1.
There was a camera in the corner of the room with one slightly overweight man standing in front of it fiddling with some switch or another. He grunted a few times and stepped back behind it. Another grunt and then stepped in front of it again to adjust another switch near the front of the camera. A third grunt before stepping back in place behind it. The red light finally flickered on top.
After years in front of them, one would think Rachel Berry knew a thing or two about cameras. However, it seemed that being behind them wasn't part of her nature. She never felt that need to step behind the lens and direct. She just wasn't one of those actors. She knew how to work the camera in terms of performance but didn't have the slightly clue how to operate the actual mechanism.
"He's just making sure it's in focus. They can zoom and edit however they want later. For now, they'll just let the two cameras run. One less person in the room for the interview," the woman sitting next to Rachel smiled.
Rachel nodded and settled into her plush chair a little more comfortably. It wasn't that she was nervous. She'd done plenty of interviews and had always taken pride in the fact that her life was mostly an open book when it came to her fans. She was as honest with them as possible. The few times she had been somewhat less than honest, not outright lying to her fans of course, had seemed to blow up in her face. Still, it was a little more comforting to think that there would be one less person in the room. A tell-all of the behind the scenes of the show that truly made her career? The secrets and private moments that had remained intact over the past few years would soon be revealed and picked apart. The camera's red blinking light suddenly seemed a little daunting.
"The network has finally approval over what will air anyway. Alan still has his hands in everything. I wouldn't worry too much. They just want a good story. The first step to getting a good story is getting a lengthy interview recorded to pick apart later. We'll be fine," the woman assured. "As far as I'm concerned, we can basically forget the cameras are even there. You know as well as I do that Alan will end up in that editing room with whatever poor guy who gets stuck with our episode. I feel bad for the editor of this one."
See, Quinn Fabray was one of those other actors. She needed to know everything that was going on. She'd hit her mark every time and was something of a one take wonder in terms of delivery. Sure, she could recreate her emotions perfectly for re-shots from different angles. She was a pro, after all. Her real passion was off the screen. She was the first to leave her mark after cut to check the playback and learn everything she could about being behind the scenes. She knew how the cameras worked. She knew how the entire process from shoot, to edit, to air went down.
Yet another difference between two actresses from the same hometown, the same high school, and eventually the same television show. One preferred spotlight and one preferred controlling it.
With a flurry of moment and nervous energy, Rita Johnston came bustling into the room. She was the network's top billed journalist…more of a gossip columnist really. She had her own blog with spoilers and interviews from every top show on air. She was something of a wonder child as far as celebrity reporting went. Everybody who was anybody did his or her first major interview with Rita. She covered each new project. She covered each new relationship. She knew the ins and outs of all of Hollywood's brightest stars. She respected them though and in turn they gave her the interviews she wanted. She was one of the people who didn't seek to destroy careers but simply build them up. A positive journalist not a slandering gossip…even though that's largely what her blog made up of: the latest celebrity gossip. Still, Rita Johnston was the one everybody went to when they had big news but wanted it revealed tastefully.
It was a natural fit. When SING! did their first and only reunion concert for charity at the Hollywood Bowl, Rita Johnston was the only journalist picked to interview the cast and do the 'Behind the Scenes' special. The True Hollywood Story version of SING! and all of the antics off camera. The television show had been Hollywood's biggest pop culture phenomenon in over a decade. It struck gold all across the board: Emmy's, Golden Globes, Grammy's, top iTunes sales, and still making millions in syndication deals with at least three of Fox's subsidiary networks. The smash hit that just wouldn't go away…even five years after the show had been off the air.
"Rachel, we really wanted to do part of your interview with Chase for all of the diehard 'Lemily' fans still filling my inbox with questions for you both," Rita chuckled, taking a seat.
"Long live Lemily," Rachel laughed with a shrug.
"Are you sure you want to do this interview together? It could get a little personal. Is that really what you want?" Rita questioned.
