Nelson Branco's SOAP OPERA UNCENSORED: Issue 59 Read online

  #SaveSharonCase

  —Nelson Branco on Twitter early 2012

  How was your year?

  If any entertainer embodied the topsy-turvy twists and turns 2012 had to offer — both on and off screen — nobody personified the wackiness and hope fans endured and survived, respectively, better than Y&R’s eternal beauty and insanely talented Sharon Case.

  Let’s rewind: Case was not only saddled with the most ruined character in recent daytime history but she also had to make the gross and contrived pairing of Victor and Sharon make sense on screen. Even Meryl Streep would consider calling it quits — but not Case. The star deserves an Emmy Award for simply having to kiss Eric Braeden in what had to be the “Ewww” heard around the world!

  After one initial episode of complete disgust, shock and awe (brilliantly mirroring the audience’s own), Case decided to get to work and turn this shit into gold. As a result, Case delivered one of her most deliciously infectious, expertly skilled and joyously entertaining performances of her career. Yep, some stars do earn their paycheques… we just need more of them employed on soaps.

  You see, Case proved that an actor’s job is to make what is on the written page work — ego, politics and controversy be damned.

  The original Queen of Turning Shit Into Gold Kim Zimmer would be proud.

  It looked dicey there for a while. Would Case survive? Many, including myself, would’ve bet no. But something magical happened: Case single handedly saved the worst storyline of 2012 and her star never shined brighter.

  As a reward, 2012 ended on a positive note for Case: Fans and critics cheered on the actress, showing unconditional support for the Emmy winner in ways she never experienced before; her peers acknowledged Case’s professional miracle by utilizing her Godly work ethic, and, finally, Sharon was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which authentically explained the heroine’s fateful turn these past few years. Oh, and the showrunner responsible for this madness, Maria Arena Bell, was justifiably fired.

  From a narrative stance, mental states are hot right now for female characters in film, primetime TV and theatre: Onscreen depictions of mental illness change as mainstream madness goes insane.

  Thanks to her care, passion and love for Sharon Newman, the craft of acting and writing, the audience and the show, the fearless actress contributed to the additional shift in the paradigm of mental illness. Think Kirsten Dunst in MELANCHOLIA or Clare Danes in HOMELAND.

  For all characters listed above, their mental illness is both a hindrance and a gift disrupting their ability to function but also offering them valuable insight and bursts of creativity. But, most importantly, Case and company have offered insight into the bleak future women grappling with this social taboo and relentless, needless torture face on a daily basis. It’s an unfair double standard: If we’re physically injured, we head to the hospital to remedy the situation; but when our mind is broken, we’re scared to get help because of the stigma(s) attached. And every day, Case nails the aforementioned sad reality of this disease.

  What makes Case’s portrayal even more remarkable than Danes’s or Dunst’s is the fact that the actress was not supported by the writing like her peers were. She did this all on her own — until new head writer Josh Griffith took over the show and named Sharon’s beast.

  In addition, UNCENSORED applauded the actress when she took on Eric Braeden personally after he viciously and passive aggressively attacked the star in an interview with ON AIR, ON SOAPS’ Michael Fairman. She stood up for herself proactively without overreacting. She didn’t start the fight but she sure did end it. That’s a feat a lot of us could learn from. Including this writer.

  For all the above reasons, UNCENSORED is proud to name Case our Entertainer of the Year for proving that despite the shit we put up with in this industry there is always a happy ending around the corner when you believe, challenge and fight.

  Quite simply, Sharon Case is daytime’s Most Valuable Player because she personifies what is right about this industry despite the myriad absurd challenges we face due to the stubborn patriarchy of the world (hello: Victor Newman) as we try to reinvent this antiquated, beloved genre. Moreover, and most impressively, Sharon Newman has become a character worthy of the feminist label given the misogynistic hell she’s had to endure at the hands of the men in her life. Today, Sharon is surviving on her own terms, and UNCENSORED applauds her.

