INTERVIEW WITH ALICE BARRETT-MITCHELL (FRANKIE): Part #1
AWT: Do you remember your initial audition as Frankie?
ABM: I remember the screen-test. I really didn’t know much about Frankie from the sides except that she was originally named Francesca. What I was told about the character was that she was going to be brought in to shake up Nicole (Love) and Cass, and give Nicole a run for her money.
AWT: What do you think you brought to your screen-test that made it clear you were the actress for the job?
ABM: The scene for my screen-test was a pretty generic scene where Cass and Frankie were doing that quibbling thing they do and at one point I got the idea to inject something a little silly that might bring something else to the table. So I did a silly dance and allowed for a goofy moment. Then I had to wait because it took them forever to decide! Once I was tested, I signed a contract and was on hold for three weeks until finally I got the call. I found out that in those weeks while I was waiting they were tinkering with the character and made her a Frame so she would be related to someone on canvas (Sharlene) and also made her intro storyline to the show that she comes to Bay City to avenge her uncle’s death. Initially Frankie is convinced Felicia is involved and even got her arrested, which is how Frankie and Cass come together initially, at very extreme odds.
AWT: How much did you contribute to the character's evolution and direction?
ABM: Well, first my name was changed from Francesca to Mary Frances. Then I shortened it to Frankie because I liked her having a spunky nickname which I also had when I was on another PGP soap, The Catlins, where I played a character named Jackie.
Frankie took another unexpected turn when, in the scene where Frankie and Cass have their first kiss and recognize their attraction, they were at a hotdog stand, hiding from someone they were following and the scene called for me to eat a hot dog with sauerkraut and I told the director I don’t eat meat but would make it work with a bun with sauerkraut and everyone felt that worked for Frankie so she became a vegetarian. The crystal Frankie wore around her neck was initially my crystal as it was something I wore and the producers took that and the non-meat and decided to take Frankie on a New Age bent. It was a very flexible and creative that way. When Frankie went New Age she really took off.
AWT: What is your favorite storyline from your time in Bay City?
ABM: Kathleen/Cass/Frankie was hard, but it was the most dramatic stuff. It was difficult to retrieve the comedy considering that Frankie had a miscarriage and briefly died, but it was the best written stuff! In the later years, a storyline that I liked was when Patti D'Arbanville came on as Frankie’s high school friend, Christy Carson, who came to town and set Frankie up for her husband’s murder so she could go after Cass.
AWT: Do you have a scene that you think just went perfectly, couldn't have been done any better?
ABM: The ones that are the most fun are the biggest. A lot of the early scenes in Kathleen’s return story were great to play. One sequence that comes to mind is that just after Kathleen returns and before the triangle really begins, Cass gets in Carl’s face and warns Carl to stay away from his wife - referring to Kathleen and not Frankie - which Frankie overhears. At this stage, Frankie’s still trying to play it cool and act like Kathleen’s return isn’t driving her crazy. In a later scene, Frankie comes back in from a run and Kathleen calls for Cass and Frankie, who has been trying to not let any of this get to her. In that moment she just tosses off a line to Cass as she hands him the phone( I’m sorry I wish I could remember it!) that is just such a subtle knife to the ribs that was so very, very real and was the first time we got to see her anxiety about the situation show. I thought it was just a great, perfect subtle moment.
AWT: Is there a scene or storyline you wish you could make disappear from public consciousness? Or at least get the chance to do again?
ABM: There was one storyline with a woman whose child dies and Cass represented her in a lawsuit against the hospital and it involved prosecuting John for malpractice. Eventually the woman was to come between Cass and Frankie as Cass enjoyed being this woman’s white knight to her damsel in distress. Frankie was caught between growing more and more suspicious of Cass’ relationship with this woman and having torn allegiances between Cass and John. On paper, the story seemed great, but there was something about the execution and how Frankie’s part in it was written that just didn’t work for me. I liked that this was not another Cecile-type that was threatening Frankie’s marriage, but a woman who appealed to Cass’s need to be the hero. However, the way things played out and the roles we all played in the story just didn’t ring true to me at the time.