"The truth is we're ready to tell our story. The concert's over. I, I think that Emily Clayton will always be a part of me. I was fortunate enough to find one of those career-defining roles in television. All of us on SING! found these incredible characters that we got to play for five wonderful seasons. Most actors consider themselves lucky if their pilot even gets picked up. We had steady jobs for essentially six years. We had the dream job of playing characters that people all over the country fell in love with and became so passionate about. But as I'm sure the cast of Friends or Saved By the Bell or hell, even Miley Cyrus will always be Hannah Montana to some people- as I was saying, I'm sure all of these other people will tell you that it is a true blessing to be given such an opportunity to be a part of a phenomenon like SING!, but it is a double edged sword. Most of us have spent the past few years trying to establish ourselves beyond our characters. We were all so young when it started. I was only twenty-four when we filmed the pilot and I'd only known success on the Broadway stage. None of us were prepared for the backlash and the total and utter lack of privacy that came with being a part of this show. People really wanted us to be our characters and we were green enough to go along with it in the beginning. Now that everyone has realized we're not those characters, I don't want to fall back into that. I'm proud of the person that I've become and the life that we've built through this show and outside of it. I'm ready to share that side with the public…from my perspective and not those of gossip magazines," Rachel explained.
"Well then I think we should get started, don't you?" Rita asked, settling into her seat.
"Certainly," Rachel smiled.
Quinn remained silent and a little tense but nodded her consent as well. She had initially been skeptical about the entire thing. The reunion concert was one thing. It had been for charity and as a thank you to the fans who still supported the show even after it's final episode aired. It also served as a thank you to those who continued to follow their careers long after they walked away from the characters who made them famous. Their fan base was large and passionate. A five year reunion concert had seemed appropriate. Delving back into the whole mix of it with a tell-all special seemed a bit much in Quinn's opinion. She felt that their fans had been there and watched their every move from the beginning. They knew the important things that happened and if they had followed them on twitter or read blogs or seen any of the interviews years ago, they had some idea of how everyone involved with the show felt about it and the experiences it brought. Digging deeper into those experiences for the sake of a True Hollywood Behind the Scenes was bordering on a lack of privacy. Some memories should stay private. Reluctantly, Quinn agreed to do the interview when the rest of the cast jumped on board. Rachel, in particular, pushed for Quinn to do the interview with her. She argued that if anyone had a different side of the story to tell it was Quinn and that her side needed to be told. Rachel said they owed it to their fans to let them know how much they truly changed the lives of the cast.
That's how Quinn Fabray ended up sitting next to Rachel Berry in a tiny room with two cameras and Rita Johnston.
"Why do you think SING! has been so successful? The right show in the right market at the right time? Kismet?"
A typical question that had been asked many times over the years. In truth, Quinn still didn't have an answer for that. Maybe it had been luck. Or maybe it had been fate. Why it happened didn't matter to her nearly as much as the fact that it happened at all.
"I think what made the show so special in the beginning was that it was a first. Maybe it wasn't the first of its kind entirely, but it was the first musical television show where it actually made sense for these people to burst into song. I guess the other great thing about it was the writing. The show was aware of its limitations and at times made fun of itself. It's what kept the characters humble and real in such a heightened world- because who really bursts into song walking down the street? As a cast we were very dedicated in making sure that even at our campiest or most outrageous moments with flashy musical numbers or over the top guest stars, we still wanted our characters to be grounded in reality…plus we had fun. I mean, ultimately we had a job to do. We had these carefully constructed roles for a television show and we took our jobs very seriously. At the end of the day though, we genuinely enjoyed every moment. That's what made it so special," Rachel explained.
"Every single moment?" Rita raised her eyebrow, knowing there had been different tensions on set at various points.
Rachel laughed and shrugged. Quinn smirked right at the camera but still kept her mouth shut. Rachel plotted her response knowing she'd get no help from Quinn.
