Los Angeles. I was halfway through writing the funeral episode when we were told John was coming back. But we still needed to sell the funeral for one reason and one reason alone - we HAD to get Marlena Evans back to the character she used to be. The strong heroine, the tough shrink, the independent woman. For years, so much of John and Marlena has been about "JohnandMarlena" - with no spaces in between. Both characters really needed to be redefined. I've always loved Marlena, but when I started at "DAYS" I would find myself struggling writing her. She was too perfect, too one-dimensional. After John's "death", it was like Marlena finally came into her own again. She was real to me.
Toups: How was it like to write John's funeral which was such so brilliant and how did you deal with the pressure of writing such a huge episode? It was seriously one of my all time favorite episodes ever.
Casiello: The second I found out about the hit-and-run, I really REALLY wanted to write the funeral. That's not to say Fred [Johnson] or Gordon [Rayfield] or Meg [Kelly] or Hogan [Sheffer] couldn't have written it, and probably done a better job. I just had this whole vision in my head immediately - opening the show on the pier with the flashback, the intercutting of the eulogies, [Grandpa] Shawn's toast, Stefano showing up, ending the show with Marlena alone in their bed. I had the whole thing written in about ten seconds in my head. I called Hogan and begged him. He was great about it - told me to go for it. I remember calling the studio and BEGGING for a bedroom set. "You don't understand! WE NEED TO SEE THIS!" They were so great about it. I was a little worried when I found out they were cutting it into two episodes but it was a real compliment to learn the reason why - Ed didn't want to cut anything out of it. God bless that man and a huge shout-out to Jodie Scholz, who kept all of my favorite moments from the breakdown, and tweaked the things I flaked on. OH! The other great thing about that episode? I got to collaborate with Kristian Alfonso on her eulogy. One of the best things about this business is when you get a bunch of us who love what we do, with no ego, and collaborate to produce the best possible product. I get such a rush off of that.
Toups: Another storyline I enjoyed was the Chloe/Shawn/Belle/Philip quad. I thought all the actors had chemistry with each other, especially Martha Madison [Belle] and Jay Kenneth Johnson [Philip]. What did you think of this quad?
Casiello: Honestly? I didn't love them until Philip and Belle slept together. Suddenly it was like the whole world opened up. Philip became softer, Belle became less chaste and more real and I LOVED LOVED LOVED Hope finding out immediately. What a great move on Hogan's part, amping everything up immediately. When I read it in the projection, I was stunned. I didn't see it coming at all. I have to admit, I was never a huge Chloe fan, mainly because of the Broe/Phloe days. Nadia's great, but I just didn't get the character. But once we talked about the things that have happened to Chloe since she left Salem, I was really excited to write it. I wrote the day of the high school reunion, and that's when it clicked into place for me, who these four were. Chloe and Belle is another fantastic relationship I wanted to continue to explore - they were best friends. That doesn't die overnight. But between Philip and Brady and Shawn, there are so many things in the way of their friendship. That's good drama!
Toups: It's too bad this quad is now over with the firing of Martha Madison and Brandon Beemer [Shawn].
Casiello: I hate it. Plain and simple. I don't understand it, and just hope the show knows what it's doing and this is part of some grand plan I'm not privy to. But I think it's a real loss.
Toups: The "Vendetta" storyline was heading to a huge climax in Ireland just when the damn strike began. You must've been devastated to not be able to write any of that material, to not be able to finish what you guys started.
Casiello: Yeah, it really hurt. It was the first thing that hit me, and I remember it was one of the first strike blogs I wrote - not being able to write the Colleen reveal when it's a character we all helped create. I haven't watched the on air shows from this week, mainly because it just makes me sad. I've heard they were good, and I'm sure they were. But man, I was really attached to that story. Probably unhealthily so. [Laughs] But for a long-term "DAYS" fan like me, being able to tie together twenty years of viewing written by numerous head writers was like a dream come true. A challenge and really, REALLY difficult - but it was so rewarding. Being able to write about why Steve and Hope and Marlena were taken from their loved ones, because no Brady could ever be happy per Santo's wish... tying up Tony and Andre... bringing Anna back, which I never in a million years thought I'd see, never mind write... having Andre and EJ face-off over Kristen and the reason why EJ was conceived in the first place....and what knowing that must do to his psyche... I'm sure any fan would love to be able to dive head first into all of that. I really would have loved to have been there for the finale.
