Daytime Emmys - NEWS ROOM

Working the red carpet event at the SOAPnet party on Thursday afternoon was truly an amazing experience! Stars from all of the daytime serials came out to pose for pictures and answer questions before entering the party. We had the chance to speak with several actors/actresses to find out what they did right before the party.

Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer Lewis) from GL said "I attended my first luncheon for the nominees for Outstanding Lead Actress. It was a great time with wine and laughter!"

Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Roberts, DAYS) said "I had to rush my son over to his mother's house and I will have to leave soon to pick him up again. Then I have to study some lines before work tomorrow."

Some of the younger cast members from ONE LIFE TO LIVE including Kristen Alderson (Starr Manning), Eddie Alderson (Matthew Buchanan), Brittany Underwood (Langston Wilde) and Pamela Payton-Wright (Addie Cramer) said "We went to Johnny Rocket's to eat. We had a fun plane ride here from New York and we will be staying until Sunday."

Some of the celebrities didn't mind sharing their thoughts on current storylines as well. When asked what he thought of the summer storyline on Days, Bryan Dattilo said "I am so thrilled that the Dimera's are back in town!" We also wanted to know who he thinks Sami should be with. Bryan made it clear that he is not a Sami and EJ fan! We joked around that he'd better get Lucas to do something about getting EJ out of town!

When we asked As the World Turns's Marnie Schulenburg (Alison Stewart) about being new to ATWT , she said "The best thing about working at As the World Turns is the cast. They are so great and it is so much fun working with them everyday!" We told her we'd been enjoying her rather racy drug and porn storyline and she giggled and made it clear that she couldn't be more different than Alison, but was having a load of fun playing the character! When asked about what is next for her character, she responded by saying "All I can say is to stay tuned and expect the unexpected!" She teased at the twists and turns coming in her storyline!

Fellow ATWT cast member Ewa Da Cruz (Vienna Hyatt) informed us "Things are going great at As the World Turns! I love going to work and having so much fun!" We mentioned to Ewa that we were really happy to see Vienna and Henry together and were sad the union didn't last, and Ewa agreed wholeheartedly. She said "I want to see what is next with Henry and to see the characters grow in the same direction together."

We spoke with good natured Austin Peck (Brad Snyder) from ATWT about the differences between Brad and Austin (his former role on DAYS), he stated that "Things are going well. I hope that the difference in the characters will show the fact that I am an actor!" We all had a good chuckle and agreed that he has a meatier role to play as Brad, and that the character of Austin was pretty stale! He commented on the differences between working at DAYS as opposed to working at ATWT . "It feels like the characters are more in the driver's seat. There is more trust for the actors to pull things together and it is a faster pace. I never thought that things could get faster than Days, but it has. I am fortunate to work with some of the best actors and writers in daytime!"

Several of the actors/actresses of the upcoming SOAPnet original General Hospital: Night Shift stopped by and had this to say about the much anticipated show. Sonya Eddy (Epiphany Johnson) said "I will be playing the same character on Night Shift. It will explore who she really is." We shared our happiness about this and let her know that we adored the character of Epiphany. She was happy to hear that she had her very own actor/character profile on Soaps.com!

Night Shift's Minae Noji (Dr. Kelly Lee) informed us that "They are going to notice that it has more of an edge. Also, each episode will have a beginning and an end." Cute newcomers Angel Wainwright and Amanda Baker said that "Night Shift takes place in the Emergency Room at night. It will be a little bit sexier and edgier. It is primetime, so we can push the hair just a bit more."

As the line of soap stars made their way over to us, we chatted them up. After a few hours… yes, a few hours of interviews, we headed inside for the party!

There were restrictions inside the party such as no interviews and no photos. That being said, we struck up a conversation with the lovely Judith Chapman, and happened to find out that she too was going to be interviewing the actors after the Emmys, just like us. A southern belle, she informed us that she'd be carrying a parasol for the red carpet, in order to stave off the heat, and looked forward to chatting with us in the future. (Stay tuned for a little more about what we discussed at the party, later!

We spent time with Crystal Chappell Olivia Spencer, GL and friends; Kim Zimmer… can you believe we hung out with Kim Zimmer (Reva Lewis) and Michael O'Leary (Dr. Rick Bauer), also from GL , but sorry folks! We're not ones to take an actor's of guard words and print them, so mum's the word on who said what at the party! You'll just have to take our word for it that it was an event to be remembered. Wall to wall soap stars, delicious food, loud music and several bars. Chrissi and I mingled, put back our fair share of vino, and wandered around introducing ourselves to many of your favorites. Hopefully as a result we will have some exciting exclusive interviews for you all to read in the near future!


More Emmy Coverage to come… don't think it's over yet!



Shannon Burrell and Christine Fix
Soaps Journalist and Editor-in-Chief
Soaps.com