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The Real Breakdown On Soaps' Head Writers

A little birdie (okay, TV Guide Canada‘s Nelson Branco) suggested we dip into the archives for classic interviews from daytime greats. This week we feature an interview from soap writer/producer Claire Labine. Something you’d like us to track down? Email us at soaplook@soapoperadigest.com.



Talk to any actor on the set of GENERAL HOSPITAL and they will all say, “I love Claire Labine.” The really honest ones will take that one step further and say, “I wish she was my mom.”

Labine’s greatest appeal to them, of course, is what she has done for their characters — and their show — since taking the head-writing reins less than two years ago. (GH fans know that she is mom to two GH employees: associate writer Matthew Labine and Eleanor Mancusi.) Claire Labine’s greatest strength is understanding the soap opera form and how to write interesting long stories while keeping each individual episode entertaining. But equally important to Labine’s current success is her refreshing desire — no, make that insistence — that she is just one little cog in the great Port Charles wheel.

“The absolute gospel truth is that this is a team effort,” the scribe asserts. “Wendy [Riche, executive producer] has been so generous to Matt and to Eleanor and to me. Her trust in what we professed we wanted to do was so stunning and has been so sustaining. Shelley [Curtis, consulting producer/director] is a wonder at pictures; her visulal insights are remarkable. And having Francesca [James, supervising producer] in the booth for continuity… her sensitivity to the material has just thoroughly delighted us. They are all very sweet about saying it starts on the page, but I have had many experiences in daytime when it was on the page — and it did not get to the stage.”

No More.

Digest: Who is your favorite character to write for?

Labine: It depends on what the material is. Let me give you an example: Lynn Herring [Lucy]. She can do anything. She is a master comedian who can turn on a dime and tear your heart out. Each actor surprises us in turn.

Digest: Okay, which character is most like you?

Labine: I would like to be like Mary Mae. There’s a little bit of me in Lois. And I would love to grow up and be like Lucy.

Digest: What has been your most gratifying storyline?

Labine: For crystallized emotion, B.J.’s heart transplant. Finding out what Brad Maule [Tony] was capable of brought me to tears. And [over 1,000] people signed up for organ donation. That absolutely knocked me out.

Digest: What has been your biggest regret at GH?

Labine: I always wish we could do it better. Time is the enemy. There isn’t a day we lay out that I don’t wish I had more time.

Digest: Besides GH, what’s your favorite soap?

Labine: I don’t have time to watch any others. That’s been my plight throughout my whole daytime experience. The only way I can watch GH is to tape it! [My husband] Clem and I watch it at night.

Digest: How is working with your kids?

Labine: Wonderful. I shamelessly draw on their energy, and I get credit for all their ideas and stories. It really is a terrific world.

Digest: Do soaps reflect real life?

Labine: [Former RH writer] Mary Munisteri used to say, “Soap operas are just like life. The only difference is we take out the pauses.”


(This article first appeared in the February 28, 1995 issue of Soap Opera Digest)


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