The Substitute
Soap Opera Digest: Did you know you would be working with Nick Stabile (ex-Mark, BEACH) as Fox?
Priscilla Garita: No, I didn’t. Not until the deal was done. Obviously, they didn’t want to say anything. I’m not sure if we’re going to be working too much together, according to Jackie [Briskey, casting director]. Kathleen Noone [Edna; ex-Bette, BEACH] is over there and Leigh Taylor-Young [Katherine; ex-Elaine, BEACH], so seeing all these familiar faces, in addition to the people behind the scenes [is great].Digest: Have you met the cast members yet?
Garita: I had a wardrobe fitting and they took me around to hair and makeup and so on and so forth. Then [Casting Associate] Don Phillip Smith took me all over; I didn’t meet one cast member. That is all going to be a surprise tomorrow.Digest: Are they changing your appearance?
Garita: No, because my hair is long again, so I think they were pleasantly surprised to see the similarities are pretty on-target with the dark, long hair and dark eyes. But I’m going to be wearing a [fake pregnancy] belly. We’re making that slight adjustment, which is really entertaining for me. I got to do that in wardrobe yesterday. I was really happy, actually. It’s really neat.Digest: Did you take it home with you to get used to it?
Garita: I said I would like to spend the day with it, but in that little time I was there, you quickly take it on because this particular belly is, I think, true to weight; it’s not just filled with foam. It actually has some substance to it.Digest: Who is your first scene with?
Garita: Pilar. When I was reading my first scene, she says “Mama” a lot and I said, “I need to find out how Theresa has been saying this.” I don’t want to go in there and say something different and then it would just take everybody out of the character. I want to keep the flow as if there is no change. I don’t want to disrupt anything.Digest: Have you been watching PASSIONS?
Garita: I haven’t caught Theresa, but I’ve caught Luis and Miguel and some of the other characters. That’s how I found out that Leigh Taylor-Young is on the show. I was like, “Oh, my God, I know her.” When it first came on, I watched it. But I generally don’t watch too much TV. But it’s neat getting into a new show I’m not familiar with.Digest: What have you been up to since BEACH?
Garita: I’m [living] on the East Coast now. I reside in Connecticut, but I go into the city a lot, either for castings or different projects. Outside of acting, I’ve been substitute teaching. I was thinking of different possible career changes and I thought, “Well, let me start with substituting and see.” I love kids and I was entertaining the thought of being a teacher. I would have to go back and get my master’s degree because I have my bachelor’s but I don’t have the teaching certificate. So, I was doing a lot of that.Digest: What grades have you been teaching?
Garita: I was doing K through 8. I didn’t want to venture out of that. It doesn’t seem like a wide range, but they are so different. It’s a lot of very, very hard work. In doing that, I have found that I am still too in love with the art of acting and I wasn’t ready to go back to school full-time. But it’s a nice change and you learn so much from the kids as an actor. They don’t put on a separate face, they’re not socialized yet in certain ages and you can learn a lot of different behavior from children.Digest: Do their mothers recognize you from SUNSET BEACH?
Garita: I didn’t see the mothers as much, but I would run into people who I actually went to school with that are now teaching because it was in the vicinity of my hometown. So people were like, “I heard you were on TV. I saw you.” And I’m like, “Not in front of the kids! Not in front of the kids!” I didn’t want them to start questioning me about that rather than sticking to the curriculum. I had another woman who was substituting as well … I was taking the kids to lunch and I think they were third-graders, and this woman did a double take and looked at me really strange and I was like, “Hello.” And she said, “God, you just look so familiar. You look just like somebody on TV.” And she started laughing. I said, “Oh, really? What show?” She said, “Oh, my God, you’re probably her, aren’t you?” I said, “I don’t know. What show?” She said, “I can’t even remember the show now.” I said, “Was it daytime, nighttime?’ She said, “It was daytime and it was SUNSET BEACH. You’re her, aren’t you?” Laughing, I said, “Yes, I actually am.” She said, “Can I have your autograph?” I said, “Not in front of the kids.” Sure enough, she found out what classroom I was in and she came to me and had me sign my autograph for her. I was laughing. The kids heard some of it and were like, “You were on TV?” It’s amazing how dedicated soap fans are and faithful. That was four years ago and she still remembered my face.Digest: Any changes in your personal life?
Garita: I’m dating one man. It’s been a great thing. I don’t know what the future holds. If everything turns out the way we dream, I guess, then yeah, I’ll be married some day, but right now we’re just trying to take it slow, day by day. It’s difficult because he’s never dated an actress, so getting up and getting a call and then two weeks later, you’re gone is a different experience for him. Marriage is a big step. I’m very old-fashioned in that respect. I want to hold true to the words of “till death do us part.” And I know that’s a big thing to try to hold on to. If things go wrong, you have to let go. I hear divorce is at 60 percent. I hold on to that girl who thinks Mommy and Daddy will be together forever. I would love to be married and I would love to be a mother of several babies. Maybe two or three, but all when the timing is right. I want to be as prepared as I can be and try to be the best mom I can. Some day, hopefully.
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