Chakram
newsletter #8, 1999
Transcribed by Susanne Henriksson. Thanks, Sussi!
The
Way of Friendship
by
Sharon Delaney
Neither
snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays this interviewer from
the swift completion of her appointed interview. Neither barking dogs
nor mechanical sanders nor buzz saws stays this interviewer from the
swift completion of her-buzz saws!
"Can you hear the ruckus around the house?"
Renee starts off our conversation.
"Yeah, are you adding a new wing?" I joked.
"They're sanding," she explained. "I'll give you the whole story.
A girlfriend of mine from California who's an artist was visiting
and she was helping me design a painting scheme for our house. She
took three different colors and made a mural on the wall. She had
to leave and I thought I could finish it by connecting the dots, but
it looked just awful. Steve and I then painted over the whole thing
with one color, and of course, we didn't do a very good job and it
came out to be a color we weren't expecting!" she laughed. "Now we're
having someone do it properly."
"At least you got to play for a while," I said. "I wish I could
do that to my apartment."
"It's quite satisfying to be able to have your own home and paint
it whatever color you want it to be." She added.
"Is that a dog I hear barking?" I asked.
"Sorry about that. I have a foster dog," Renee laughed.
"A foster dog?" Can you keep it?" I queried?
"My boyfriend and I already have one dog, but Sandi Rayner, the horse
wrangler on the show, found this dog and no one seems to want him.
We're keeping him for the moment, but he's to much of a young boy,"
she laughed. "Chewing on everything."
"Speaking of youngsters, are you starting to feel 'clucky' again
with Lucy being pregnant? The way you where during 'Maternal
Instincts' when there were babies on the set?" I teased.
"Oh, no." she came back immediately. "The dog has taken care of that
completely. I'm very happy to live vicariously through Lucy," she
laughed. "I think maybe I was feeling clucky, so I adopted a whole
bunch of animals. I now have two dogs, a cat and a cockatiel. I feel
I've nested myself out."
"When you finally got to see the finished version of 'Deja Vu...,'
were you pleased?" I asked.
Renee laughed. "I was relieved, I think. Before it was done, I was
quite worried I wasn't going to be able to show my face. When I do
see it. I see all the mistakes I made, so of course, I cringe. But
I'm pleased I made it through alive!"
"How was it directing yourself?" I asked
"I was the hardest director I've ever worked with!" Renee laughed.
"Gave myself no guidance what so ever. I only gave myself one take
on most scenes, except for when I had the luxury of working on a Saturday
with the second unit and I had a bit more time to give myself two
takes as an option."
"If I were to do it again, I would take the time to put more energy
into preparing myself acting wise. I didn't realize that with the
time constraints, I would only have one or two chances to nail a scene.
And, obviously, during the first take I was still thinking about everything
else around me. So I couldn't quite get into the scene. It took me
a while to relax into acting."
I wondered if she preferred directing over acting and which
she would pursue after Xena ended.
"It's hard for me to say what my career will be after Xena," she pondered.
"But I definitely found directing exciting."
" Do you think you'll direct another Xena episode?"
"Not at the moment. It's quite busy having Lucy expecting," she laughed.
"We're all just trying to make sure Lucy gets as much rest as possible.
It's been more challenging this season, for sure."
"One of the things Rob (Tapert) told me in the interview I did
with him for the last newsletter was that he was going to make Gabrielle
a warrior," I told her. "Was that because he knew Lucy was pregnant?"
She paused to think. "I'm not sure which came first - Lucy's pregnancy
or wanting Gabrielle to go through another growth phase as she has
every season."
"The inside cover of this newsletter will have a photo of Gabrielle's
new weapon." I said.
"I love it!" she says gleefully. "And it's not nearly as vicious as
it appears to be. I don't stab people with it I don't become some
psychopath. Gabrielle uses it mainly as a defensive weapon."
