#atwyrm

[annepi-blog]

I just heard "and thats what you really missed" on the episode "on my way" and there's a cut scene with Kurt and Blaine talking about Karovsky before Blaine drives Kurt to the hospital?

Did you know that?

Is that scene online anywhere?

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of the Chris Colfer episode.

Live taping of Snixxmas.

Chris was the first person Kevin met.

A family friend put Chris in touch with an agent after seeing Chris in a community theater show.

He started auditioning as a freshman in high school.

His first audition was for That’s So Raven.

His parents would drive him to his auditions.

Chris wrote a spin-off script for Kurt.

JACK nights were nights Jenna, Amber, Chris, and Kevin would party together.

Several casting things would not stand today. Getting rid of a character of color for Chris’s pasty ass and Kevin playing a disabled character.

Chris was terrified after reading the script. A family member asked if he was going to do this and told him it would ruin his life.

He is grateful for the role because it forced him to be honest with himself.

He was told not to play gay characters. That it would ruin his career.

The cast would have sleepovers every weekend. Chris scared Kevin because I’d his night terrors.

Chris and Jenna apartment hunted. Chris had to have a washer and dryer in his apartment. The idea of a laundromat scared him.

Jenna had a crush on Kevin early on. Chris put a picture of Kevin in Jenna’s underwear drawer.

They talked about the Heartstoppers fiasco. Chris wanted to reach out. He basically went through the same thing during glee.

Coming out publicly puts your career and safety at risk. There is still a lot of homophobia in the industry. Forcing someone to come out is the cruelest thing you could do.

There wasn’t much support when Chris came out. He was told it was obvious and what did he expect.

Chris and Chelsea Handler planned the interview where he came out.

People were furious when Chris did an interview and wouldn’t talk about his sexuality.

The Chelsea Handler was worth it for him when he got feedback from fans.

Felt like he had a responsibility to live the fantasy the show was portraying snd to always be positive.

Sometimes that pressure was suffocating. Had horrible agoraphobia for awhile.

The response to Kurt was overwhelming and even crazier then how the other cast was treated.

Chris resented the that Kevin got to keep things private and wasn’t out publicly. It was hard for Chris to go on dates or have a private life.

Chris went on his first date when he was 20 and skipped the Grammys.

Kevin envied Chris for being open and out publicly until he saw all the shit that Chris went through.

Kevin got mixed messages from the execs at glee. Some told him to come out and others told him to never come out.

Chris was told to get a fake girlfriend.

Jenna was Kevin’s fake girlfriend.

Mike was a dream to work with and Chris loved everything they got to do together. That relationship was the best part of the show.

Chris was furious when he read the script and saw Burt accepted Kurt. He joked it was supposed to be his Emmy moment.

Chris kind of resents the stuff between Kurt and Blaine because it was all a fairytale. It wasn’t as realistic as the Burt and Kurt stuff.

Writing TLOS was therapeutic for Chris.

Chris’s least favorite song to do was Umbrella, Ben, and Turkey Lurkey.

Had been working for years to get a Scissor Sisters song.

The worst song to shoot was Thriller. It took a month to film because the filming dates kept getting changed.

Chris sat in his trailer with Dot and Romy and watched the parent trap while everyone was outside filming and freezing.

Requesting songs always backfired.

They talked about the Golden Globes.

Night Terrors is a good name for a podcast.

[ushkowitzdaily]

Jenna promoting ATWYRM via Instagram Stories | May 22 2023

[tuiyla]

The Snixxmas Special

Listen to this episode from And That's What You REALLY Missed on Spotify. Jenna and Kevin are coming to you LIVE from the iHeart Theater for this very special Snixxmas episode in loving memory of Naya Rivera to benefit the Alexandria House. Don’t miss this holiday episode filled with special guests, games, fireside chats with the cast and crew of “Glee,” performances and more as they keep the Snixxmas spirit alive!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m not sure whether the video will ever be available again but the Snixxmas Special podcast episode is here, for all those who didn’t get to watch it on Mandolin and for those who feel like listening to it again.

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of the Striking a Chord (w/Chord Overstreet) episode of the podcast.

Kevin asked what would happen if you said this guest wasn't special, that they were just a regular guest since they always say they have a special guest.

They said Chord was a very special guest.

Jenna said Chord is the king of laughs, impressions, and just being a wonderful human being. He was just a hoot on set.

Kevin said Chord is the glee puppy dog. He was the little brother to everyone. Jenna calls him a golden retriever.

Kevin said the only reason they needed a season two was needed was because of Chord.

Chord comes from country song writing royalty. Kevin said he is Chord's biggest fan.

Chord said he has always done acting. He was steering away from music because his brother and dad did it. He was trying to find his own identity.

Jenna asked about when Chord got the audition did he know about Glee. He had not heard about it. When he go the audition his agent got him the first season. He watched it before he started working on the show and had some reference.

Jenna asked if Chord knew what character he was auditioning for at the time. Chord said no. His agent told him to go to Robert Ulrich's casting office. Chord brought is guitar and sang one of his own songs. He auditioned with Finn's pilot scenes. He had no idea who he was auditioning for just that he was auditioning for the show. He left and got called back immediately and had to go back at 9pm to sing acapella. Then he did a studio test and network test. Two days later he was in dance rehearsal. Through all of this he was still doing Finn pilot scenes. Once he got past the first room they had him sing Billionaire. When Chord joined the show he wasn't contractually a regular. A lot of the main cast were guest stars for a majority of the first few seasons and were there everyday. The contract Chord said that after 7 episodes he would become a regular and then they never exercised that option. Darren signed a similar contract.

Chord was kind of a guinea pig. He was the first to join the cast after the first season and they had a already become a tight knit group. Chord said he didn't feel like the new guy for too long. Jenna remembers hearing they were shooting Billionaire and wanting to get their early to watch it.

Jenna asked Chord if he remembers his first day. it was a scene with Kevin and Cory. He thinks it was Finn trying to convince Sam to join the club. He said the first day was very intimidating. He was just coming from being replace and recast. He had a bit of anxiety. Kevin said they all had a little bit of it.

Chord said they didn't have to get into why he was gone for the first 8 episodes of season 3. He came back singing to a plastic cup. He was on a little break. Someone got a text while they were filming that Chord was coming back and everyone was excited.

Chord finally got to a country song at the end of the series.

Sam was homeless and a stripper. Kevin said he surprised they even talked about it.

Jenna said they had him very naked for a lot of the show.

Chord said he ate a lot of chicken and greens. Then of course during that 8 episode window he was eating cheeseburgers and drinking beers, having a great time with his buddies. Then he gets told they want him back and he is going to be a stripper. So he had to go and do anything he could to offset the cheeseburgers.

Kevin said he felt bad he would see Chord talking to himself and avoiding the crafty room. Chord said it makes you very conscious of body image stuff. He said there were times when watched himself a week later and thought he could have done with a couple more crunches. Jenna said that is terrible.

Chord talked about doing Applause shirtless with huge wings. Those images don't leave the internet. They also don't leave Chord's brain. Kevin had a huge pillowcase. Darren was in a long wig.

Chord still has the Rocky Horror pants.

Kevin remembers when Chord when he first came on the show. They were walking down the hallway and were so excited. Later that day on set Mark and Cory messed with Chord. it was sort of like hazing. Zach pranked Damian telling him he had been on the show for six months and now his character was gay.

Chord said Sam being Kurt's boyfriend was an up in the air topic. Chord said he hadn't really seen a gay person before joining the show. He told Kevin when they met. Kevin told him oh you are going to meet a lot of gay people here. Kevin said Chord was always very open and honest with him.

