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4 FRONT MAGAZINE
Page 1|2|3
by
John
Price
Chad
Allen: What that
show did was provide a forum for great story telling in an
easy viewer friendly sort of way. We could tell stories that
were relevant with themes that were relevant to families in
middle America and across the United, States in a fun, story-telling
kind of way. My character Matthew Cooper was the one evolving
character. He was young enough to have gone through so many
things.
John
Price: You
got to grow from being a boy to a man, on that show.
Chad
Allen:
From
a boy to a man, finding careers, finding family He started
out having lost all his family and taking care of his brother.
He grew up and was able to find himself as a man, who lost
the first love of his life. One of the most extraordinary
things I'11 ever do we did a wonderful show where Matthew
lost his fiancée to rabies. I remember going into, the production
office where a gay crew member pulled me aside after the show
had aired and wanted to tell me just how much that meant to
him because he had lost his lover to AIDS. Watching me do
that episode going through the same things obviously a very
different story, but the loss of love.
"It's
about... how we pass on what we learn from one generation
to the next in a community.. that's lost a generation of its
forefathers."
John
Price:
Was that an intentional tie-in on the
part of the, show?
Chad
Allen: No. Not at all. But in
the sense that it's the theme of losing love... losing a loved
one, you know? It's the same thing, whether it be AIDS or
any sickness or accident – whatever. It's a loss of innocence
too, when you lose your, first love. That was an extraordinary
time for me.. I really, remember thinking about what kind
of impact I could, have, or we could have as actors and artists
creating something that affected people like that.
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John
Price: For all the talk of family, Dr Quinn
was, of course, THE family show. However, I once got a press
release about an episode you did where Walt Whitman came to
the town and they all had to deal with his homosexuality -
presented in a very positive way.
Chad
Allen: That was the one episode
of Dr Quinn that really was in conflict with a lot of its
audience. Because: the issues that were dealt with were certainly
not issues that Dr Quinn audience was ready for. Usually with
every show we did, we knew what the audience thought, that
they were going to agree with us in all the PCness and stuff.
This was the one thing that we did that really created some
controversy. It was intentional.. Beth (Beth Sullivan Dr.
Quinn’s Executive Producer] had wanted to do it for quite
some time. CBS finally allowed her to do it after she begged
them for long enough. She finally pushed it through and we
did
John
Price: What was the reaction?
Chad Allen: It
was very, very mixed. There was a lot of controversy about
it. Both Jane Seymour and Beth did interviews supporting the
show and were very outspoken about wanting to do the show
and how important it was. We tried very hard to make a show
that was really less about gay rights and more about simply
saying "it’s not our place to judge." We can’t judge people,
for anything. It’s not our place. That was what we tried to
do..
John
Price: Gosh, that should be a universally accepted
message, right?
Chad
Allen: Absolutely.
Beeper:
It's
so funny, because the bottom line on *change at Babylon is
about the families we come from and the families we create.
In my mind, this play is no less a family show, in my sense
of the word or the greater sense of where families come from,
than Dr. Quinn was.
John
Price:
Interesting. Isn't it a kick to think that "family" has become
a wedge issue? How did that happen? OK Chad, after this, what's
next for you? Someone was telling me you've got a theatrical
Shakespeare project where in Shakespearean tradition, you'll
be playing female characters?
Chad
Allen: We're producing The Complete
Works of William Shakespeare-Abridged here in Los Angeles,
it's the LA debut. It's a wonderful project.
John
Price:
And you're doing some extreme character work? Is that a safe
way to describe it?
Chad
Allen: (Laughing.) Extreme.
a very safe, way extreme character. It's all improve It's
fun. I used to perform in an improv group and stuff so I'll
be getting back to those physical comedy roots. It's going
to be a blast. It's going to be the hardest show I've ever
done physically. By far. I may also go to New York and do
some theater there.
John
Price:
You're making a conscious decision to get more into theater
now, or is that just the way it's working out?
Chad
Allen: No, it's definitely something
I've wanted to do. Before I did Dr , Quinn in my mind, I was
packing my bags to move to New York where I was going to go
to school and study theater. I had no intentions of really
getting back into serious television. It just sort of happened.
I’ll see what comes up. Maybe something else will come up
and I’ll make a U-turn. But right now I have no problem taking
some time off and really working on my craft. Being in the
theater, it's my first love anyway.
John
Price:
And you've been doing the TV show for all this time, it's
nice to have some free time to explore Yourself and your art.
Chad
Allen: It's nice to not have
to think what do I have to do tomorrow...
John
Price:
Go put your chaps on and head out to the prairie...
Chad Allen: I'm also going to
do an independent feature at the end of the month, sometime
in between ...
John
Price:
In your spare time, you'll just squeeze that in!
Chad
Allen: Yeah, it's a very low
budget feature that I'm going to do because. the script's
awesome. Again, it's just like my thing, it's from a young
author and a young group of people that want to make the film
and they’ve got the money together
John
Price:
What's it called?
Chad
Allen: It's called Three Boys
Named Mario and I play a pool hustler - who dies, too.
John
Price:
You're good at dying.
Chad
Allen: With an extremely troubled
past This time I get shot though.
John
Price:
Well, as long as it's just your characters that are dying...
So how's your life anyway? Are you happy? All told.
Chad
Allen: Yeah. I'm damn happy.
This is such an exciting thing for me. When we started doing
this company, when Heather [The Young and the Restless star
Heather Tom] I and I formed the Creative Outlet, it's really
been a dream come true for me to be able to take something
like this and make it happen. You know we've assembled, and
I really believe and this isn't bullshit, some of the best
people in LA to do theater. And I mean that from the set people
to everybody working behind it. It's been such a fucking amazing
energy and I say that without hesitation. It's so good. The
people who’ve wanted to be involved with this project from
the beginning have put their best foot forward and it's stayed
that way.
Beeper:
It just felt right. From when we first met it just felt right.
Chad
Allen: And it's been like that
all the rough. |
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