Kate Mansi Makes General Hospital Directorial Debut, Reveals Co-Star She Was ‘Intimidated’ To Direct
The November 18 episode of General Hospital is one Kate Mansi (Kristina) is likely to remember for the rest of her life: It was the first one she directed! But, the Daytime Emmy-winning actress shared with TV Insider, it’s an opportunity that she’d been hoping to have for many years, dating back to when she starred on Days of Our Lives as Abigail Deveraux and her co-star Alison Sweeney (Sami) stepped behind the cameras herself.
Directorial Debut
Mansi began shadowing directors when she was still appearing on DAYS, and made it clear to GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini when she joined the show back in 2013 that she would love to continue her training there. And with Valentini’s blessing and encouragement, she has been spending the last year observing the show’s directors and shadowing in the control booth. It was on her birthday, September 15, that Valentini called with incredible news, telling her that he felt she was ready to helm an episode and that he had the perfect one in mind.
As Mansi learned more about the episode in question, she realized it featured a pretty impressive roster of Daytime Emmy-winning GH heavyweights, including Mansi’s on-screen father, Maurice Benard (Sonny), Genie Francis (Laura) and Steve Burton (Jason) … and the one actress Mansi said she was especially scared at the thought of directing. On her call with Valentini, Mansi recalled, she told him, “‘The only person I don’t want to direct is Laura Wright [Carly].’ He was like, ‘Why? She’s amazing.’ And yes, she’s amazing as a human and friend and actor, but I was really intimidated to direct her.”
Mansi received lots of love and support on the set as she donned the director’s hat. Francis, for example, “gave me a big hug and said, ‘We need more female directors. I’m so proud of you and inspired by you that you’re taking on something new.'” Her on-screen sister Kristen Vaganos (Molly) even hid out on set, outside of Mansi’s eyeline, so that she could take photos and videos documenting Mansi’s directing. Then, at the end of the day came the scenes with Wright — pivotal ones between Wright’s character and Chris McKenna’s Jack Brennan — that Mansi had been so anxious about.
Reported Mansi, “I was admittedly nervous, and [Wright] could tell,” noting that the Carly/Jack scenes had “a lot of layers [and] some intimate moments.” Mansi envisioned “this passionate make-out scene. I wanted them to take it as far as they were comfortable.” She praised Wright as giving her “complete permission” with her directorial choices that “really allowed me to be bold.”
Not only that, but Wright was thrilled with the way Mansi choreographed the scenes and sang her praises to Valentini and the episode’s producer, Michelle Henry, after blocking, before they shot them, which gave Mansi even more of a boost. “That really made me feel so confident,” Mansi said, describing Wright as “someone who, I can honestly say, practices what she preaches in women supporting women, and on that day, was so gracious and brought so much of herself.” After filming, Wright even called her to compliment the “fresh take” she had brought to the scenes. Shared Mansi, “That meant so much to me, and I really cried.”
But Mansi said she couldn’t take sole credit, giving a special shout-out to Sweeney for not only the inspiration she provided for Mansi to pursue directing in the first place, but for her specific help in creating her vision for the show. She confided, “I called her when I was blocking these episodes, and I said, ‘I just want to blow Laura Wright’s mind. Please help me,’ and then we sort of talked through it together,” Mansi reported. “She gave me some inspiration and some tips, so that was really incredible.”
Conversation
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