Chord is on a show with Lindsay Lohan. She mentioned it a little bit and she didn't have the best experience. She didn't know she would be sitting next to Perez Hilton. At the time he wasn't the nicest to a lot of people. Kevin said he would have been pissed too. They didn't get to meet her when she was on the show.

They congratulated him on season 3 of Acapulco. He said it's different because their is a language barrier. Most of the people on the show are fluent in Spanish. He is learning about different culture's. He said Glee was kind of like a bootcamp. It was nonstop for 6 seasons. It was great training. It makes everything else feel like a cake walk. He gets too goof off, make people laugh, and hang out in Mexico for 3 months.

Kevin said he doesn't think Chord knows how funny he is as a comedic actor. He is naturally gifted at it. Chord said Kevin is also gifted at comedy. Chord said he is just obsessed with comedy. Jim Carrey is his favorite. He likes that he can just go big but also be convincing. Their is no hesitation to his commitment to his characters. Jenna said she would put Chord in that lane.

Jenna asked when did Chord figure out that he was good at impressions. Chord said it started when he was 8 and would do Bill Clinton. Kevin said the only 8 year old who knew who knew who Bill Clinton was. Chord said he remembers the comedians on SNL doing it and he would mimic them.

Kevin asked how did Chord get his impressions worked into the show. He knows Ryan, Ian, and Brad would add things they saw around set into the show. Chord said he just wouldn't shut up and annoyed the people in charge.

Kevin and Jenna said they are both terrible at impressions. Kevin said he would call Lea to do her bad singing or Chord to do his impressions.

Chord read something for his friend as Matthew McConaughey so his friend could hear how it would sound. They sent it to Matt as a template. Apparently Morgan Freeman had a guy that can mimic his voice to do certain ads.

Chord can entertain himself for hours just doing impressions. Chord would ask everyone on set saying let me try this impression out on you. He would get a script and it would be an impression he had never done and have to figure out how do it. He would stay up watching clips to get them down.

Chord said for all the Justin Bieber Experience that him and Kevin are thinking about getting the band back together. It was supposed to be Taylor Swift and it didn't get approved. Chord said it was a different episode it was Guilty Pleasures and it changed to Barry Manilow. Chord thinks it got cleared. He texted Taylor and then it immediately changed to Barry Manilow. He figured she would just no. He thinks she may not have been aware of it at the time.

Chord thinks he may have pitched some original songs. Darren and Amber both got original songs on the show. Chord said it would have been cool to have one of his own songs on the show but he also doesn't want to force his music down people's throats. The type of music he was writing at the time wasn't necessarily in the pop nature of the show. He is glad it never saw the light of day. it is not where he ended up going with his music. Chord said Kevin had soem pretty great demos back in the day. Kevin said he shared one with Harry and Harry just gave him a weird look because he was singing about girls. He just told Harry he knew he was singing about girls.

Chord asked Kevin if it was weird singing about girls. Kevin said because he came from the music business and didn't think it would ever be an option to come out publicly he would just keep doing this, it's fine. He said that is probably why the music wasn't great. Kevin said going into the recording studio is like therapy. Its hard when you are withholding such a huge part of yourself. If you don't believe it the audience won't believe it.

Kevin said that early on the AR at Columbia asked if he had a girlfriend or boyfriend. He could have said yes and changed things from the beginning. He just said no, no girlfriend. Chord joked saying i don't have sex. Kevin said he was celibate and married to his work and Jenna.

Chord said the question he gets asked most is, is Artie in a wheelchair. Jenna said yeah they still get that question. She said yeah Kevin can walk.

When Chord joined Glee he had just been recast and was thrown into a juggernaut of a show and worried about being fired. By the time Chord came on the show had been moved up to an earlier time slot which means more viewers. Kevin asked if he felt a sudden impact because of that, did he notice the shift. Chord said he had a hard time going back in the Abbey(?) after that. They are so much fun getting to see guys in tiny shorts. He's been there several times with Kevin. Chord had no idea the impact of the show because it wasn't something he watched. It was weird going back to Nashville after being a bubble working. He went to the mall and people were losing their shit. Everyone was fairly grounded and it was normal going back and forth to work.

Chord said being younger you don't really appreciate and take advantage of what is in front of you. He knows how hard he did work and now he knows how hard he can work. Kevin you said how those friendships last. They made such great bonds. Chord said you can not talk for a year and just get right back into things. He said he saw Amber at his friends birthday. He hadn't really hung out with her and then did a birthday thing at a bowling alley and she came by and the did shots and hung out. He said it was so good to see her. It was like running into family you hadn't seen in a long time.

Jenna ended with the question they always end on which is what is the feeling, sentiment, or word Glee left you with. Chord said it is a blessing to be a part of a thing that can affect and have an impact ono that many people. They were dealing with big issues before anyone else. He said you have to give it to Ryan to have the balls to tackle those uncomfortable topics. Jenna mentioned the balance of the extreme and the important social issues. Chord said you would try to sneak in the medicine.

Kevin said he will be busy laying down the tracks while Chord is bringing home the bacon working in Mexico.

See you next week.

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of the Things Get a Little Harry with Harry Shum Jr. Episode of the podcast.

Today they have a very very special guest. Kevin said its a long one so lets get to it.

They have the one, the only, well actually the second because he is Harry Shum Jr but the one and only Mike Chang.

Kevin said get ready for some wisdom. Jenna said he is such a golden nugget of good thoughts. Kevin said what’s it like to smart. Jenna said I’ll never know. They have to combine their brains to make a barely whole brain.

Kevin said as the years have gone by one of the biggest voices of reason amongst all of them is Harry. He is low key about it. He is a calm and steady force. He said maybe as Harry has gotten older he just speaks his mind and is always right. He has always just had really profound, wise thoughts. Harry said for people that are listening he made that scrunch face kind of like what, where are you every single day of life when I am making completely wrong decisions and saying wrong things. He said he doesn’t know what to say to that. He said maybe because they are on a podcast and speaking more and so their ratio is going to be different.

Jenna said I don’t even know where to begin with you because he started with them. They had such a journey. Harry said we had quite a journey on a rocket ship. Jenna mentioned he has been multiple shows as a series regular. She congratulated him on getting on Grey’s Anatomy. She said she is so happy for Harry and he deserves everything. Also Grey’s was one of favorite shows back in the day. Harry said he thought about her when he got on because Jenna would obsess over the show. He said she would say she has to go. She would DVR it but wanted to watch it live. He said he got a lot of what the vibe of the show as from Jenna. She said your welcome. Harry said you did my homework for me. Jenna said she has to go back because she stopped watching a few years ago. She said she always comes back. It’s still so good ever time she comes back and she definitely watch the new class with Harry. She asked if he having a good time on the show. He said he is and it’s amazing that they brought on five new interns and taking good care and putting effort in getting to know them. He said being on a show that is going into its 20 season and still working at a high level and everyone is gracious and still trying to make it the best it can be. He said they have all been on projects where at a certain year it’s like alright lets get it done. Kevin joked what are you talking about. Jenna was laughing really hard at this point. Hurry said he feels very fortunate and it’s a constant reminder that you can constantly refresh yourself. It’s a really cool thing to be a part of.

Kevin said he remembers hanging out with Harry at Amber’s Masked Singer party and talking about how Harry told him that they were giving him actual medal classes. That he would go to USC and talk to real interns. Harry said they got to see surgery and talk to doctors and interns. He said it was incredibly helpful. He said the importance of the medical stuff, advancing it, and questioning it and also trying to look at it from completely different perspectives while also dealing with the relationship issues and why doctors marry other doctors. You don’t have time to look outside of work to find romance. Kevin said it crazy to have a show that after 20 seasons the show is still grounded and have people coming in with the resources like that. Harry said the medical director, Linda Klein, and she has been with the show since the very beginning. He said she is a beast and knows anyone and everyone in the medical field. He said it’s really amazing you can go to her saying you have an issue who should I go see no she will be like go to this person. Jenna said Kevin needs that. He said this has turned into a Grey’s recap podcast and he’s not mad at it. Jenna said that was her full intention was to only talk about Grey’s Anatomy.

