More interviews and articles
For some idiotic reason, I could not get anymore text on my other interviews page so here is a new one.
An Affair to Remember
Cheating on the Reverend Pulls Laura Koffman's Cassie Out Of The Shadows On OLTL
"Playing Dorian's daughter is a heck of a lot more fun than playing the minister's wife," Laura Koffman says, with a laugh. And who can argue?As Mrs. Andrew Carpenter, Koffman existed comfortably in the background on OLTL juggling work, marriage and motherhood in a not-very-dramatic way.Little did fans know that Cassie's passionate side was just waiting to be unleashed by a playfully charming reporter named Kevin Buchanan.
"At a certain point in life, people say, 'What am I doing? Where is my passion?'" notes Koffman. "I think that's what happened to Cassie in the last year. Her husband is not feeding her needs right now. She still loves him, but she's not in love with him anymore." Given that Andrew is a man of the cloth, Cassie's infidelity has sparked a heated reaction among OLTL fnas, some of whom are shocked that the mother of a young child could disregard her marriage vows simply because she's irresistably attracted to a cute co-worker. "That's the challenge in telling the story,"Koffman agrees. "Can Cassie find her passion without sacrificing her integrity?" And her passion is...? "Right now, sex!" quips the actress, adding, "She's not bad; she's torn.People do selfish things and then have regrets. Human beings don't always {react} in black and white."
Koffman is delighted to be busy again in a story that has half the fans rooting for Cassie and Kevin and the other half for Cassie and Andrew. "I called up my mom and my sisters [Koffman is one of six children]and my friends and my agent and said, 'Please watch for a month or two.' One friend said,'You haven't said that in years!'"Her only wish is that more characters would intrude on the triangle. "I hope they bring in Maggie to chew me out; I hope Tea gets more involved. As wonderful as Florencia [Lozano] is as a person, when she's Tea, I hate her. "It's so much fun to play." Heck, Koffman's even looking forward to the inevitable divorce battle between Cassie and the now steely reverend. "I hope we have a huge courtroom fight over River," she declares. "Cassie's biggest fear is that Andrew is not going to let her see her son. Andrew did kill a guy once. That's the passionate, saxophone-playing minister that Cassie fell in love with."
Koffman avoids expressing any opinion about who Cassie should end up with, noting that conflict makes for better story than contentment. "I love the sappy, sweet stuff because Kevin is so endearing and charming, but I don't want to lose those scenes where Cassie and Kevin are arguing. I thought it was interesting that Cassie told Andrew she'd fallen in love with Kevin, but she didn't tell anyone else, including Kevin. We're a long way from marriage."
In real life, the actress has been wed to businessman Marty Koffman for a year and a half. She describes their busy work and--workout--schedules as "typical New Yorkers. I'm in the gym at 5:30 in the morning on days I have to work;he works out at night at a small gym near his office." Pressed for details of their leisure time, Koffman says, "You don't want to know; that's boring. I audition, I work out, I go grocery shopping, I think about a dog..."
Imitating her thought process, Koffman laughingly chants, "Dog? Kid? Dog? Kid? I want one of those yuppie suburban golden retrievers--a big lap dog that's nice and gentle, not one of those little yappy dogs that you could wash your car with. (side note: I resent that remark! I have an itty bitty long haired chihuahua and I love her! LOL) The question is: What do you do with it during the day? It's cheaper to have children than to hire a good dogwalker."
To help with the baby side of the equation, Koffman "lived vicariously" through the pregnancy of OLTL dressing room-mate Kassie DePaiva(Blair), who recently gave birth to a baby boy. Her conclusion: "Everybody says it's the best thing you can do, but I'm enjoying being a newlywed right now, so I don't know that I'm gonna do a dog either." Anyway, Koffman adds, "I'm busy enough at the studio. Just watch," she urges, sounding excited. "There's alot of good stuff happening!"
Soap Opera Update 7-22-97: Here Comes Trouble
One Life to Live finally returns Cassie to her sultry roots
As the minister's wife, Cassie Carpenter has always been held to a much higher standard than have the other women of Llanview. That's what has made her 13-month descent into Kevin Buchanan's bed so compelling. Two months ago, Cassie finally gave in to her hidden desires. And, says her portrayer, actress Laura Koffman, this alduterous act signifies the re-emergence of the real Cassie.
"The secret in Cassie has always been that she is Dorian's daughter," says Koffman. "In the past, Cassie had been a courageous, rebellious woman in many ways. Somehow she got away from that, and I wanted her back." So have we. While Cassie has been busy playing the dutiful wife over the past year or so, ONE LIFE TO LIVE fans haven't forgotten her saucier side. This is the woman, after all, who once slept with Dorian's beau, John -- in Dorian's bed, no less! And it makes sense that this woman would also leave Andrew for Kevin -- which Cassie has done.
Koffman believes that Cassie's act of betrayal runs much deeper than simply leaving one man for another. "It's more about finding her own passion as a woman, as an adult," she explains. It's also, perhaps, about having the courage to admit to yourself that you're unhappy and to do something about it.
"In my opinion, carrying on the pretense of happiness is a tragic way to live one's life," says Koffman. "Andrew can be so mean. Cassie was always punished by him. He wanted her as just the minister's wife, and she couldn't do it anymore." It's been quite an interesting road for Koffman and Wortham Krimmer's Andrew. After the characters tied the knot, they fell into a pattern that is not uncommon with soap newlyweds. They became boring and backburner, with Krimmer even contemplating a departure from the show. With the new behind-the-scenes regime in place, there's hardly been a cry of mutiny by any of the cast.
Cassie's troubles, however, are hardly over. During the coming weeks, the hurt and angry Andrew will exploit her fear of losing their son, River. "Cassie is petrified that Andrew will try to take her child away from her," Koffman hints. Legal eagle Tea Delgado, Kevin's jilted lover, will also figure into the mix when she worms her way into Andrew and River's lives. "From Cassie's point of view, Tea is dangerous," says Koffman. "In the past, Cassie was just jealous of her because she was with Kevin. Now she is becoming involved with her soon-to-be-ex-husband and child. There's going to be trouble, and it's only going to get worse."
A huge thanks to Susan from the ULKFC for sending me this interview. You ROCK!