"I noticed in the slides, that she's holding them the way Amarice
holds her knives, with the blade flushing against her wrist and pointing
down," I told her.
"Actually, that has nothing to do with being offensive or defensive,"
she explained. "It's the way the sais are used. It's a Japanese weapon.
I've heard different stories, but the one I'm tending to believe is
that the farmers were looking for farming instruments they could use
as weapons against samurai warriors and the sais were what became
of a pitchfork. The man who was teaching me the weapon has told me
this and he's studied them extensively."
"Minus the handle," I added.
"Right. I've been using it as a back scratchier." Renee laughed.
"Did they bring in someone to train you?" I asked.
"No," she said. "Actually, many of our stuntmen are trained in martial
arts and quite a few of them worked with this weapon."
"Was this a weapon Rob wanted to use?"
"Actually, Rob wanted to go back with the staff. But I said to him
I'd love for the character to move forward. Next thing I knew, Rob
came up to me and said, 'I've got just the weapons in a box with a
videotape to take home.' I had no idea what they were!" She laughed.
"You took them home, took them out of the box and Steve said,
'I'll be in the other room.' Right?" I teased.
"Yea, he did," she laughed. "After I received them, I went to Texas
for a couple weeks and demonstrated what I'd learned thus far to my
mom and Eddie. And they wondered what kind of lethal weapon I was
becoming. When, in fact I'm useless with them." This story was told
with a great deal of enthusiasm which let me know Renee was obviously
getting a kick out of her new toys.
Now, let's see if I can catch her off guard with this question!
"And who, pray tell, taught Gabrielle to use these tools of mayhem?"
I asked slyly.
"Ummm, er, well," Renee waffled.
It was clear I'd caught her out!
"Actually, Gabrielle bought them for Xena and then decided to keep
them for herself. She started playing with them until she acquired
the skill rather quickly by using them against warlords," Renee finished
in a rush.
I'd been ruminating about the pacifist traveling with a warrior
and wondering what Renee's take on this situation was. So, I asked.
"Xena and Gabrielle are supposed to be soulmates. So, even though
Gabrielle has changed her internal path, it doesn't mean she can give
up loving the person who's her partner," she said. "We also discovered
that Xena is supposed to be a warrior for 'good.' It isn't as if she's
out mercilessly killing people. It was for the benefit of mankind.
They have the same goal, just a different way to approach it."
We had to break off the interview at this point because it was
time for me to call Lucy. However, there was more I wanted to cover
and Renee offered to call me from the set during her lunch break the
following week. It was on a Wednesday when we got together again and
it had been raining hard. Silly me, I thought that meant they got
to stay indoors.
"Actually, we've been outside and the remains of some huge
thunderstorm that came from Asia down to Australia has just passed
over New Zealand. We've been filming in some pretty torrential rain,"
she informed me.
"Aren't you glad Gabrielle got her boots back?" I said gleefully.
"Oh yes," she said with relief. "And, at that moment, we're wearing
more than the usual, minimal outfits."
"Speaking of minimal outfits," I said, "I hear Claire Stansfield
is down there reprising the role of Alti in 'Them Bones, Them Bones.'
They're going to resurrect her bones?"
"Yes," Renee chuckled. "They're doing the ritual scene right now and
it's quite funny."
Claire had told me she asked Rob if she could wear less clothing
next time she made an appearance on the show and she's got none in
this episode. Renee thought this was quite ironic.
"It's a rarity on this show, asking for less clothing. And it's more
unusual that Lucy and I are fully clothed throughout this show. So
we're enjoying being out in the rain in the winter."
I wondered what Claire thought of them being covered up while
she was running around in her birthday suit. I'll have to ask her
when she comes back to Los Angeles. Bet I get an earful!
"John Fawcett is directing this episode," Renee added. "He just gets
better and better each time we have him. He always has twisted element
that he wants to add to a scene. And he knows how to find the subtleties
in acting, as well. I'm enjoying him."