Jenna asked how did being on shows like Glee and Shadowhunters helped him for where he is now. Harry said he things every project helps you in some way. He said he looks at the things he doesn’t get right while he is on the show. Failure is just a discovery of something that doesn’t work. He said to him every time you are on a show you are figuring out what wrong things you don’t want to do it again. He said instead of getting it right because when you get it right you don’t know if its right. A director might say yeah but you don’t know if that is the best thing you could have done. He said he has always wanted to be bicoastal and it was his dream. Going to Toronto to work on Shadowhunters but having family in LA, he was like oh this is rough. He understood what it felt like for someone to move from New York to LA and have all their family on the east coast. It’s hard. He said you get put in a different headspace because like in Shadowhunters he is playing a 400 year old warlock. It’s completely different then being on Glee. The biggest conundrum was does he take off the nail polish off or leave it on because he has to come back tomorrow and will have to have it put on all over again. He said he thought is this what women think about like do I take of my mascara, I am told to take it off because it’s gross. Jenna said a lot of people don’t. He said he had moments like why would I. It’s kind of like why take a shower you are just going to have to take it again. Kevin said the things you learn. Jenna said it’s a heavy mental load.

Jenna thought that he and Shelby had their daughter while he was working in Toronto. He said, no, not yet. Jenna said that would have added a whole mother level of madness. He said sometimes he gets two days off and feels like he hasn’t seen her in a week.

Jenna told Harry they were just watching Duets. They just recapped it and Jenna already forgot about the chicken feet. She said she has no memory.

Jenna asks Harry to remind everyone how he was brought into Glee. He said he remembers the day he walked onto set having a letterman’s jacket and not knowing what he was about to embark on. He did the fitting and he knew he was going to work for a week. He remembers walking around set and seeing Cory and Mark standing outside of the choir room. He said he doesn’t think he even got called into rehearsal. He got called on to set when they were about to shoot a scene. He met Cory and Mark and then walked into the room. He greeted Kevin and they kind new each other through Kevin’s NLT days. They had lot of mutual friends. He knew Dianna because she had auditioned with his wife Shelby. He had never met Zach but he knew of him. He said everyone was so nice and happy. Kevin said oh good. Harry said I don’t know what you said behind my back. Kevin said no one has ever said anything bad about Harry ever. Harry also mentioned Heather. He said he remember that it felt like this is special and it would be nice to stay here a little longer but you know how these things could end up where you con’t get asked back but luckily he kept getting asked back over and over.

Kevin mentioned how Heather had talked about her evolution of thinking about the show or herself and the production and how she came from the dancing world where it was like shut up, keep your head down and work really hard as opposed to at some point advocating for yourself in certain situations. He asked if Harry felt like coming from that side of it that where he didn’t know if would come back every week as opposed to the regulars as an actor and that perspective is very different. How does that affect you mentally? Harry said there is a beauty that now he has accepted and enjoys that he doesn’t know what will happen next even though he does have short term goals and even big goals. He said as a 20 year old that is very very hard. He said if you talk to a lot of dancers like Heather that is pretty much how you function. You are job to job unless you go on tour and even that only lasts for a certain amount of time before having to start all over again. He said the idea of putting your head down and having a fear of getting fired. Just don’t get fired, that is the worst thing you could do. He said for him he learned to just quit before you get fired so they don’t fire you so you are dodging the bullet. Kevin said don’t overstay your welcome. Harry said sometimes you are self sabotaging yourself. You just keep digging yourself a hole. He said it was always nice to open a script and see that you have a line. Sometimes there wasn’t and he would be like cool and he would just make up something in the background. He said it was a journey and there is so much technique behind him and luckily he did extra work back in the day and got a little taste of that and this was sort of amplified on Glee. Kevin said it has been nice watching season 2 and each episode Harry had more and more and more. He said the scene in the library where Mike and Tina yell at each other. Not only does Harry get to speak but he gets to yell and show emotion. Unfortunately it’s all dim sum related for episodes which is a whole other thing. Jenna said it is a whole other thing and let’s talk about it.

Jenna said she was curious about Harry’s feelings as he has stepped of the Glee train for many years now like looking back. What were some of his sentiments, if he feels like sharing, about a lot of their comedy being about Asian. She said she knows everyone was getting made fun of their own things but theirs was very race forward. She is curious what his reflections are on that in the time we are in now. Harry said as he has grown older and being more reflective and looking back at a time where it was difficult to talk about those things with people that are writing those things. He said now he has learned to think about it first and then feel is this worthy to take someone’s time to talk about it and most of the time it is and most of the time you can do your own thing to spin it the way that doesn’t feel that way because not everything needs a conversation. It’s given him more confidence to speak on something where its like if you are going to make a joke just make it funny and creative and if it’s not then don’t do it. He said there is a sense of truth and you can appreciate someone that spent a lot of time writing something that is well thought out, understood, and comes from a place of complete understanding as opposed to I am just going to make fun of this thing. He said he tries to look at it from the other side because we sometimes get into our own feelings and being like I am offended by this thing or that thing. He has learned to not do that. He said he hates to say this because it is so cliche but it was a different time where you could only do so much. Either you to choose to do it or you chose to not be a part of it. He says that is a very hard thing. He said he remembers James Hong coming on to the Glee set and he came up to Harry and said hey this show is really popular. He pulled out his card that had his headshot and said hey if you ever need anyone that looks like give me a call or hand it to whoever. Harry said he never got to tell him that story but he did get to hang out with him at the Oscars. Harry said to see what he’s seen and to compare it to what they experienced on the show you can see that progression. Harry saw that progression. They got to do things that weren’t completely about they looked like and he takes that as a victory. He said you look at the generation now and they don’t have to do that anymore. They don’t have to choose between that and if they do they have a lot more power to speak up on. He said he likes to their contributions of sticking in their and doing it, even if it wasn’t what everyone agrees is the best way to do it, they stuck out there and put an example out of what not to do again and to what to do make it better or do better. He said he thinks that is just wonderful. At the time he didn’t feel that way but now he does. He mentioned it was a beautiful thing to see Ke Huy Quan when an Oscar especially after everything he went through in the 80s. He said out of all the shows he has worked on Glee was the hardest and no one will ever understand what they hav been through and what they have done. He said it will go down in history as one of the craziest shows to ever exist. Jenna said you heard it from Harry, the man who continues to work. She’s said it really was such a wild ride.