AWT: What do you think contributed to your fantastic chemistry with Stephen Schnetzer? How did the two of you go about creating it?
ABM: The screen test laid the groundwork. We made each other laugh a lot and cracked each other up really well. I tell anyone that the reason I’ve been married to my husband for almost 27 years is because my husband makes me laugh. We’re good friends as well as lovers and partners. Stephen and I approached our work relationship as a partnership. I haven’t worked with him in 13 years, but I still call Stephen my partner. There was a lot of respect between us and we had a shared commitment to show a different type of couple in daytime.
AWT: What did you love about Cass and Frankie’s relationship?
ABM: Stephen and I took the standard soap couple and tried to go beyond that. A convention of soap is infidelity and one thing I loved about Cass and Frankie was she was one woman with one man from the time she came on the show to the time she left. She never slept with anyone else. Yes, she left Cass and she had that one moment with Joe Carlino (played by Joseph Barbara) who was originally supposed to be Frankie’s first possible affair. We played it for one episode where he grabbed Frankie’s hand and they shared a moment of connection and the reaction was ‘What in God’s name is going on?!’ so that was that and Joe was sent off to shake up Paulina and Jake because they were a couple that was always in trouble.
When Cecile returned again and gave Cass a love potion, Frankie originally was supposed to enter, see them in the throes of passion, and she assumes the worst, gets mad and leaves. But Stephen and I fought to give the relationship a higher level of respect than that. They had been through a lot and there was an earned baseline of trust. Given how long Frankie and Cass were married and that they were in a mature relationship, and that Frankie knows Cecile’s game, Frankie would give Cass the benefit of the doubt and accuse Cecile. So that’s what we ended up doing! We played the scene as a joke where Frankie finally moves in to punch Cecile and hits Cass instead. One of the things I am most proud of about Cass and Frankie’s relationship was that Stephen and I were able to forge a stable loving relationship which was pretty unusual for daytime.
AWT: Can you tell us about learning about Frankie’s death and filming it?
ABM: I think that sometime in the last years I was on the show, the writing for Frankie wasn’t there anymore. In the last few years, Frankie was serving coffee and acting as the soundboard for others to bring up to speed on their story. I knew it at the time but didn’t know how to get her back in the thick of things. You have new writers coming in over the years and they prepare for the show by watching who is playing and create story for the characters that are already working so those characters continue to get the storyline and the airtime. There became so rapid a turnover of producers and headwriters that soon there was no one who was really familiar with Frankie. Frankie’s creators were gone and the newbies didn’t know who she was and so after a while, when they’re looking at the budget to trim costs, your name comes up.
I think it was a bit of a miscalculation on the part of the show to kill her off and in such a brutal way. They wanted something dramatic and her murder ended up being the entire hour. I think that they forgot who their audience was - they’re mothers. I really fought against giving Frankie a ‘beautiful’ death. There was something about ‘Take Frankie beautiful and at peace’ originally in the script and I countered that Frankie would’ve begged for her life and fought to be with her daughter so her death wouldn’t be beautiful. I allowed myself to make a few demands because I wanted Frankie’s death to be done realistically and I told them to have make-up put a big ring bruise around my neck, which they did. The audience was going to see the ugly realities of her murder.
A few weeks later, I happened to be at the studio and observed Stephen filming a scene that was supposed to be just three weeks after Frankie’s murder, where Cass goes to a disco and Cass the Cassanova was supposed return. Felicia and Morgan (played by Grayson McCouch) were going to confront him about it and Cass was going to defend his actions saying this was his way of moving on. Stephen saw me observing and we got to talking and I just told him ‘Wow. I have to tell you, this just makes me sad. This scene doesn’t respect Cass’s growth at all.’ And Stephen listened and talked to the producers. He ended up playing the scene with a more tragic tone, with it being Cass in denial and trying to lose himself in his old ways to avoid his grief.
Come back next week for Part #2 of our interview, where Alice discusses her return to Bay City as lawyer Anne, as well as Frankie's resurrection in "Another World Today!"