Toups: [SPOILER ALERT] John Black is half Brady, half DiMera! I think that is just genius! It just makes perfect sense. Please give Hogan props from me! What are your thoughts on this and how you hoped this new development would change the lives of almost everyone in Salem?
Casiello: Now we get into "what would you do if you were head writer" territory. Since neither myself nor Hogan nor anybody else on the team will be writing the fallout from this, I have no idea where they'll go with it. I know where *I* would go with it, but that's pretty irrelevant. It gives so much more layering to John now. Not to mention what it means for Brady and Belle. I would love for John, since he's a blank slate now, to explore his DiMera heritage, move into the mansion and have Marlena struggle with having to live in a place where so many of her worst nightmares took place. Plus, Claire is now a DiMera as well. What does that do to Belle and Shawn? I'd love to see the John/EJ connection explored more, since EJ got away with his shooting. There's just so many places to go. I'm really excited to see what Days does with it and I will definitely pass your compliment along to Hogan. [Laughs]
Toups: What other episodes did you just love writing?
Casiello: I loved the episode where Santo and Colleen made love. I loved writing the episode where Steve and Abe think they're going to find Roman in the coffin, and find Benjy instead. I loved writing Lucas and Sami's wedding reception. And I've said it a million times - Thanksgiving and Christmas were really special to me. I felt like there was this desperate cry from so many message boards for old-school soap during the holidays. I didn't want to reinvent the wheel. I just wanted to give you guys what you wanted and those Stefano/Marlena scenes on Thanksgiving were DECLICIOUS to write.
Toups: If you had the chance to work with any soap writer, dead or alive, who would it and why?
Casiello: Not counting the obvious answers [Doug] Marland, [Agnes] Nixon, Bill Bell, I'd love to work with Patrick Mulcahey just to see him work his magic with my worst breakdowns. I'd love to work with Jim Reilly, just to figure out how that imagination of his works. I would have loved to work with Claire Labine at one point, just because she's definitely someone I've studied and tried to learn from. Other than that, I've been very blessed. I've had a chance to work with most of my childhood idols: The Cullitons, Stephen Demorest, Kay Alden, Dick Backus, Leah [Laiman] and Jean [Passanante], Jim {Harmon Brown] and Barbara [Esensten], Ron Carlivati and Shelly Altman and Janet Iacobuzio. I'd watch their names on the credits growing up, and I'm so grateful that I've been given a chance to work with all of them in the short eight years I've been in this business.
Toups: I'm going to say a bunch of names and I would like to know how it was to work with them. First, Ed Scott.
Casiello: A miracle worker. I hope to someday work with him again, because I have nothing but good things to say about him.
Toups: Christopher Goutman.
Casiello: Goutman is the most efficient Executive Producer I've ever worked with. Plus, when I worked at "Another World" and "As The World Turns," he was interested in everyone's opinions on the show, and was really a believer in keeping morale high in the studio. We'd have dinners, parties, luncheons. He made both shows feel like family to me.
Toups: Jean Passanante
Casiello: Jean was great to work under. Smart and witty and so nurturing. She was my first boss at "Another World," and I owe her so much.
Toups: Mary Alice Dyer-Dobbin
Casiello: She scared the hell out of me. I was just a kid, and she was MICKEY DWYER-DOBBIN, for cryin' out loud! In my rebellious youth as an intern, I didn't give her a whole lot of credit. But I have since come to learn that she was truly a great force in daytime. She really wanted to hold on to the integrity of soaps, and we need more of that these days. I wish I had a chance to tell her that now. Who knows? Maybe she'll read this interview!
Toups: And lastly, Ken Corday.
Casiello: Honestly? I only met Ken once, and it really was an honor to meet him. Whatever people think of him, when you suddenly meet Ken Corday, you're kind of in awe. I know he loves his parent's show. Whatever the fans might believe, right or wrong, "Days of Our Lives" is so important to him. He'll do anything to keep it going.
Toups: What was your first impression when you first met Hogan Sheffer?