Kevin said you’ve been a part of so many special and groundbreaking projects. He has worked on Everything Every Where All At Once and Crazy Rich Asian. Kevin those are culture changing projects. Glee was it’s own weird phenomenon. He asked if Harry feels like going through all those things gives him he capacity to be a part of something special. Kevin said he didn’t want to say being something special. Harry said I guess that was a line. Kevin said to watch someone like Harry who is so nice and works so hard and deserves all of that. Each of these things comes with their own unique responsibilities. He asked if Harry had felt that on each project. Harry said he always tries to think how did I get here, what did I do. He said he thinks it has very little do with him. He said the people he has gotten to come in contact with throughout all of these interesting projects is what really influences him taking those different steps. He said he genuinely loves Kevin and Jenna. He said they always made him feel like part of the group. He said he remembers that feeling. He said both of them did that for him but even a lot of people at the studio, it brought the best out of people but there were parts where it brought the worst out of people. He said the best was making him feel like was meant to be be there at events where he felt like he wasn’t supposed to be there, like award shows. He said he tries to remember to give back to those that were like him when he started. He said he believes you attract a certain energy and giving off that certain energy. He said Everything Everywhere felt like the penultimate that comes with age and comes with experience and comes wit going through the fire and know that this is an experience like no other and hoping that others get to experience hat feeling camaraderie and film making at its highest level. You get to do what you want to and not worry what people are going to think. He thinks in a lot of ways Glee did that as well. It took a lot of chances and sometimes it didn’t work but a lot of the time it did. He said he likes going to different spaces and adapting. He said some sets are very rigid and set in their ways. He said he likes seeing what else you put that make it a little more, as Kevin said, special. Jenna said she does think it is the energy he gives and she hates saying it but he was a team player. She said he worked hard and was a voice of reason and tried to find the best and appreciation and gratitude in what they were doing. That sometimes they needed to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. She said she agrees that at times Glee brought out the best of them but also at times brought out the worst as well. She said there are sides of her it brought out that she never wants to see again. She said it was really hard at times and you couldn’t speak up and you couldn’t do things that others got away with. She said having friends and comrades to dig through the trenches with was priceless.

Harry said there were moments they would get off work and hang and talk for hours and hours. Those are the moments he savors. He said he has been taking a lot of hot showers and cold showers. He said it makes him think about the lowest of lows and highest of highs. That spectrum that you see the edge of what you can feel and handle. Anything in between seems easy. He said that is the greatest gift. He said he can just see some people break when they hear they have a two hour rehearsal and Harry is like that is nothing after what he has been through. He said they didn’t know where they were at half the time. They would be bouncing around from shooting scenes, recording songs, rehearsing dance numbers, and doing promo stuff. Harry said it is the bootcamp that couldn’t exist today. Kevin said he remembers thinking that if Harry started to lose it, it was like watching your dad cry for the first time. He was like oh no. He knew if Harry broke or was mad then it was bad. Harry said he remembered watching them because they had more to do. He said it would anger him they weren’t given a space to decompress. He said that is where he broke a couple of times. It was just wrong.

Jenna said Glee prepped her for motherhood because motherhood is the ultimate multitasking. She is like this is nothing compared to Glee. Glee was like wrangling 12 children and personalities at one time. She said Emma has a big personality.

Jenna said they have a lot of Mike and Tina memories. They had to kiss a lot on the show. Eric Stoltz told them had to make out the whole time in the background while Rachel is singing Jar of Hearts. She said she doesn’t know how all the cameras got them no matter where they were. She said Lea did that song so many times, like 8 times. She said she remembers one time their lips wee touching and they were laughing the whole time. She said jokingly I hate you Eric. Harry said he forgot about that. Harry said Eric is an intense dude when it comes to getting shots that he wants. He wore a suit and was old school with no sides on set. Harry was like he has to give an Emmy award winning kiss, eight times for three minutes each. Kevins said we may not have lines but we are going to kiss. Jenna said Eric had them on the roller coaster at six flags and made them kiss on it. Apparently Eric loved it and they were like really Eric, again. Harry said it is really awkward to do it over and over again and then try to make it interesting. Harry and Jenna would eat the worst shit they could think of to make it more interesting.

Jenna pointed out Kevin and Harry got to do some fun stuff. Jenna said Scream is one of the best numbers hands down. Kevin said it was such a fun day. Harry said it was a fun day and Kevin got to get out of the wheelchair and really just tear it up. He said it was really fun to shoot with Alfonso. They couldn’t see him, he just left them to do their own thing. Kevin said they were running back and forth to see what the others were doing. Kevin said they got to pitch what they wanted for the Michael episodes. Harry and Kevin put together a whole presentation. Kevin said to get invited into their writers space was so weird. Kevin said he had been talking with Harry because Teenage Dream had done so well because it was a bit different. They realized the songs that did really well were the ones that were different but they didn’t want to Michael songs to sound like kidz bop So they plotted to get them to let the cast to pitch songs for the Michael songs. Harry and Kevin had a whole plot line. They wanted The Way You Make Me Feel. Harry said he thinks Scream was floating around but they would’ve dare ask for that .Kevin said they would never dream of asking for something with such a big budget. Harry thinks the tempo of the song changed several times. Kevin said that was the most dancing he had ever danced and their was no one to hide behind. He said he felt like he was screwed. Kevin said one of the best things about Harry is that he commits. He said you just watch Harry go full out and were pulled into it. Jenna said you just show up. Kevin said we got to do some crazy things. Jenna said her favorites were the guys numbers when they didn’t know what was going on and hey got to sit back and cheer for them. Jenna said she forgot the storyline that Mike taking on the lead and then his parents wouldn’t let him do it. Harry said it always funny how everything is so fluid but then a song doesn’t get cleared and everything changes.

Jenna asked the question she always does at the end of these episodes. She asked what is the feeling that Glee left you with t hen versus now? Is it the same, has it evolved? Harry turned the question back on Jenna and Kevin. He said the craziest thing was seeing a 12 or 13 saying that Glee was her favorite show. He said he doesn’t know how he feels about that. Kevin said like you weren’t born when the show started. He said at the Oscars some younger actors came up to him and said they loved him Glee and he was like you are eight years old. He said they left a certain stamp on that time period. They contributed to popular culture and music. It’s neat to see that carried over into another generation that can enjoy this thing. He said the show at is core is about expressing joy. He said he feels like that is resonating with younger generation. He feels like its cool to be part of something that he doesn’t know if it will ever exist again. He said he’s definitely gotten people calling him trying to do the same thing. He said the fact that you don’t know what you are doing you are probably going to do things no one else is going to do. He asked if they have had that same kind of experience. Kevin said it’s the exact same. It’s been crazy. It’s strange. It feels nice. It’ not something you think about while doing the show. He said that is part of what incentivized them to do this podcast. He said it nice to feel like they were a part of something that was culturally significant and speaks to people that want to experience joy and see joy in people like themselves on screen. Jenna said it’s the bigger picture. The effect and stamp they left. She said she wishes in hindsight that she was able to see it the way they see now even just a little more because it would given her a bit of perspective. She said she wishes that she could have thought about ht bigger picture more. She said had she known what she knows now she would have handled things differently. Harry said isn’t that always the thing. Kevin said it is so interesting to hear how Harry thought he was such an asshole during Glee. He said we are always in our own heads and have different perspectives. He said sure did Harry have some moments where he was worn out and didn’t handle some things correctly, sure everyone does those things. He said on the whole Harry’s perspective was really good. When you are working 14, 15, 16 hour days no matter how good your perspective is you are going to be worn out. Harry said sometimes you have to think if it is you being an asshole to yourself or other people. Kevin said oh damn. Harry said he was probably an asshole to himself. He said it takes time to repair that. Jenna said that is fair and very profound. Harry joked saying we would be gods if we went back to high school. Kevin said don’t tempt Ryan and then said Harry is unavailable. Jenna said they would make Harry available. She said is nice to look back and go oh yeah it was really great, we did have really good times, and treasure those moments. That is why still stay in touch and love each other. She said the appreciation for it could have been more and they could have led with that but here we are. Harry said it is the intervals that it happens in and you don’t have time to appreciate it because it’s already on to the next. He said that also speaks to society now. Kevin said you have to spend so much mental power to make sure you are present and appreciative in addition to the opportunity. Sometimes you don’t have the capacity to be aware and conscious of that all the time.

Harry said I love you guys. Jenna said it’s so good to see you. She also they could talk for hours. She said it is so good to see your friends succeed. Kevin said you are the best of us. Harry thanked them for always reaching out. He said he wants to see their faces in real life soon. Jenna said to say hi to your awesome wife. They basically set up having dinner together.

