What makes you laugh the most on set?
NP: Goofing around with Rach between takes. We’re both incurably and wonderfully nerdy, and we make each other laugh a lot. Not to sound like a total cheeseball or anything, but one of my favourite sounds on set is Rachael’s laugh, not the little laugh that she gives when she finds something mildly amusing, the kind we all have, but the hearty, genuine, completely uncontrollable laugh that comes out when she thinks something is effing hilarious. Gets me every time….
RHF: The whole filming process is just the most bizarre and hilarious experience when you look at it – we’re all standing around, having these really intense teenage experiences while literally two feet away there’s a microphone the size of my head with a fuzzy cover that, I swear, makes it look like a muppet, call it the muppet mic , a big white/silver fabric disc whose sole purpose is to bounce light directly into your eyes, and, like, a twelve person crew you just nerded out with over lunch! It’s actually the weirdest way to make a living ever – you either laugh or go nuts.
What’s the filming schedule like for the episodes?
RHF: Generally, we get three scripts a week or two before filming. During those two weeks, we have a read-through with the full cast of all the episodes in attendance and Tina and Susan make sure everything is clear and all their teen slang is used more or less correctly. We film those episodes usually Thursday to Sunday, give or take. Tina and Susan know what they’re looking for, so if something’s not clear or can be better, it usually gets caught in that first reading.
Do you use anything like music to help you get in the mood for a scene?
RHF: Actually, no, which is weird, because I remember I used to do that a lot guess we’re pretty lucky – the chemistry we have as a cast onscreen is pretty similar to how we are as friends off-screen, so unless a scene is hyper-emotional, just hanging out with each other is usually enough to get us into each other’s rhythms.
To be honest, it’s not so different if the scene is hyper-emotional. In that case, it’s a matter of imagining what would happen if I could never be with that person or have the joy of that relationship again. Those preps aren’t quite so much fun as just eating string cheese with the cool kids, though.
NP: Ya know, I don’t think I’ve ever used music towards this purpose on the set of ABM, but I definitely have for plays I’ve been in. Music is a huge part of my life, and is, in my opinion, the most evocative thing out there, more so even than smells, images, or other stimuli that conjure our emotions. I think it’s a great tool for setting the mood, and I like using it when I can, and perhaps I will when we shoot future seasons of ABM. If I had to pick a few songs to prepare for especially emotional/sad scenes between Aster and Viv, I might go with Sarah MacLaughlin’s Hold On, or Ani’s Sorry I Am, as both remind me of hard times with my first girlfriend.
Have you watched any movies or read any stories to inspire your performance or understanding of the characters and their relationship?
RHF: Mostly I read my old journals, which was fairly boring, because I already knew what happened, read a lot of coming out stories on the internet, talked to a few of my own out friends, and on Tina’s recommendation read a very interesting young adult trilogy, Uglies/Pretties/Specials by Scott Westerfield, a coming of age sci-fi series with a strong and complicated female relationship at the centre, very cool and edgy. Weirdly enough, I don’t remember if I watched any movies on the subject; I don’t think I did. Although I love movies, like love movies, bordering on truly-deep-seated-obsessive-kinda-scary love, emotional experiences tend to stay with me and affect me more through the written word, I guess because there’s no real barrier between the story and your mind, you know? It’s a bit more direct.
NP: In general I draw inspiration from most things I see, in the world and on the screen, it’s part of being an actor. You don’t even realize you’re doing it most of the time. But have I ever done it consciously insofar as Aster/Aster-Viv is concerned? No. Been through a lot of their turmoil myself, so I didn’t feel like I had to do a whole lot of extra research in order to make it come alive.
What would you like to see happen to Viv and Aster? It seems such a fairytale coupling, can they be together forever?
RHF: Oh man. I hope they can be, but they’re just in high school! The part of me that’s Vivian wants them to weather it all, maybe take a necessary growing-up break here and there, but essentially live happily ever after in an apartment on the Upper West Side. But as an actress, there’s a fairly masochistic part of me that wants some sobbing and a couple broken plates if it’s in the budget.
