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Harrison Daily Times: Grand soap 'opry' 6/17/07
Topic Started: Dec 3 2007, 04:32 PM (156 Views)
lukeandnoah	Dec 3 2007, 04:32 PM Post #1
Administrator Posts: 98 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: Nov 27, 2007	http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=181...0&PAG=461&rfi=9 Grand soap 'opry' comes to Branson By DAVID HOLSTED, Times Staff davidh@commpub.com 06/17/2007 BRANSON, Mo. - For most folks sitting in the audience at Andy Williams' Moon River Theater, it was their chance for 15 minutes of fame. Well, it was more like 15 seconds of fame, but who's counting? They were going to be part of a national television show. Director Christopher Goutman, standing to one side of the stage, quickly gave instructions to the audience. "Now folks, we're assuming there's music on the stage," Goutman said. "This is the pretend world. Your focus should be on the stage." Goutman asked if the audience was ready, then pumped his fist. A few expectation-filled seconds elapsed before Goutman shouted, "Action!" The audience immediately went into full-clap mode, mixing the applause with whistles and "whooos" as the camera and sound men captured everything. The audience officially became television history as part of the daytime drama "As the World Turns." ATWT cast and crew members were in Branson on June 6-8 taping segments for the popular soap opera. In addition to the Andy Williams Theater, scenes were shot at Silver Dollar City, in the woods near the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery and on the tracks at Branson Scenic Railway. They say the neon lights are bright on Highway 76 For the young actors, who spend most of the year inside a New York City studio taping the show, the trip to Branson was an enjoyable break from the routine. "I actually had never heard of Branson before, so it was a totally new experience," said Jesse Lee Soffer, 23, who plays Will Munson. "It was a lot of fun to come out here and get out of the studio for a little while." For Alexandra Chando, who plays Maddie Coleman, her first inkling of Branson came when she learned that her great-aunt had once made the trip there to see, ironically, Andy Williams. "Branson is very different from New York City," Chandro said. "The people are extremely nice, extremely friendly and polite and mannerly." Soffer and Chando, along with other cast and crew members, were taking a lunch break on a patio in back of the Moon River Theater. It was the last day of taping, and production staff scurried about the halls with headphones on their heads, clipboards in the hands and "I'm sorry, tell me your name again" on their lips. The episodes, which are scheduled to air July 5-6 and 9-10, tell the story of Will and Gwen Munson, played by Jennifer Landon, who travel to Branson in order to further Gwen's singing career. Their friend, Maddie Coleman, goes with them. Jade Taylor, played by Elena Goode, has her eye on Will and she follows the friends in order to stir up trouble. To an outsider, the taping might seem a bit haphazard. Scenes are shot out of order, in different places, at different times. Soffer, who began his acting career at age six in a Kix cereal commercial, admitted that sometimes it did get a little confusing. However, he had little problem keeping the dialogue and scenes straight. "After doing a soap," he said, "you get so used to the volume and the content of the dialogue, sometimes you don't even know where it's coming from." Soffer, Chando and Landon, along with Van Hansis, who was also in Branson, have been nominated for Daytime Emmy Awards. Throughout the busy week, ATWT cast members were greeted by enthusiastic fans. According to the boyish-looking Soffer, he attracted a certain segment of the fandom. "I get the older ladies," he said with a laugh. "The older ladies tend to gravitate toward me. I haven't met any of the young girl fans." I can't help it. It's in my blood. Sage Gibson, 7, and her sister, Savannah, 6, were a couple of young girls who wanted to meet Soffer. Along with their mother, Michelle, and their aunt, Gena Lemasters, they had made the four-hour trip to Branson from their home in Liberty, Mo., to watch the proceedings. They waited by the entrance to the enclosed patio as the ATWT luncheon went on. Michelle Gibson won a contest sponsored by Soap Opera magazine. She and her family would get to meet cast members, and later they had front row seats in the Moon River Theater for the taping. "I thought it was a bill collector," Michelle Gibson said of the call which had come only two days earlier informing her of that she'd won. "I've had hardly any sleep." Michelle Gibson and Lemasters said watching "As the World Turns" is a family tradition that has been handed down since their grandmother watched the very first episode in the 1950s. The Gibson and Lemasters family were soon rewarded for their patience, as Chando, Hansis and Jake Silbermann, Noah Mayer on the show, came over. They kidded with the girls and chatted with the women, then knelt on the pavement to autograph photo after photo. I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Goutman Lunchtime came to a end, and cast and crew made their way back to the auditorium for some rehearsals and run-throughs before actual taping began. Landon, the daughter of late actor Michael Landon, walked out on the Moon River Theater stage and, along with Goutman, went over her character's awe-struck entrance into the auditorium. A few minutes later, Andy Williams appeared, dressed casually in bright yellow sweater and tan slacks, his silvery hair combed back perfectly. Williams listened patiently to Goutman's directions and instructions, nodding from time to time. Following the storyline, Williams then sat in the empty auditorium and listened as wannabe singing star Gwen Munson performed. Goutman, who also serves as the show's executive producer, sat below the stage, hunched over a monitor and observing the scene. "Can we move Andy over two chairs?" Goutman called out, not satisfied with the scene's appearance. Williams complied. "Thanks, Andy," Goutman said. Finally, it was time to begin taping. The doors to the theater were opened and a throng of tourists and ATWT fans, who would serve as audience extras, made their way down the steps. Soffer and Chando, sitting to one side, were kept busy signing autographs, shaking hands and posing for photographs with fans. Soffer, verifying his earlier observation, was the recipient of numerous hugs from grandmotherly, and great-grandmotherly, women. With his cameraman and soundman at his side, Goutman directed scenes at an exit door, in the audience and on stage. A scene usually required several takes before Goutman was satisfied. At one point, while he and Hansis were making their way to their seats, Silbermann drew a blank on his lines. "Sorry," he said, as he reached for a nearby script. Silbermann quickly located his line, studied for a moment, then he and Hansis went back up the steps for another take. Williams, now resplendent in black tuxedo, reappeared and the crowd cheered wildly. He went through some scenes with Landon, also formally attired. During times when he wasn't in the scene, he kibitzed with the audience and did a soft shoe routine, to audience's delight. With script and notes always in hand, Goutman shot scene after scene, a mishmash of action that had no apparent connection with each other. Williams gave the audience a playful look and said, "You can tell this is all out of sequence. It doesn't really happen this way. When it's all put together..." Goutman quickly finished the sentence. "Absolutely," he said, "through the magic of editing." There was a lot more work to do, though, and Goutman wasted no time. He hunkered down next to his monitor by the foot of the stage. "Once more from the top!" Goutman shouted, his voice ringing throughout the theater. "Stand by. He we go. Stand by. We're rolling and...action!" 'As the World Turns' director Christopher Goutman goes over an audience scene with Van Hansis (striped shirt) and Jake Silbermann during a taping of the daytime drama at the Andy Williams Moon River Theater.
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