Casiello: That he was the largest man I'd ever seen? [Laughs] I actually didn't know what to make of Hogan. He showed up at "As The World Turns," and I was FIERCELY loyal to Leah [Laiman], as she had given me the internship at "Another World," and my job at "As The World Turns." I still adore Leah, don't get me wrong, but it's impossible not to fall in love with Hogan Sheffer five minutes after you've met him. He's one of the most well-educated, HYSTERICALLY funny, loyal, talented men I've ever met.
Toups: Do you have any funny Hogan moments that you could share? Just seeing him during the Emmy acceptence speeches - there must be a ton of laughter with that man!
Casiello: Honestly, there are so many, I don't even know where to start. He's got a one-liner for everything, and the thing is - it's not rehearsed. It's always off-the-cuff, and provides so much levity. Usually it's about the story, or about the characters - it's never EVER mean-spirited. I know a lot of times the fans misinterpret the things he says in interviews. It's like reading sarcasm on an e-mail - it never gets translated properly. Plus, this man has seen practically every movie ever made, and he's such a history buff, so we would be laying something out, and suddenly our characters would end up in the plot of some old movie - not on the show, just around the table, talking - or some ridiculous situation and he'd just run with it, and within ten minutes of the joke, somehow Emma Snyder would be in a gasmask or Jack Snyder would come out of the bedroom wearing a harness, and the whole room would have tears in their eyes from laughing so hard. That Jack/harness joke was used eventually when Julia kidnapped him! HAH! I don't know how else to describe Hoag, but the word "gleeful" springs to mind. He takes what he does VERY seriously, but he knows how to have fun with it. You can't ask for a better boss than that: someone who cares so deeply, but never gets himself in so deep that he doesn't enjoy it.
Toups: You've mention that Hogan Sheffer is your mentor. What was like to have him as a Head Writer?
Casiello: I've never seen anyone who can churn out story like Hogan. It's jaw dropping. I remember when he got hired at "As The World Turns," he wrote a two hundred page long story that took us 18 months to tell - beginning with Carly/Craig's return in Hong Kong and ending with Julia being found out as Barbara's would-be killer. Single-spaced. Almost down to every line of dialogue. When he's allowed to, he writes these wonderful umbrella stories that are so interconnected, and so rewarding for a viewer who watches every day for a few years. He gives you so many stories to work with, but is never a dictator. He's open to new ideas, contributions, wants to make sure all of his writers' voices are heard and above all else, he wants what we do to be FUN.
Toups: What are your highest and lowest moments in your soap writing career?
Casiello: The highest was the Emmy win, definitely. The first because I was 25 years old, and I couldn't believe it was really happening and the second because one of the submitted episodes was Bryant's death. As for the lowest, I really can't say there was one. I think if I had to choose, it would be the period between Y&R and Days, as I said earlier. This strike has been really really tough to stay strong in, but I'm managing, with the help of my friends and colleagues. Getting fired from Days was heart-breaking. But as low as those moments were, I was still on a high in many ways. I'm living my dream. I'm doing what I've always wanted to do, for better or for worse. No life is perfect, and no job is perfect. But I said when I was eleven that I would write soaps one day, and I am. So you can bet that no matter how rough the waters get, there's no chance in hell I'm ever EVER going to take that for granted.
Toups: As a fan of the genre, what are your hopes and wishes for the future of soaps?
Casiello: That there IS a future. That the networks realize it is possible to have old-fashioned soap opera storytelling while updating the content to a 2008 audience and that the audience doesn't need things spelled out for them. That while there are more women working, and there aren't as many housewives at home to watch soaps as there were twenty years ago, the audience that IS still watching appreciate nuance, and understand character. They watch prime-time "soap operas" on HBO and Showtime and FX and AMC. Shows where two people are in a room, talking. There's such a rush to blow things up, crash cars, explode planes, have people go on the run, throw a tornado or hurricane into the mix and while there's certainly a time and place for all of these devices, it's not what the audience wants. What was the one moment on any soap this year that got the most attention? A KISS. Doesn't matter if it was gay or straight - it's all about the actual kiss. Not that it was two men but that it was so touching. So moving, so REAL. That's what soaps are all about PERIOD. That kiss. When it's done right, that's all you need to get people watching again.
You can catch Tom Casiello Live on Monday, February 11 at 10:00 PM, EST on In the Zone Radio.
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