Jenna said Harry is deserving of everything. Kevin said it gave him goosebumps. He couldn’t be prouder. He then thanked Harry for joining them.

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap of Everything’s Turning Up with Romy Rosemont episode of the podcast.

Today they have a really special friend and they are gabbing. They could talk all day. Kevin said I feel like you can get a good sense of what their relationships are like with all the people they have on and they are just kicking it and talking and having a good time.

Today is no exception because Romy Rosemont, Carole Hudson, Finn Hudson’s mother, who is a star and a sweet sweet person and an excellent baker and an excellent crier. The most fun person you will ever have on a tv or film set. Enjoy their conversation catching up with Romy Rosemont.

Jenna said lets go back to the beginning of Glee and asked Romy how she got the show. Romy said she was called in to audition for Jane’s part. She absolutely knew she wasn’t going to get it because she knew she needed to look like a cheerleader, like Megan Hilty, or look like Jane or Dot who have a presences. Kevin said they are are towering figures. Romy said they are just such a presences and she did the best she could. She knew she wasn’t going far because neither of them fit. She said she can tumble with the best of them. She can definitely do some comedy if someone wanted to lift her into a pyramid and fall down on cue. Then they called her in for Finn’s mom, Cory’s mom, when she saw it there were no lines. It was Ryan saying, she had to throw the milk carton and weep and yell, whatever that was, wear the bike shorts. Her hair was so large. She said when they were shooting the pilot, she worked for two days, Ryan was like and then I am going to do this and then I am going to do this. Jenna said and then you got inklings of things that were coming and knew that she was a recurring character, so she knew she was coming back. Romy said yeah but she never believes that. Kevin said you’ve been around too long and know better to trust that. Romy said so she didn’t know and all Ryan said was that he was interested in telling the story of a single mother with the high school quarter back who is in Glee club. She said they thinks they started where they were really poor and haggard and whatever and she was always asking so what does Carole do. What’s she do, does she work at a bank, nope no one? Kevin said that’s for you to figure out. Romy said that’s my back story but it didn’t matter because you never saw Carole away from the house which is Finn, Burt, or Kurt. She said that was their running joke that later in the season Carole was in the basement. Once she got married, once Burt happened, she was watching and was like they had prom and was like oh I’m in the basement. She said what was amazing is no one even referenced her and they didn’t even have to do that much. It was so hilarious at one time she was like did Burt kill me. I thought Burt murdered Carole. Romy said those were good times. Jenna said that basement was very cobwebby and dirty. Romy said it was.

Jenna said she was reading a document their wonderful producers made and it said Romy was in 18 episodes but it felt like a hell of a lot more of then that. Romy said that’s what people say. Kevin said only 18 episodes. Jenna said that’s what I’m saying. Romy said she thinks that because, Kevin joked smoke that imaginary cigarette, when she comes on their was a presence and she was somebody’s mom. She said what she treasures were those intimate scenes that she and Cory had that she thinks that kids could relate to. She said that is what she got from any kind of fans was I wish you could be my mom. Kevin said Carole and Burt were the model parents for anyone. He said he thinks also the complicated situations they were both in in your own right individually and how those characters navigated them so gracefully, eloquently, trying to say the right thing but as human as it is, it’s going to be a little imperfect which makes it even more relatable. He said watching you and Mike O’Malley at the standing at the alter was just..Jenna said the sweetest…Kevin said also you wear yr heart on your sleeve and he feels like a good gust of wind and you might tear up a bit which makes him tear up because she is the sweetest, most giving, caring person and then watching you two he was like oh god I can’t watch them. Then Mike O’Malley’s about to cry during the reception. Kevin was like these too. He said he has been told his whole life that he is cold. Romy said she does not find that at all. Kevin said no one gets him like Romy. He loses his shit and it’s a testament to her ability as an actor and her just as a person and that is why it feels like she was in more then 18 episodes. He said yes Jane and Dot have a presences but ooh so you do you.

Romy said she never understood why Carole and Kurt didn’t have a me independent relationship because he lost his mother and then his dad marries the woman who is the mother of someone who he has a massive crush on. To her their were opportunities to dive into those topics and discover it or just they did it with one scene, she knows they are doing Furt today, she said that scene where she thinks Finn got Quinn pregnant. She said she figures that is the difficult things about telling stories with recurring characters because no matter what the recurring character has to be there with whoever they are attached to but she doesn’t necessarily believe that. You can find that conversation that is just between Carole and Burt, it’s like for the parents. Romy said she has a stepson and in the beginning its hard because you don’t have a voice. It was kind of dramatic license that Burt was so involved in Finn’s life, Finn wouldn’t have been that embracing to someone taking, you know what I mean, that kind of wouldn’t happen. You honor the script that has been written and she appreciates that and thank you. Jenna said there also 25 characters on this show. Romy said and there also bright shiny objects that became important in selling it and the powers that be deciding that. She said you aren’t going to say if Sarah Jessica Parker, let’s say, says ooh I want to do some. As a business person you aren’t going to say no. She said also you guys wearing as many a hats as you guys do as business people which is why you have a successful podcast their are certain decisions you might not have made as just Jenna and Kevin. They both said you are right. Kevin said it’s like instead of doing this extra scene we could throw in another song and then put that on that soundtrack that is selling.

Kevin asked if Romy would have felt comfortable raising those thoughts to the posers that be or no. Romy said their wasn’t the room. She wasn’t invited to that room for that conversation so her job was to, she said she always looks at a job as a success if she walks away with a friend and was a good experience. She said it was overflowing with Glee. Kevin said you can’t get rid of us. Romy joked that she’s tried. She said she literally could have given birth to everyone, maybe not Jane and Dot, but on the whole. There are people that would have and in that way she respects the positions.

Jenna asked what was Romy’s experience or does she remember the first time she worked with Cory, the first scene they shot together. What was it like when they shot scenes together. Romy said she met Cory very briefly during the pilot because she didn’t work with adult Cory, she worked with child Cory. So she didn’t get to work with him until that scene where he hits the mailman. That very brief thing. Kevin said but one of the best. Romy said she was very taken with his manner. He was just such a sweet soul. Then when they had to do the more dramatic, intense, emotional stuff he was always like I can’t cry, I just can’t cry. Romy said you don’t have to but you definitely can. She said he thinks that he so much wanted to be good and she respected that. She remembers even when the shot Furt and they were at that weird churchy thing and he was panicked that the paparazzi were going to see and they would no the storyline. Jenna said aww. Romy said he would have his coat up and she was like we’re good. She said he believed in the show and wanted to protect the surprise and all of that. She said she considers herself very very lucky that they got paired because let’s face it they don’t look alike at all. Jenna said such a good pairing. Kevin said your chemistry together was unreal. Romy said she thinks he felt that too and that he felt like I get to act today. Jenna said, yep, totally. Romy said she was flattered and honored to be a part of that because it was just the two of them until Carole and Burt got married in the second season. Kevin said anytime their was sort of what they would say was an adult in the scene they were like oh god we have to get our shit together to keep up. They were used to being clowns in the choir room, singing a song, making ‘em laugh. The teen drama stuff is so funny and fun but when the adults came out you knew it was time. Romy said hopefully what they learned from the adults was that you can’t stop having fun. It freaks her out when people are too serious. She is like wait come on. Kevin said you are the reigning champ. You are the most fun on set. They have talked about the alcohol escapades before. Romy said it was this episode that started it. Kevin and Jenna both said it was this episode. Romy said everybody was done, everybody was done working and they were just sitting there. Romy said there was just a little bit of dance and whatever and she pulled out a bottle of patron. Jenna said she pulled it out of a black duffel bag, she was like what. Romy came in wearing a wedding dress with a black duffle bag and and pulls out a bottle of patron. Jenna said they were like Romy. Kevin said there is a reason I don’t remember doing that number at the reception. Romy said this was the first time she was like oh my god these kids can drink, holy crap. She said she was not, she loves her tequila and she has one maybe two. She said she doesn’t know if it was Lea or Heather might have ended that bottle or two. She can’t remember if she brought one or two bottles.