NP: In truth, I think the Sophie-Vivian storyline is very realistic one that I would love to see come to fruition in a very big way. After all, it’s high school, where emotions run high and very little is permanent, so I think it’s only natural for Aster and Viv’s relationship to be rocked, and/or broken, by something like this. Plus, it makes for great drama, and I can’t argue with that. So long as Aster sticks around and wreaks some havoc of her own, I’m down for lots of drama to ensue, whether Viv and Aster stick together or not.
Are there any of your interests that have made it into the show, or are your characters quite separate from you as actresses?
RHF: Oh no no, Vivien and I are very similar. I don’t think I’m quite as well versed in comic book lore as Viv is, but I would be totally stoked to create an alternate universe for the good of humanity! Also, if you look closely in at least one of the episodes, you can see a little mini-Yoda hanging out by Vivian’s keyboard, which made me so happy, it was damn near embarrassing. And if you check out the books she has in her room, you’ll notice that we’re both Salinger fans, Susan Miller, too.
NP: Aster and I are more similar than different, but a healthy mix of both. We’re both opinionated, passionate people with big personalities, but in the years since I was Aster’s age, I’ve learned to tone down/control some of the personality traits that seem to get Aster in trouble, i.e. stubbornness, overreaction. I also could never see Aster growing up to be an actress. (laughs) Never.
Do you have any banter with each other about the Sophie situation?
RHF: I think the running joke is that Aster and Sophie are actually gonna hook up, and Viv’s gonna get written out of the show. Not gonna lie – Saster scares the hell outta me…
NP: We joke about it all the time. I don’t recall having a serious, sit down talk about it, though. We’re both pretty easy going about the way it’s all gonna go. So long as the storyline is exciting and fun for everyone to act out, then I don’t think we feel any need to have a debate about it the way we would about real life stuff.
What has been a really enjoyable experience to come from being involved on ABM?
RHF: Well, I guess, in addition to being on the show and getting to hang out with some incredibly cool people, and then getting to pretend to be cool myself a few times, it’s been overwhelming and humbling to hear the stories of the people who love this show. Talking to people on the internet and at press events never ceases to be completely eye-opening and inspiring.
NP: There have been many wonderful things to come out of my involvement on ABM, ranging from becoming close to all the stellar people on the ABM cast and crew, to building my on-camera skills with each shoot, to connecting with fans all over the world and knowing what I’m doing is making a difference in their lives.
If you could do an episode in a far away location (i.e. when Friends went to London) where would you go and what story would propel the characters there?
RHF: HA! Actually, London would awesome! Foreign exchange for the journalism class? Possibly somewhere warmer and less rainy – I think Aster’s parents spring for her and Viv’s summer vacation on the French Riviera. Or Tokyo. Or we could all be in a plane crash and end up on some island in the South Pacific… possibly find a spaceship phone booth that travels through time…
NP: Croatia. Upset over what appears to be the demise of her relationship with Vivian, a distraught Aster heads overseas to spend the summer backpacking. While there, Aster meets a foreign honey who is everything that Vivian isn’t, and begins to engage in something when, suddenly, Vivian, taking a page out of Aster’s book, shows up at her hostel, having impulsively bought a flight after she realizes Sophie was a mistake.
Sophie, now in love with Vivian, obviously hops a plane to go after her and win her back, and Archibald, who has been visiting family in London (where Elizabeth also happens to be taking Shakespeare classes for the summer), gets a call from Vivian asking him to come to Croatia for moral support. Archibald comes to the aid of his friend, and Elizabeth accompanies him (having received a similar phone call from Sophie).
And Jonathan and Sterns, who have also been backpacking this summer, on a mission to find the best beer in Europe, get downwind of the situation when their plans to meet up with Arch in London are thwarted by his taking off to Croatia, and they inevitably head east to take part in the schadenfreude. And thus, with all of our characters in this Mediterranean paradise, the stage is set for teenage drama in the first degree.
How was that for a justification as to why Nicole should be sent to Croatia? (laughs)
Is there anything we don’t know about your characters that you could share?
RHF: (laughing) Nothing I can share.
NP: She likes girls.
What are you both looking forward to most this year?
RHF: The fourth of July, Halloween, and Christmas. And I can’t wait to see the reaction to the season finale!
NP: Working!
Anyone But Me continues at anyonebutmeseries.com. The Series 1 DVD is available to buy from amazon.com.