Here was a chance to ask Renee how it was directing Lucy in
"Deja Vu." "If you're an actor who is directing, is it difficult to
direct an actor who is directing, is it difficult to direct an actor
who doesn't work the same way you do?" I asked.
"I think you just get an idea of the personalities when you direct
someone. And since I know Lucy so well, of course it was easy for
me to know how to speak with her," she said. "Lucy's the sort of actress
where you don't need to do a lot of work with her because she uses
her instincts and she's usually right on all the time. I would put
my two cents in when I thought I could add to what she was already
doing, but usually she's always good, you know."
"She's the sort of person that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix
it,'" she laughed. "There's no need to go in there and try to complicate
issues. The approach I took was from the point of view of an actor.
How do I like directors to talk to me."
"When I was breaking down the scene's, I put action verbs in that
I wanted to make points and if I wanted to make a note for Lucy or
Ted, I would try to give them an action to do instead of giving them
a result."
"A lot of times you have directors who give you the end result of
what they want to see and you have to translate in your mind what
you have to do to get that result. I try to keep it simple."
As we know, Renee started taking yoga when she found out it
was going to be part of "Paradise Found." I wondered if the
philosophy that was being explored in the India episodes about each
person having their own "way" interested her.
"I'm exploring that idea right now, but I don't think it has anything
to do with the episodes. I think it's more that we're seeing the demise
of Hercules and I'm beginning to wonder what I'll do after our show,"
she laughed. "I'm questioning what my reason for being here is all
about. When we were doing "The Way," I was exploring different religions
- Hinduism, Buddhism - and reincarnation. I don't have a point of
view yet, but I'm fascinated by it all." "And, as I was getting
ready to direct 'Deja Vu,' I read as much about reincarnation as I
could because I wanted to have a realistic element in the episode."
She continued.
"What I really liked about that episode was seeing Ted's dignity come
across on screen. He's an intellectual man and we hardly see that
when he plays Joxer. I wanted everyone to see the Ted I know."
There were so many great bits going on in this script. So many
hat tips to the audience. And in jokes. But I know things are always
getting cut out for time and I ask Renee if that was the case with
this show too. Renee burst out laughing at this question.
"We filmed a great scene where Ted played a campy version of him dressing
up as Xena. It was my favorite part, but the episode was just too
long and we had to cut it. It was R.J.'s idea."
I must admit that images of Ted dressed as Xena immediately
filled my mind and I was struck speechless. What could that possibly
have looked like! Maybe we can get the footage shown at a convention
some day. I'm definitely going to look into that. Here's where having
one ear to the ground, er, internet, comes in handy. Because the fans
spotted something that I hadn't noticed at all. "Was there anything
going on between Gabrielle and Brutus?" I asked Renee cautiously.
She laughed.
"Some fans thought he was looking rather endearingly at you."
I said, encouragingly.
Renee gave in, still laughing. "That was a subtext the actor David
Franklin, and I decided to play. We wanted to show the love/hate relationship
between the two characters so we played a bit of attraction. But there
was nothing going on between them," she laughed. "Sometimes you have
chemistry with another actor and sometimes you don't. David and I
did and we added that to the scenes."
As we were now talking about "Endgame," I thought it
a good time to find out what Gabrielle thinks about Amarice, the new
young Amazon who has descended with a quip and an attitude into Xena
and Gabrielle's life.
"Amarice isn't a third wheel," Renee explained. "She's a character
in her own right and Gabrielle is not threatened by her. We're just
now developing her part and we're going to see more of her in the
coming season."
"Is it difficult for a guest actor coming into a situation where
the cast has been together so long?" I asked.
"We definitely try to make every actor who comes in feel as comfortable
as possible with joining our 'family,'" Renee said positively. "In
respect to Jennifer, she's such an open and easygoing woman that she's
very likeable. I invited her to my home a couple weeks ago and we
went on a wine-tasting trip. I introduced her to some of the local
wines and she's bringing some back to her family. In many ways, she
reminds me of myself," Renee says thoughtfully. "Stages that I've
gone through at her age. She's in her early twenties. Finding out
who you are and looking for love. All those things," she laughed gently.
