| Daytime's not the only time! |
| Written by Jill Sherwin |
| Thursday, 19 October 1995 10:21 |
 “I like to remain employed and active in all mediums,” says Rowell, who can be seen in two CBS TV shows. Rowell, who plays the popular Drucilla on her CBS soap, recently began filming her second season on the CBS primetime show Diagnosis Murder. How does she juggle the two shows? “Discipline.” Credit is given to her background as a cancer. “Dancers are always doing three things at once.” She points out that she uses the same mental muscle to learn 20 pages of dialogue overnight as to pick up dance combinations and retain entire ballets. She praises the commitment she learned early on and the encouragement she receive from her foster mother, and enthusiast of the arts who recognized Rowell’s need to perform as a child. Juggling two shows might be enough to keep anyone busy, but Rowell still auditions during hiatus from either of her shows. She has appeared in commercials, telefilms and movies, such as Dumb and Dumber and the upcoming Barb Wire. Is she a workaholic? Perhaps. “I like to remain employed and active in all mediums.” Even as a young dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, Rowell knew there was still more out there. However, making the leap from ballet to acting wasn’t as giant as might be expected. Spotted among the corps de ballet by a photographer, Rowell became a model for such magazines as Seventeen and Mademoiselle. From print model to commercial actress to recurring roles to a shining star at CBS. Rowell’s discipline in her personal and professional demeanor paid off. Her reputation and attitude convinced both programs that she was worth some schedule coordination. She appreciates the efforts made on her behalf, but maintains, “I don’t impose on the shows. I come here to work.” And work and work. On top of a full-time career, Rowell is also a full-time mother to her daughter and is expecting her second child in January. I the midst of all of this, does she ever relax? “I can relax,” she insists, “just not for very long!”  “A Good actor is a good actor: in children’s theater, in commercials, in soap operas.” John McCook McCook was bitten by the acting bug at the age of 12 when he saw Mary Martin star in Peter Pan. Intrigued, he knew that theater was something he wanted to participate in. He pursued his love for musical theater, starting out in the chorus of local productions, continuing through college and beyond. In time, Hollywood beckoned, and he landed a lengthy stint on The Young and the Restless. After departing the soap, he quickly found that his soap stud looks were actually being held against him. “I wasn’t getting interviews. I was considered too glossy for nighttime television.” Frustrated by the typecasting, he and his agent decided to change his image by auditioning for nothing but comedic roles for a year. It worked. Guest star appearances on shows such as Three’s Company and Alice “broke the ‘tuxedo’ roles”. Daytime beckoned back, however, and McCook found himself starring in another CBS soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. He does not disparage acting in a daytime serial. “A good actor is a good actor: in children’s theater, in commercials, in soap operas. But an actor has to respond to the script, commit to the material and make it more than words on the page.” McCook first learned his skills on the stage. “Theater has a sense of its own history.” It’s an actor’s connection with the audience, though, that makes acting on stage special to McCook. “Creating that energy is thrilling.” Passing on his love for the medium, McCook consistently attends theater locally and abroad with his wife and children. And while they support his need to trod the boards as often as he can, they no doubt appreciate his soap schedule, where he works an average of three days a week and manages to make it home for dinner almost every night. The Young and the Restless’ Dough Davidson learned about late nights last season when he watching The Tonight Show to learn about being a host,” he admits. Yet nothing prepared him for the behavior of a live unscripted audience. “It was catch as catch can, no re-takes, flying by the seat of your pants.” The live format, “took the onus off of performing,” and make him a better performer. Although the show was a very positive experience of Davidson, studio politics prevented it from being renewed.  Davidson’s big break came while helping a friend with his car in the CBS lot. Taking the producers advice, he auditioned for and was given a small recurring role on the show, which at the time was a half of an hour long and live on tape. If anyone thinks that securing a role on a hit show gave Davidson any comfort or relief, it’s not necessarily so . He shakes his head recounting, “I was petrified. Every day I drove to work and pulled over and threw up.” But he was learning about letting the performance happen rather than trying to force it. “You go in with all of this 23 year old energy and try to fix it.” He soon discovered the world-wise company that surrounded him. “Believe it or not, they do know what they’re doing!” Davidson candidly admits that acting classes he had taken were less than helpful. “Like most ‘education,’ they rarely teach what you need to know. They try to pigeonhole and reduce creativity to what sells.” Nor does he particularly recommend going out and finding a ‘drudge’ job in the ‘real world’ just for the experience of it. He tried that. “What I saw as a bartender: a lot of people who drink a lot. What I saw as a taxi driver: a lot of people who can’t afford a car.” He does feel that there are opportunities to learn in this world. He learns from watching his children. But he contends that no one’s path to knowledge or success is similar. “There are a lot of ways to get to a destination. Follow your own path.” Each of these actors continues to follow their path through daytime, prime-time, film, and theater. The secret to their success? Davidson advises, “Don’t look for someone else to find yourself. In some aspects criticism can be helpful, but if there’s nothing but criticism, you lose yourself.” McCook contends, “Don’t be afraid to take a job because you need it. You shouldn’t say no when opportunity knocks. You need to be able to meet all challenges. So be ready for it.” Rowell recommends, “Never get comfortable or complacent. Remain hungry. Do your job and do it well. Stay clean. Have priorities.” And most importantly, “Hard work will pay off.” Hard work has paid off for each of these actors, who have obviously found out: Daytime’s not the only time. |
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