Jenna said there was another wedding day where they were like let’s do it it again. Romy said that was the one where the took shots with Gloria Estefan. Jenna said we did take shots with Gloria Estefan at the ranch for the Brittana wedding. Romy said Yes! Kevin said he as so excited and was like do you think Romy has the booze today. Romy said she has that picture and that is when she brought that snuggy. Kevin and Jenna got into it together and Jenna got scared. Kevin said what a weird time, Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Coolidge, and Gina Gershwin…what is happening. He said he remembers being in crafty with Gina Gershon and I don’t know, I don’t think I can, I have to leave. He said he couldn’t be alone with anyone, he was like I don’t know how to operate like a normal human. Jenna said it was an overwhelming wedding. Romy said totally overwhelming and she felt like she was old hat, she pretended to smoke a cigarette, and was like come on ladies follow me. Kevin said yes, they were in good hands. Jenna said the cast chairs were all the way down in like a really big trailer because there were so many of us. Romy said, yeah in that white trailer and it was freezing. Jenna said hey we’re in heels and their was dirty everywhere. Kevin said in the mountains. Romy said that wardrobe they put the moms in was just something. They were definitely something. Jenna said it was fancy. Kevin said you know what we could have more of us was more mom musical numbers. Jennas said definitely. Kevin said that was a treat. He said by that point he didn’t know what was happening, he doesn’t know if he didn’t read the script, talk about being unprofessional. Jenna said definitely didn’t read the script. Kevin said when the moms started performing and they are in the scene he was like wait what is this. Romy said this was the first time she really experienced Chord. Kevin and Jenna just laughed. Kevin said one of his favorite things is for people to experience Chord for the first time. Romy said she was like huh, alright, yeah I like it, it was definitely like okay I can’t believe this has taken me this long. Kevin said such a character. Jenna said it was Brad Buecker. Romy said because she didn’t have a wedding in real life, she eloped, for her wedding that was a full blown wedding. She has only worn wedding dresses on film. She said her own wedding dress she got for $63 dollars at Lowmans. Kevin said that’s right. Romy said it was because she was going to walk into the water. Jenna said you wear it once and it goes into a box. Romy said that Jenna’s was so gorgeous that Emma’s got to wear it. Jenna said she preserved it and hopes Emma breaks it up and makes little purses. Kevin said a crop top. Jenna said their is this woman that this gorgeous Japanese fabric from her great-grandmothers wedding and was like I can’t wait to take this and make it into purses for my brides maids. It was like the most gorgeous dress and people came at her. Jenna said she can do what she wants with it but the people online came after her and were like you are going to make it into purses and rip it up. Kevin said did she do it. Jenna said I don’t know, I want to know, I’m sure she did. You are gong to do what you want to do and you should. Romy said it’s her dress. Jenna said exactly her grandma gave it to her. Romy said people got to get out of other peoples business. Jenna said everybody thinks they have liberties.

Romy said because A. I am not a name and B. I’m always playing sympathetic characters on a whole she kind of dodged the hecklers so to speak. Kevin said they have had a couple people on and they have talked about playing an unlikeable character and the stuff they would get online, the hate, was omg. Jenna said horrible. Romy said it’s insane. Romy said a friend of hers from high school has been on the Young and the Restless literally since the dinosaur age, don’t repeat that because its rude. She said she has built herself such and amazing career but she used to get followed in her car. They were in peoples homes int he middle of the day, everyday, and they are positive they know them. Romy said she would get threats and it was insane. Jenna said those day times soaps are something. Romy said it’s a religion. Kevin said he grew up watching General Hospital with his mom. Jenna said Guiding Light. Romy said the summer between her freshman and sophomore year and her sophomore and junior year in college she worked for General Hospital. The first summer she worked in the front office and the second summer she worked for the writers.

Kevin said when did you decide, you worked all these jobs from the age of 12. Romy said her dad was a producer. Kevins aid you clearly were in the entertainment business from childhood, Romy said was exposed to it, but when did you start actually being like I need to be in front of the camera, I need to act. Romy said she always wanted to but she was insecure. She said she was never pretty enough or character enough and so confidence that she was funny, she knew that but ther was no bells and whistles to it. She didn’t have a funny voice and wasn’t really charactery. She said it still happens but people didn’t know what to do with her because she didn’t know where she fit in. She did a lot of improve in college and thinks like that. When she graduated she worked in ICM and CAA for a year and a half. Kevin said did you do acting in college, did you go to school for that? Romy said she was a theatre major and switched to radio, tv, film, at Northwestern. That is where she discovered improv and hat her brain worked that way. She said it took her a long time and she pushed like nobodies business in comedy and that is the worst thing you could do. She said she really didn’t know she could do drama and she did the 100th episode of Ally McBeal and she was like oh god crying comes easy. From then on, people were like, oh she know, Jenna said cry, Romy said she could cry so she was always the crying mother. She said they used to joke around that she should have a reel of snot cry, choke cry, hysterical crying, all of that. It would be like a menu. Jenna said which would you like. Romy said then just give me a minute to listen a sad song. Jenna said that is when she remembers meeting her for the first time. She remembers Romy being on set, maybe it was when Finn was singing to the sonogram, she remembers Romy was listening to her ipod. Romy said do you remember this, Jenna and Lea came up to her and said the had seen something, they were so sweet. She was aware that Jenna was not in the first cast of Spring Awakening and she was listening to Pretty in Summer, the one where she is saying she was molested, she was listening to that and was just like what this is crazy. Jenna said that is where she got the music from when they decided Tina was gong to cry all the time. Romy said it literally says crying list. She said if the material is good. She said especially if you’ve got ADD, her ability to carry on many conversations at once is high, but if her job is to do this then she was like oh I need a way to stay in that because she won’t. That’s why she will put on music. Kevin said that is interesting. Romy said people saw the headphones coming out and she would be amazed when they would be like what are you listening to, are you listening to something to make you cry. Jenna said what did you eat this morning. Kevin said are you good at crying. Romy said just finished playing something were she plays a very officious person to the nth degree and she got home and was like I kind of missing crying, I kind of want to cry. She said it’s been awhile since she had to pretend cry. Jenna said that’s really really funny. Kevin said he could have used that playlist trick, he could have used that. Jenna said she needed it because of her crap wasn’t about crying or about sad content, that’s the thing, it came out of nowhere. She was cringing while singing My Funny Valentine and you are like how do you make that work, it’s supposed to be funny, but she still had to cry.