"Be patient and don't get desperate," I added.
"Know you're worth it." she declared firmly.
Time to delve into "Ides of March" and Gabrielle's learning
that, for her, the Way of Friendship is more important than the Way
of Love. And how did Renee feel about the incredible fight scene as
Gabrielle defended the fallen Xena. I thought she would have had a
good time letting loose in her battle sequence, but her answer surprised
me.
"It wasn't fun. understood where the motivation came from, but I was
frustrated it had to happen so quickly," she said. "I like to play
everything more subtle - perhaps a few less head butts or stabbings.
And I was afraid it would look comedic because it was over the top
for Gabrielle. I tried to play it as primitive and instinctual as
I could."
"I found it heartbreaking, especially with Xena crying out for
Gabrielle to stop," I told her. "And she doesn't know how to use a
sword the way Xena does."
"I don't think it looked anything like Xena's sword fights," Renee
said. "The movements weren't complicated. Gabrielle was just defending
herself as simply as possible. I felt it was important to show that
Gabrielle didn't feel comfortable committing murder. and I wanted
her to be vulnerable so I tried to make it as awkward for myself as
possible."
"What was going on through Gabrielle's mind when she looked
at the knife in her hand and saw the blood?" I asked, thinking I would
hear about some deep psychological revelation.
Renee laughed. "I was sitting on the top of the stuntman and we had
to use a real dagger because it was coming up into the shot. As I
was doing the motions, I was watching him as intently as I could to
make sure I didn't actually stab him. I put my hand on his chest to
protect him and ended up stabbing my own hand! Took a chunk of my
wedding finger," she laughed again. "I stood up and had all this blood
on me and thought I had hurt him. The blood was so red. I thought
it had to be fake. But, oh, no, it was real! When you're in the middle
of a scene, you don't feel a thing and I didn't."
"Isn't that odd that a piece of real life had an impact on the
character and how you played the scene?" I commented.
"I've learned that from Lucy," she explained. "I used to come in completely
prepared for scenes and I've learned to use my instinct more. If something
is working inside me, I try to find a way I can manipulate it into
the scene. You want to be inspired in everything you do."
When I was on the set, some of the crew were working on a mechanical
cross that would be used for the final of "Ides." It was actually
just for the top half of the cross mounted on a machine so that it
rotated from a horizontal position to a vertical one. I mentioned
this to Renee.
"You saw that?" she asked. "The ingenuity of one of our crew members
heard the shot that the director, Ken Girotti, wanted to achieve and
created the design for that rig. Lucy and I both sat on it with a
camera sitting above her stomach attached to wires and rigs," she
said in awe. "She had absolute trust in our crew."
The highlight of this episode was the prison scene with Xena
and Gabrielle.
Xena has tried with all her might to thwart Alti's vision of their
death and she has failed. But, although the chakram lies broken in
two, the love between Xena and Gabrielle has grown stronger than ever.
Xena: "I'm sorry for all the times I didn't treat you right."
Gabrielle: "You brought out the best in me."
"It was so beautiful and so easy for Lucy and I to do," she said softly.
"It was Rob's idea to play the first part with no dialogue. And R.J.
wrote the bit with the characters reminiscing about their lives -
'I should have read your scrolls.' Very touching to even think about.
That was one of those scenes where you just try not to cry too much,"
she laughed gently.
She explained further. "You go through waves as an actor where you
reach a scene and you're fin with it. Then you might have to do a
few more takes and you start to struggle. I was getting frustrated
and mentioned it to Lucy. She shared wit me what was inspiring her
and I used that to go into it on a new level. Another actor might
just have said, 'Well, you're on your own.' I found a way to tap into
the energy between Lucy and myself and brought that into the scene."
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