A _________________ "It has been a magnificent journey..." ~ Linda Dano, 1999 Daytime Emmys
There aren't enough words to describe how I feel about Alice, Frankie, Cass & Frankie and this interview so one will have to suffice.......AWESOME!!!!!
~~~*NG*, thanks so much for posting this.
I must admit I have not "gotten into" the ongoing AWT *version* of Another World,
so i might have missed this gem.
You're the BEST! *EagleEyes*
ps..Linda referred to *our NG* as EagleEyes on her Facebook page!
C'mon Nettie, tell us all about you, Linda, & *Harvey*, puleeze...
In my *World*, *Cass&Frankie* sailed off into the sunset together...
ps..Linda referred to *our NG* as EagleEyes on her Facebook page!
C'mon Nettie, tell us all about you, Linda, & *Harvey*, puleeze...
Would LOVE to! I'm still so psyched! Most of you know about LD's zebra rug in her NYC penthouse that she affectionately calls "Harvey." On her FB fan page, she posted a picture of her new line of home accessories and on the floor is a zebra/giraffe accent rug. I asked her via a comment on FB if that was *FauxHarvey*. During her first QVC appearance, she mentioned that *someone* had inquired about the rug "FauxHarvey" on her Twitter page (it was FB but me don't care!). THAT WAS ME LINDA! So I immediately went back to her FB page and noticed that she had posted this reply (under another picture but it obviously was meant for the *FauxHarvey* comment) ~
"Yes, you have eagle eyes. It's in two sizes 5X7 and 8X10. Will be featured in the 10 AM EST time."
Now that we are BFF's, I'm gonna work the whole adoption thing into my next comment.
BTW ~ That's my favorite Cass/Frankie pic in KT's post. WONDERFUL ABM interview ~ love that so much of *Alice* was in *Mary Frances* (Francesca? Really?)
A _________________ "It has been a magnificent journey..." ~ Linda Dano, 1999 Daytime Emmys
https://twitter.com/AWFans
Last edited by AWFanAgain on Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
In my *World*, *Cass&Frankie* sailed off into the sunset together...
MINE TOO!!!!!!
I have to admit, the fact that Cass and Frankie were so stable and were so devoted is one of the reasons I love them so much. They are a rarity, which makes them all the more special and incredible to me.
The conclusion of the WONDERFUL interview with ♥ Alice Barrett Mitchell ♥ ~
Quote:
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
INTERVIEW WITH ALICE BARRETT-MITCHELL (FRANKIE) PART #2
AWT: How was it returning to AW as Frankie’s look alike Annie?
ABM: The funny story about Annie was that literally two weeks after I moved to Los Angeles, (then-AW's Executive Producer) Chris Goutman calls me to offer me the role of Annie. He said that regretfully Frankie is so very dead and they were very sorry they couldn’t bring her back, but they had this role of Frankie’s lookalike, Annie. They offered me a two year contract, but I was hesitant with all the cancellation rumors circling and didn’t want to move my family back to New York when everything was so iffy. So we agreed to do six months and see what happened - and then the axe fell!
AWT: What was it like filming the last episode of AW as Ghost Frankie?
ABM: I think it was probably like what the Guiding Light set is now. They were all in mourning. Another World’s cast also had to film a lot of episodes in those short weeks to make the finale date. Since I had already mourned and moved on when I left the show back in 1996, it was a little different for me. It was great seeing the cast and crew again, but because I had already grieved Frankie’s end back in 1996, it was a little less burdensome. I was glad to be able to say a final good-bye to the show as Frankie and not Annie, and grateful that Frankie was given a place in the finale because I felt Frankie had been a thread in the fabric of the show and had earned a place at the table. If I had been in Los Angeles when everything was wrapped up, I would’ve been so sad. Even more bittersweet was that the 35th Anniversary Book came out the week the show was ending, so we were using them like yearbooks as we said our good-byes.
