Actress, producer, writer, multiple Daytime Emmy Award winner, legendary soap opera star, Crystal Chappell, is lending her voice and talents in the all-new audio soap opera, Montecito.
Montecito: A Fresh Take on the Classic Soap Opera Genre
Montecito, from series creator and Emmy nominated producer Grant Rutter, is delivering a bold, fresh and unfiltered take on the genre that started it all. Under the shadows of Montecito’s towering palm trees, a malignant narcissist infiltrates the lives of longtime residents; loyalties crumble, families fracture, and no secret is safe.
In the audio only drama, Chappell joins fellow crème de la crème daytime stars including Rick Hearst (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful), Vincent Irizarry (All My Children, The Young and the Restless), Mike Manning (Beyond the Gates), Peter Porte (Days of Our Lives), Emme Rylan (General Hospital, Guiding Light), Marc Anthony Samuel (General Hospital) and Kelly Thiebaud (General Hospital.)
Crystal Chappell’s Multi-Faceted Career: Actress, Producer, Writer
Hi Crystal! We are big fans of you and your work. Thank you so much for speaking with us. Your extensive and impressive career more than speaks for itself. We can’t imagine a world without Crystal Chappel the actress. Did you ever think about doing something else?
I knew in my twenties that I wanted to have a multi-pronged career. Acting is fun and expressive…and revealing but I knew I wanted to create whether it was through writing, producing and directing. I was fortunate to find some footing on the internet with Venice in 2009!
Venice is quite a footing! We will circle back to it. Sticking with acting for now. What do you think most people don’t understand about the craft of acting?
Acting is “living truthfully in imaginary circumstances”. -Sanford Meisner. Some roles are scary because it forces us to face the fact that we all can, at least, imagine embodying some of the worst human qualities. I’ve had many a day (especially playing Olivia from Guiding Light) where the character had to do something so heinous and I had to go home to my family. I called it hanging up my Olivia skin before walking out of my dressing room door. It does take a toll and that is why Soaps are so amazing and harder than most realize. It’s not a finite period of time. It’s daily/weekly. You have to find a way to disengage, or it can consume your reality.
Wow! I‘ve never heard it put that way. Food for thought. What about the entertainment business in general?
The entertainment business is just that. A business. While it’s quite showy and fun to look at, at the end of the day it’s about numbers, just like any other business.
What Would Crystal Change?
If you could change anything about it, what would you change?
If I could change one thing about the business, I’d create a mandate that men and women get paid equally as well as people of color vs non people of color. It’s ridiculous that it should be any other way.
Amen! If you weren’t in the entertainment business, what would you want to be doing?
No matter what I do, expansion and growth are always the goals. In 2015, I reluctantly hired a business coach. It wasn’t necessarily what I wanted to do but I had my Production Company up and running as well as some real estate ventures in the works and realized I really had no “process” of creating and evolving these businesses. It was extremely helpful, not only for my business ventures, but I was able to put it into practice with my home life! Since then, it’s helped me to move more confidently into a writing partnership. Something I didn’t even know I wanted to do. Keep evolving!
Absolutely! Before we talk Montecito, what is one of the best lessons you’ve learned over the course of your career?
Best lessons I learned from my career are to have fun with it and not take yourself too seriously. You can’t grow and realize your fullest potential and be locked up inside.
Let’s Talk Montecito
How did you become involved with Montecito?
My friend, Alan Locher, reached out on behalf of Grant Rutter, our Executive Producer, and told me about the project! I was instantly intrigued! Met with Grant and the rest is audio soap history!
How much audio work had you done prior to Montecito? What do you love most about audio and then for the fans to experience? Describe your experience doing it on Montecito.
No, I’d never done audio work before, so it was a little intimidating at first but the thrill of acting in a different form was overwhelmingly exciting! Go where you’ve never gone before, right? The script was fun! Soapy Fun! And as a life-long soap fan, I really wanted to hear it play out. We were able to be on screen together to work out the scenes and get direction etc. It felt like an instant community! I’ve heard fans compare it to an audio book. The thing that I’d say is very different though is the multi-faceted performance aspect. It’s happening as if we were on a studio set and filming a Soap scene. Doing Montecito was a rush I loved and I’m so very proud of how it turned out! Kudos to the Production Team!
About Helena
Your character, Helena Granville-Belasco, tell us about her. What three words best encapsulate her?
Helena is complicated. She loves her family but is inexplicably drawn to her cheating husband. I’m sure there are skeletons in her closet that would explain that. She’s fiercely protective of her son but, while she may dole out some very reasonable advice, she’d stop at nothing to protect him. She’d stop at nothing to protect her family and its good name.
Complex. Shrewd. Vulnerable.
What is one tease you can share about her?
She’s gonna kick a Bitches Ass!
Yas! What are you most excited for fans to “hear” from the show?
Montecito unfolds like a well-oiled bedtime story…Full of energy, twists and turns and sure to leave you wanting to know what happens next. Good Soap!
“Good soap” is our jam! Speaking of…Let’s not forget your good soap, Venice!
Thank you! If folks would like to check out my content, they can find Venice Seasons One and Two on Youtube for Free and Seasons Three through Seven on Vimeo.com. There will be an Extra Venice Special coming this summer!
Thanks, Crystal!
You can listen to Montecito on YouTube and all podcast platforms. (Photo: Montecito Team.)
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