Romy said there were times she would get the the first draft and be like Carole has some good stuff, then she would get the second she would be like okay I can still make that work and then she would get the shooting script and she would have Hitchcock coming up to her and being like I’m so sorry we’ve taken out all the transitions. She said that happened when she told the truth about Finn’s dad. There was supposed to be this whole thing leading up to that and they took it all away and she had to literally go from 0 to 60 and you are like everyone out of my way, I’ve got some snot to make. Jenna said, yes, yes, yes, exactly. Kevin said you and Viola Davis. Romy mentioned Truly, Madly, Deeply. She said be ready it’s emotional. It’s with Juliet Stevenson and Alan Rickman. She said it’s kind of like Ghost. She said Juliet had scene where she is a full on, you know those times where you are crying so hard you choke, it’s coming out of everywhere. It was this independent film and she was mesmerized because it was so real. It’s hard to make network stuff real because there is a formula and people have to be brave and try to make it be real but you can’t be brave unless you have stature sometimes. Kevin said he as going to ask how you do it. Network stuff is hard to make and making grounded network stuff is hard to make. Glee wasn’t the necessarily the most grounded show on the planet but your stuff always was. Are you conscious of genere, like the type of show you are on, or is it a scene by scene basis, these are the scenes I am in and this how they read to me so this is what we are doing or are you thinking on a larger scale, macro level of what the show is and the network it is on? Romy said not network, not any of that, she said she thinks you need have to get the tone of the show but in those moments because she does believe that as wild and Glee was you have to have the other stuff or it’s too much. Jenna said totally. You literally have to have that quiet moment. It went from Finn singing to a sonogram, bonkers, to his mom coming in being like what are you, and then realizing oh shit, he’s gotten someone pregnant. She said to her the only way to do that is to play it real. Her trick if there are no transitions is you talk like a human. People don’t talk everything out like it’s a script. We do pause or mumble, or repeat ourselves or whatever. She said that’s what she does, she tries not to rehearse it even in her head as much. She really trusts, to her if its in something where you’ve got another partner, she tries to find a common ground Brent the partner, whatever that is, and therefore there is a chemistry. She said we can all pretend their is chemistry between someone but you can’t replace the real stuff. She said that is what is unique about all of you guys is that all of you had chemistry together. That was rare and it was definitively a unicorn. It wouldn’t have if you was just you were watching separate things. Kevin said you can feel that as a viewer, you might not be conscious that is what you are feeling but you know it’s not exactly right or as magical or magnetic as it could be. Romy said it’s part of the job so she always thinks when she gets something really bad and she has to do it she just does it.. Kevin said it if it’s particularly something you don’t think is of quality it can be another challenge of how do I make this work. Romy said she did two seasons of something. She said on a television show when you have a bunch of characters of different ages and stuff like that it has to be represented. Kevin said people talk differently.

Romy said when you have a younger single person dialogue it’s going to be mom dialogue so her job is to throw in the noises. Kevin said the acting school of Romy. Kevin and Jenna said that is what I need. Romy said she just finished something with Pete Holmes. She is 5’4 and he is 6’6 and she as his superiors in this show, they were interrogation agents. She said some of the stuff they had to keep repeating and a lot of her stuff was looks and at some point she was like I am fresh out of, I can’t. She was back and forth and she was like I think I need a little bobo right up here. Kevin said bobo is Botox for those in the know. Romy was like not too much, then it hit, and she was in make-up and there was no surprise. She said I will never do that again. She said their was a lot of big eyes and mouth open. Jenna was laughing. Romy was like oh dear that is not going to turn out well. Jenna said it is always fun to work with funny people. She said they were always sitting and there was a scene where she was standing and all of a sudden he goes you’re tiny. Jenna said you just figured this out now. Romy said your 6’6 and he goes we are always sitting. She said and think about it Cory was 6-3, she is always with super tall people. Jenna said they were in like four different cars going from one city to another on the Hot Topic tour very early on in the the Glee life and they stopped at a gas station to pee and get some snacks. Cory gets out, all the girls had finally taken their heels off, and he looks at them at the gas station and was like fuck I’m tall. Kevin laughing said I remember this. Jenna said Cory said you are short and they were like we know, it was Jenna, Amber, and Lea all next to each other and they are like average 5’2 maybe. Cory was like god. Kevin said had completely forgotten about that, he was in the next aisle. Romy said that is hilarious.

Jenna said so you came back even after Cory passed away, she said obviously that isn’t what we were thinking about but did Romy think oh that’s it for my character or did you think there was stuff because of Burt and Kurt and everything. Romy said no she didn’t think she would be back. She said when she found out they were doing that we don’t know how Finn passed she said she hoped she would be part of that. She said when Jenna and her had a scene, in a hotel room at regionals, she never thought she would be back. Kevin said that makes sense. She said you know because Chris wasn’t even there because it was later on. Jenna said yeah he was off in New York. Romy said she was very very very surprised. Jenna said she didn’t even think about that. Romy said she wasn’t in the last season of a Million Little Things, it was a half season, she was only in 9 episodes. Jenna said wow. Romy said when you are dealing with an ensemble cast there are so many stories to tell, that is the kiss of death for a recurring unless the arc is about that person. Kevin said what we would have done. Jenna said and obviously the last one where everyone came back. Romy said remember Furt, Carol Banker directed it, she remembers everyone walks down and then she walks down, and cut. Carol goes you are mouthing the words but don’t need you to sing. Romy said yes oh my god. Romy said time and time again she just got so into the Marry You song she was no I’m not and Carol was like I have it on film. She said she remembers it was crazy for everyone else if you think about production but it was super fun. Jenna so much fun. Kevin said we have a blast. Jenna said she remembers this one. There are some episodes that kind of go by the way side and there are some like Furt that are very vivid. Kevin said it is also help connecting to a place that is different then what they were used to seeing every single day and the Tequila. That was memorable. Jenna said of course. Romy said Tequila brings people. Kevin said oh it did, when that happened they were like she is amazing. Jenna said can we have Carole come back all the time. Romy said she bakes.

Jenna asked Romy what is the feeling that Glee leaves you with now. Romy said that she takes away all the positive stuff which was friends and it was definitely an opportunity for her. There was the negative parts of it which was like that she never got to audition for anything else on Fox for 6 years but only did 18 episodes. When she found that out she was like wait this is keeping me from potential working. That was upsetting on another level. Jenna said an actor level. Romy said also on a what is fair level. It just didn’t seem totally fair. She said she always gets excited to see all of them in real life and that wouldn’t happened if they didn’t have that. She said she might have gotten disappointed in the lack of stuff sometimes but the experience for her was only positive. She wished she had more or a stronger storyline or a more challenging one but when she was there she always had a blast. Jenna said they always had a blast with her. Kevin said you made it a blast for everyone else too. Jenna said you also brought us a lot of bake goods. Romy said you helped me think about tiny bites even though it didn’t turn into anything. She brought muffins and everyone would only eat half. She was like no that doesn’t work and brought them in as balls and then squares. Kevin said he remembers the trays. Jenna said she remembers the tiny bites a lot. Kevin said delicious. Romy said you could totally double fist. Kevin said he wouldn’t have left half a muffin. Jenna said Kevin would never have left half a muffin but she might have left half a muffin. Romy said because you had to get into those costumes. Jenna said exactly. Kevin said everyone is so tiny, as he has been watching he noticed everyone is so little, and skinny. Romy said you guys were young. Jenna said exactly they were in their heyday. Romy said Chris was 18 and asked Kevin if he was the next youngest. Kevin said yes, until Chord came around. Chord is between Kevin and Chris. Jenna said what a time, children, truly children. Romy said now you have your own, that is bonkers. Jenna said that is such bonkers. She said they were watching an episode the night before and her husband turned to her, because she makes him watch them all with her, and said that’s Emma’s mom and she was like that’s really sweet. Kevin said aww. Romy said that’s so sweet. Jenna said you don’t think about it that way, but then she was like oh god she will never watch this show…I’m just kidding, one day. Romy said when she starts dancing and stuff like that. Jenna said her nieces started watching it when they were little, just the musical numbers, except for Push It.

Jenna said anyways, we love you, and they are so grateful to have her as a friend. Romy said I love you guys and thank you. Kevin said thank you for spending this much time with us today. Romy said you know I wish that it was in person. Jenna and Kevin said I love you to her and Romy said bye bye.

Jenna said we warned you. Kevin said we could talk for days. So much love. It doesn’t have to be about anything, we just talk. Jenna said I know, got to love her.

