Marlena and John’s rooftop scenes were pretty great. What were they like to film? “What I want to say about the story is that Ron [Carlivati, head writer] really dug deep into the romance of [the couple]. We had to shoot the scenes on green screen, because the background was so important to what we were doing. Unlike a small set in Salem where you think, ‘Oh. There’s a sky over there,’ this is really magical. When you see the depth of the scene and the background, you have a real sense that we went on location, which, in fact, we did. We went to a separate studio to be in a green screen surround. It was fascinating for all of us to see how that looks. We’d done green screen on the show on occasion. I’m not unfamiliar with it. But to have gone into a professional green screen studio, it was thrilling.”
So the show was literally able to drop in any background they chose? “Absolutely. Plus, you get all of it. If you’re on the stage, what you have is the small area behind you in a green screen. This is a larger circular stage, so no matter where you pan on that stage, you’ve got the same background. It’s a panoramic view.”
Did you get to see the finished product ahead of it streaming? “I did not see it. However, I did see it when other people were in the shot, and they were setting up the lighting on it. When you’re looking at it and what [the camera] is actually shooting, you think, ‘How can you do that?’ It’s just fabulous.”
Did it ramp up the drama for you? “Just the investment bespeaks an important storyline.”
Had you ever done a heaven scene before? “I don’t think we have. We’ve seen Marlena levitate, but that’s a whole different story.”
What were the heaven scenes like? “Once again, we had to create a whole set to make that make sense. It’s Marlena, Kayla and Kate. It’s all white gauzy curtains, and it’s painted white. There are some fans blowing. We’re all in white. It’s blown up, light-wise. There’s a very ethereal feeling to those scenes.”
Did you enjoy filming something so different? “The fun part is, because of Covid, we can’t play. We can’t meet. We can’t be in each other’s rooms. But the three of us got to be onstage forever together, and it was the most fun. I love playing with Mary Beth [Evans, Kayla]. I love playing with Lauren [Koslow, Kate]. And we got to play all day long together.”
What did you do in between scenes? “We talked. We yakked. We gossiped. We shared. We laughed. We might have done lines in there somewhere, but mostly we played.”
So all in all the heaven scenes were a fun experience? “It was fun in terms of being able to play with Lauren and Mary Beth. The not fun part was we were on a cement floor and had to be in heels all day long. Because you know what? There are no places to sit down in heaven, apparently.”