  Plus, Sharon has great taste in dick! (Sue me, I had to get that in there because Sharon, like the men on the show, likes sex — and there is nothing wrong with that.)

  I spoke with Case moments before she caught a plane on a last-minute trip to Mexico before returning to work on the Y&R set after the annual Holiday break. Enjoy!

  Happy 2013! So glad we finally connected!

  I know! I don’t know why we couldn’t get on the phone earlier.

  I have three careers I’m juggling but I don’t know how you do it with starring on the number-one soap opera, saving crappy writing, and running your own jewelry line, POMP.

  I know it’s tough. The jewelry line fit really well into my life four years ago when Maria was the showrunner because none of us worked as much as we had before so I needed to find something to do with my time.

  Are you an easier memorizer?

  Yes. Really easy. People always ask me that. It’s not an issue at all for me. I know that’s not the case for every actor. But, hey, there are a lot more difficult aspects of my job than memorizing dialogue!

  [Laughs] And, speaking of which, you endured a lot this past year off and on camera. How did 2012 start for you? Was it difficult from the start?

  Yes… but it’s been difficult for the last few years. There were a number of years where a lot of us weren’t working very much which created a stressful environment all around because we have a really large cast. Listen, any actor on any show can relate to how frustrating that is but the controversy surrounding Sharon and Victor [really kicked off the year for me]. I mean, for Sharon to fall for the grandfather of her children and father of her two ex-husbands didn’t go over well with the audience so, given that, I began 2012 with that controversial aspect. It’s my job — no matter what — to make it entertaining. Which is why I decided to listen to what the fans and critics were saying — and my own personal judgments — so I could salvage this.

  Do you find it ironic that the worst storyline of your career ultimately ended up saving Sharon?

  It is really funny that that is what happened. I made a lot of adjustments when I played those [contrived] scenes [involving Sharon and Victor]. I didn’t just play the dialogue as written; I purposely didn’t take the script at face value. Instead, I opted to make the lines funny, add subtext, and infuse the material with a somewhat outrageous quality because I figured that approach would be more entertaining to watch than playing Sharon really falling in love with Victor. If I had done that, I knew that would only further infuriate fans. And, once I did that, the reaction from the audience was positive so I went full throttle with that approach.

  Very smart girl. You must have had a lot of homework in 2012!

  I literally had to go line by line and put a lot of personal thought into everything Sharon was saying. Yes, it was a lot of work, but that’s OK because that’s what I get paid to do and some storylines require more work than others. Later in the year, when Sharon battled her emotional problems, that also took a lot of work but in a different way. Playing someone who is bipolar is very exhausting but it worked out perfectly and explained all of Sharon’s past behaviour. I applaud Josh for making that decision because I think it makes the most sense considering her history. Sharon's always been kind of off. Sharon’s always experienced these weird jags…. I’m just glad we have a reason behind Sharon’s [psyche] so we can even have more fun with it.

  What’s been the reaction from fans?

  It’s been great! I’ve gotten a lot of support from them. The reaction is that fans are thrilled and relieved that Sharon’s mental st
ate is being addressed — and that it’s being written so well. I’ve gotten a lot of comments from fans about how bipolar disorder has affected their own families, which has been very rewarding. Most of the fans want the storyline to continue because Sharon’s journey has really touched them. The fact that the show opted to go in this brave, realistic route with Sharon has been meant a lot to them. I’m proud to be a part of this storyline.

  I think Josh is just scratching surface with Sharon’s mental abyss, which I like, because if he just swept her issues under the proverbial rug, it would’ve had the same effect as Sharon having a brain tumour or whatever.

  Right.

  Personally, I would never “cure” Sharon. This is a multiple year storyline, I think. Did you do any research on mental illness?

  Certainly I did with Sharon’s bipolar disorder storyline, but I have done extensive research on mental illness throughout my acting career, especially when I was in acting school.

  Which explains why you can navigate the choppy waters behind the scenes at Y&R! My words! [Laughs]

  I’ve played bipolar characters before, too, so this wasn’t necessarily new to me.

  One of