Until next week.

[bowtiesnmusicals]

Here is my recap for Aaaand Action! (w/Paris Barclay).

This episode features one of the Glee directors, Paris Barclay. He directed 9 episodes of Glee.

Jenna bonded with Paris over Son's of Anarchy. He would bring her merch from the show.

He watched all of his episode to prepare for the podcast.

Kevin said the numbers Paris has in his phone are unreal.

Everybody loves him.

Where do we begin?

(I am going to add a warning. This episode gets quite heavy. They talk about Cory.)

Wheels was Paris's introduction to Glee. It was the first episode he directed.

Kevin jokes and says this was their introduction to acting.

Paris hadn't worked with before Glee. For some reason Ryan thought he would be perfect for the show.

Dante Di Loreto showed Paris a copy of the pilot of Glee. Paris was very moved and said he did not think there has been a show on television that he is better suited for.

Paris was the musical director for the acapella group at Harvard and worked on musicals. He thought he was on his way to being the black Stephen Sondheim.

Paris' first directing gig was directing Elizabeth Taylor in a commercial.

He left advertising and became a music video director. He then moved to directing television shows.

All of this was like a pretraining for directing Glee.

Paris didn't read the script for Wheels until he arrived at Glee. It wasn't intentional. He didn't get the script until he got to set.

He knew the basics of the story and the songs that would be used in the episode.

He was incredibly touched by the Burt and Kurt stories.

The episode was like a perfect storm.

The cast was nervous about Paris directing them. They quickly learned he is a very warm and very good at making people feel comfortable.

Paris told Jenna a story about Elizabeth story because she was worried about crying in a scene.

Paris said they were both great in Wheels.

Part of his goal when he got to the show was to keep it more real. This was a very grounded episode.

Glee was a different show every time he came to direct an episode.

Everyone was sleeping with someone different.

Kevin said they would just kick back and tell Paris all the gossip when he would come direct episodes.

Paris echoed what Ryan said about if the show had been done now there would be more protections for the cast in regards to the commercial exploitation of the cast.

Paris said they had counseling available while they worked on Dahmer because of the subject matter.

He said in Glee's case it would have been needed because of all the personalities on the show. Young people being young people.

Glee was different then anything else Paris worked on.

The biggest show he worked on that he can compare to Glee is ER.

The producers were extremely conscious of the fact that the storylines on ER reverberated with the fans. The actors were professional and the writers were disciplined. This set a tone for the rest of the show.

Glee didn't have that luxury. That creates an incredible amount of stress for every department. They all work under a lot of stress. The cast lived and worked in incredible stress and tension. The crew didn't have time.

In hindsight Ryan should have set more of a precedent of discipline for everyone else on the show.

Dancing With Myself looks so smooth. It takes many many meetings and planning to make it look that smooth.

Kevin had to rerecord that song because Ryan didn't like the first version.

In the middle of the episode the cast went to upfronts in New York.

Upfronts is where the advertisers come and every network flaunts out their new lineup to get the advertisers to by ad space.

The more musical numbers there were the more hell it was for the cast.

Proud Mary was like three numbers.

The quickly realized they couldn't do it on a flat stage. There was one version built but the ramps were too steep.

Amber fell to the side at one point.

Amber and Lea were completely displeased with the number.

Someone took too much Xanax.

There are a couple takes where everyone exhausted, there is another where Lea is clearly done, and another with Amber is messing with one of the straps of her costume.

At the start things were simpler and attainable by an actual high school student but things quickly went off the rails.

This episode was really well written.

It had heart. It had Kurt and Burt.

Mike has become a friend. He is just unreal. He just lifts up those moments. Kurt and Burt were a dream team.

One of Paris most fun days on set was Diva. It cracks Paris up. Jenna also loves this number.

Tina and Paris had a good run.

When Tina got a chance to shine she shone and it was always great when Kevin was allowed to sang.

Every episode Paris had, had some sort of monumental moment for on the show and behind the scenes for the cast.

Paris did the 100th episode.

He also did 2009.

2009 is Paris' 2nd favorite episode. It breaks his heart. It would have been a good ending for the series.

The episode was filled with easter eggs.

The shot 2009 and the finale in tandem.

Cory's death caused a big shift in the show.

Paris felt an enormous amount of guilt and like he hadn't done enough. He felt that he should have been more proactive.

He feels like he failed Cory.

He wishes he could have done more.

The moments Paris was there and filming were a gift for the cast. They opened up to him because he was so easy to talk to and made them feel comfortable.

The cast rarely misbehaved when Paris was around.

They thought the best of him and he brought out the best of the cast.

He was a reminder to the cast of why they were there. They had a lot of respect for Paris.

The show before Wheels was getting crazy and Paris brought it back to earth.

He grounded the cast.

Paris said he was doing it out of respect for the cast. The original cast was like lightening in a bottle. He recognized their talent. This won't happen again.

He came extremely prepared. He felt he owed it to the cast to be efficient. He went for simple shots so they could really work on the performance.

He realized they had the magic.

Kevin was the guinea pig for using slow motion on the show.

The behind the head shots were Paris figuring out how to switch between Rachel and Kurt during Defying Gravity. This was the second time they used the spotlights.

Paris said he would take Kristen over Gwyneth.

Gwyneth wanted to do Happy and that delated shooting because they had to get the rights for the song.

Paris' experience made the music numbers so much better. He knew what he was doing.

Paris like when things were rough around the edges.

Sometimes in the script they were told to mimic the rough style of songs like Dog Days.

Paris said Glee is emotional. Some shows he feels that was stressful or that was hilarious. He feels emotional about Glee and it's often tinged with sadness.

It's sort of like a longing for a period of youth you can't get back.

Paris says he wishes there was more forgiveness. He wishes that people would just let things go.

Robin, the actress that plays Jean shares a birthday with Paris.

The scenes with Jean and Lauren were really at the heart of Glee. It was Glee flexing it's real power.

Paris said it disappoints him to see the cast sniping at each other. He wishes they had more forgiveness.

Kevin said it's frustrating when people in their group have negative and dark feelings about the show. They were kids. Nobody was perfect. The show became way bigger then anyone could have imagined. Things went off the rails. That shouldn't take away from all the good that came from the show.

Kevin talks about getting to meet kids in wheelchairs because of Wheels. He says they got to be a part or impactful stuff every time Paris came to direct.

Glee went there. Paris said they should be really proud of that.

Ouches in Wheels - Burt saying You can't discriminate against my kid because of his sex, religion, or the fact that he is queer as a three dollar bill. Paris says he knows they meant it with love but it wouldn't be done today.

Artie saying I want to be very clear I still have the use of my penis.

Kevin said this was the first episode there was a lot of us in these moments.

When Finn says this one's for you Artie was very emotional.

Mercedes says what you need is my chocolate thunder and Shue responds they will find something to dip in chocolate. So very cringey.

Last Finn saying we are busy with homework, football and teen pregnancy. Cory was so good and does that line flat. Jenna loves his wheelchair kick.

The scene where Quinn and Puck are making a cake/ food fight was stopped by the director of photography because he thought the flour in the air could start a fire. The stopped filming and Paris didn't know what to do. He went to Dante. They had to bring the fire marshal in to decide if it was okay to keep filming. Apparently there is a chance the flour in the air along with the lights could start a fire. Paris came with adding the sugar to the flour and the fire marshal said it that would be fine.

They asked Paris to come back.

They talked about skincare.

Kevin talked about Paris being honored by the DGA. He said seeing the people that showed up for him made Kevin feel honored. He said getting to be a smart part in his reel meant a lot.

Paris said it was an exciting night. His said his family was excited to meet the Glee cast.

Kevin said he was on the verge of tears for most of the interview.