"What I mean to say is that everyone on the show became a family of sorts. Sometimes there are tense days with family but you know that things will always work out in the end. How we related to each other off-screen was linked to our on screen relationships in some ways. That's not to say we all weren't professionals who could do the job even on a bad day, but I think to have the chemistry needed on our show, we needed to actually be friends on and off the camera. So in some ways our off-screen relationships are still intrinsically linked to the show and vice versa. The show is still very personal for us," Rachel clarified.
"Because it was so personal, did you ever feel that you needed to present a different public persona then who you are now?" Rita questioned carefully.
Rachel laughed again almost in disbelief at how quickly Rita jumped into the hard-hitting questions. Apparently starting off with a usual question was just to get them comfortable, as if Quinn would ever be comfortable talking about her personal life in front of a camera. The first question had been a warm-up. Judging by Rita's prodding already, the interview was going to be different. Rita Johnston would put them all through the ringer to get the "true Hollywood story."
"No holding back. I guess this is digging deep behind the scenes that people are hoping to hear about…I think when it started we were all very young and very new to the business. We'd all had minor successes but nothing of quite the same caliber as SING! so we were eager to please. That's not to say that any of us were hiding anything about who we actually are. I just think it was easier to latch on to the similarities of ourselves and our characters rather than focus on the differences. Our fans didn't want to know what made me different from Emily. They wanted to know Emily so they wanted to know how much of her was real. The same with all our characters and our relationships with each other. I'm sure we influenced the writers as they got to know us and the characters became more well-rounded, more realistic when we got to infuse more of ourselves into them…but it was still acting. I guess the main thing is- I got to work with my best friends. Gossip magazines made up whatever they wanted. According to everyone else, we all dated each other each time our characters broke up and found new love interests. I don't think any of us directly hid our own personalities. I think we all treaded a thin line between having privacy and having a job to do. How we were publicly perceived sometimes had very little to do with anything we were actually doing and everything with what people simply wanted to believe."
"So you haven't dated most of the cast?" Rita joke to lighten things up a bit.
"No. I have only dated one costar," Rachel chuckled.
"But there have been several significant relationships to evolve from the show? Is it safe to say that the show changed not only your career but your personal life as well? Would you say you're still close with a lot of the cast and crew?" Rita pressed a little.
"Yes. Without a doubt. I think most of the friendships and relationships I made while working on the show have changed my life for the better. I met some of my best friends. Quinn and I had a long and complicated history before the show and that has since resulted in a very close and intense friendship which I honestly don't know if it would've occurred otherwise. I hope that we would've found each other somehow but I'll admit, I owe many of the positive relationships in my personal life to the show. We were all very lucky to find something so special and work with people who are so special," Rachel continued.
Quinn nodded and smiled at the brunette.
"You've been a little quite so far. Would you say that the show changed your life as well?" Rita turned her questioning to the blonde.
The reporter adjusted her thin glasses on her crocked nose. She had kind eyes and even though she was well respected in Hollywood, both actresses knew they still needed to remain on guard. It wouldn't bode well for any future careers they may obtain if it came across as if they were the type to bite the hand that had fed them for so many years. Things weren't always perfect. The network hadn't always been easy to deal with. Every job had it's ups and downs but the important thing was to focus on the good things that happened. They were here to celebrate the show. Give a little dirt but overall make everyone involved look good.
"Working on the show changed my life completely. I wouldn't be sitting here right now if I hadn't been cast. The most significant relationships in my life outside of my biological family have been formed from this show or strengthened through the show. I owe Alan Peters my life," Quinn replied casually, though her words were anything but casual.
"Let's take it back a step. Let's go back to the beginning. What was it like that first week filming the pilot of SING!? Did you know you had something special with this show? Did you have any idea it could become such a cultural phenomenon?" Rita smiled, backing off a little.
"The first week? Oh God, that was insanity," Rachel laughed.
"I was terrified," Quinn grinned.
"You were? I was seeing Quinn Fabray for the first time in nearly five years!" Rachel squeaked.
They both exchanged glances before bursting into giggles.
"So what was it like?" Rita's eyes lit up at the exchange.
Watching the two women interact, there was no doubt in her mind that they were in love.
