Many of my NYC crew [both actors and writers] have had much success in paying the rent by working in Daytime. It's a starting point for many. A legit way to get on-camera [or off-] experience as well as national public exposure. Now I have to admit, I never could get into soap operas. I was always interested at looking at the world through a more alternative lens and soaps were way too formulaic. If I had to rely on whether Jesse truly loved Angie on All My Children to learn the politics of love, I would consider myself pathetic. Although the hypocrisy behind that statement is when I was in grad school and the woman from ABC Daytime Development showed up looking for playwrights to morph into Soap writers... well, yes, I was the first in line ready to sign my name on the formulaic line.
Which brings me to this: most of the recently WGA blacklisted fi-core writers were Daytime writers [see yesterday's post]. And during the recent history-making WGA strike, word on the street was Daytime was also hiring scabs. Those desperate, and I'm sure hungry, non-union [and union] writers who crossed the picket line and worked anyway.
Which brings me to THIS: a good friend landed a Daytime writing gig a few years ago. I won't mention the Soap, or the writer's name, but after years struggling to make ends meet as a playwright, my friend finally snagged a decent gig writing the formulaic. [And that meant more time to hang with me at my favorite wine and foodie in Los Feliz.] But like most writers, Daytime is a starting point. Respectable work, but not intended to stretch into a lifetime. Especially when you have your heart and creativity set on being a prime-time writer.
Well, the prime-time opportunity knocked. My friend met with this award-winning prime-time show and was literally hired on the spot. This particular show really loved the idea of bringing on a writer with a background in Daytime. [Unbeknownst to many, Daytimers have sought-after craft.] My friend informed the Daytime boss of the good news. At first suggesting a cut-back in weekly scripts, you know, hoping to negotiate a respectful means to transition into the dream-come-true. The Daytime boss said two things: No. And you already have a job, you should be happy with this. Translation: my friend was bound to a three-year contract and had no means to counter it.
When I was told this I couldn't believe it. My friend's pending new-employer couldn't believe it. How could an employer, a writer, deny another writer the chance to expand in their career? How could an employer, a writer, go to sleep at night and not feel sick for not breaking a contract so another younger writer could have their dream-come-true? I begged my friend to let me go over to the Studio and demand the employer for a logical explanation. My friend laughed; I was serious.
Out of frustration, I explained the scenario to another writer-friend, a veteran Daytimer, who offered some substantial food for thought: Well, Keith, you know how the characters and storylines on the Soaps are full of bickering, backstabbing, disappearances and entrances without any logical explanation? I answered, Yes. They continued: Well, it takes a certain type of environment to create those kind of stories. Enough said. I think. For now.