One funny thing I remember was that we were shooting so many episodes so quickly, that we had to do quick costume changes. They had a changing booth right on the floor. I remember changing as fast as I could and suddenly standing in the booth naked when Chris Goutman’s voice came over the system doing the countdown for the next scene.
I loved my final scene with Stephen, where Frankie comes to him in a dream and gives him permission to be in love with someone else. It was really us saying good-bye. I felt whoever wrote those scenes really knew Frankie and knew her and Cass’s relationship really well.
I also really enjoyed working with a grown-up Charlie. There was a scene where as Ghost Frankie, I was supposed to put my arm around her as we look up at the stars in the sky. Well, since I was a ghost she wasn’t supposed to see me and we weren’t supposed to be looking at each other. I lift my arm to reach around her and bonked the poor actress in the head! She was a pro but I was so bummed that the last moment Frankie has with her daughter is hitting her in the head!
AWT: What have you been up to since leaving AW? Where can your fans see you these days?
ABM: Well, I’m still a working actor, which is entirely due to my manager who has stuck by me through so many years. For a while after Another World, I was kind of stuck in an age range where I was too mature to play the younger cool moms, and too young to play a mother of older kids. I literally had one line on my resume that represented seven years of hard work, which, in many ways, left me in the position of having to start over. I’ve just started getting jobs playing the mom of kids that are my own kids’ ages, in no small part due to my manager banging down doors and never giving up on me.
In January I shot a movie, 13, with Mickey Rourke, 50 cent, and Jason Statham. It’s a dark story where I play the mother of Sam Riley, who is just fabulous and gives a breakout performance.
Next I did, a movie called, ironically, Twelve, about rich kids in New York and excessive drug use. I play Chace Crawford’s mother. He was a really sweet guy. I even asked if they had cast his mother on Gossip Girl and he said ‘Sorry, but yeah.'
In 2008, I did a naughty little movie that may give all the Frankie fans pause. It's called Choke, with Sam Blackwell, based off a book by Chuck Palahniuk. I played a sex addict and did my first nude scene. It was a real leap of faith for me and was a bit nerve wracking, but I felt everything was handled with respect and treated beautifully. I really love the movie.
I also did a movie with Richard Gere called Brooklyn’s Finest where I play his wife. It was out a year ago and bought at Sundance. I think it’s currently being reedited. Hopefully I won’t end up on the cutting room floor!
AWT: When Another World Today premiered, Frankie was the overwhelming first choice for the character AW fans wanted brought back from the dead, pronto. To what do you attribute her enduring popularity?
ABM: Oh, that’s so kind! I think what made her so popular was that her overall agenda was to be good. Frankie was a good soap character without being a goody two shoes. She was funny, quirky, had a backbone and was fiercely loyal. She was a truly spiritual person. I remember doing a SOW online chat and a question came ‘When is Frankie going to embrace true religion?’ and I remember replying ‘Who has stronger family values than Frankie?’ Frankie really was a woman who walked the walk. Maybe she didn’t practice in the traditional sense, but she was dedicated to family, she was a loving mother, a devoted wife, and unflinchingly devoted to the people in her life. Isn’t this exactly what Christ preached?
AWT: What would be a dream storyline for Frankie after all these years?
ABM: Wow, I’m still trying to get used to other versions of us out there! I think a dream storyline that I had for Frankie was that she’d go to law school and become a public defender. Bringing a bit of my political side into it, Frankie would’ve stuck up for the underdog as she always did and probably would’ve battled Cass in court. They’d have that respectful, adult relationship like Nick and Nora or Hepburn and Tracy.
AWT: Do you have anything to say to the fans who campaigned to have Frankie live again?
ABM: I can’t tell you how moving it is that people loved the character so much. The loyalty of the fans has been so sustaining to me over the years. I will be in a store and will get recognized and the funny thing is, it’s not my face but my voice that will get the head whipping around in my direction. I seriously cannot emphasize how sustaining it is to realize you had an impact and your work was appreciated. It has really meant everything to me.
A _________________ "It has been a magnificent journey..." ~ Linda Dano, 1999 Daytime Emmys
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