The time has almost come for “The Story of Soaps,” premiering Tuesday, May 19 at 9:00 p.m. EDT/PDT on ABC.
In a promo clip, “General Hospital” casting director Mark Teschner and actress Genie Francis (Laura Spencer) talk about what it takes to bring the drama to television screens every day and how demanding a soap day can be overall, even more so than a big-budget movie, and former “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston (ex-Douglas Donovan, “Loving”; ex-Dean Stella, “One Life to Live”) reflects on the conditions it takes for a soap performer to bring honesty and reality to the characters they portray.
“We shoot about 120 pages a day. A movie is 120 pages. We move fast. It’s intense. It’s very demanding,” says Teschner as several behind the scenes clips from classic soaps, including “GH” and “One Life to Live,” are shown. “It looks easy when you see it but all of the production elements that go into it, the acting, the writing, the directing, the producing, the lighting, the hair, the makeup…we’re putting on a movie every day.”
Meanwhile, Francis ponders at times why she got into the business of soaps to begin with. “Why do I do this? Why do I put myself through this?” she contemplates. “Because I love to tell stories. I love it. I like to take people on that ride, and if I get a good story it’s really fun to act,” says Francis as prior scenes between her and onscreen grandson Nicolas Bechtel (Spencer Cassadine) play out in the background.
As for Cranston, he says, “That condition really tests a performer to be able to look every single day at ways that you can bring honesty and reality to that character in those scenes.”
Watch a clip from “The Story of Soaps” below and make sure to follow the conversation online using the hashtag #StoryofSoaps.
“The Story of Soaps” airs Tuesday, May 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.