The DQ Times- Quinn-tessential Beth Sullivan Part Two

By Linda-Marie Singer
Quinn- tessential Beth Sullivan, Part 2

LMS: Including corrections and revisions?

BS: We're all together on the script. On Day 2 we have a concept meeting, and run through with department heads. General questions are asked, we do our walk throughs and make costumes. By Day Five the sets are painted, and we do special casting if needed.

LMS: So the actors start blocking by Day One?

BS: No, our runthrough with the cast begins only on Day Five.

LMS: Day Five? What happens when performers complain about their lines?

BS: They have reverence for the written word. We have good writers who have gone through 3 drafts before the cast sees it. It's important for the actors
to remember they're not writers.

LMS: I heard that the cast is a happy one, but that Jane Seymour was not your first choice to play the doctor.

BS: (Laughs) Do you know that she came to us 36 hours *before* we started shooting?

LMS: Only 36 hours before? How did you both find one another?

BS: Let me say that out there is a list of women performers who turned us down and regretted it.

LMS: What was it about the role that they didn't want?

BS: I suppose they didn't want to work so hard. Our shooting schedule is grueling, along with the weather. Freezing in the winter, and very hot in the summer. All the while you're wearing 50 pounds of clothing.

LMS: Did Jane fit in right away with your expectations?

BS: Many people don't realize that Jane Seymour has been in the business since she was 17-years-old. When she agreed to play Dr. Quinn at the last moment, it came as a great surprise. She read the script and liked it instantly. The role came at a time in her life that was right for her.

LMS: So there were no problems.

BS: Yes, with the costume designer who had only pieced clothing together. She went crazy doing the refitting. But look at the result!

LMS: Speaking of the actors, what's it like having your husband, Jim Knobeloch, on the set? (Jim plays Jake Slicker)

BS: Jim's been with me before. I cast him as the District Attorney on Rosie O'Neill,' and then on 'Quinn.' I find it comforting that he's there with me.

LMS: Getting back to screenwriters ... do you ever get a chance to read scripts from first timers?

BS: It's best not to send anything directly to a producer. You've got to go through an agency, and send the script to a person who is their most junior agent. Someone who has just been promoted, and who is looking to discover *you*. But beware. People breaking into the business tend to have grandiose ideas. They want to write, direct, produce and run the world. My advice? Get specific. Get real!"

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