Marnie Schulenburg

You weren't looking for a job on a soap opera when you were offered the role of Alison Stewart; can you share how that came about and what appealed to you about the role?

"I was sent on a general meeting to the studio, so that Mary Clay Boland could meet me and see that if she liked me she would then possibly call me in for future roles that were my type. We met and got along very well, so well that she told me she was looking for a young blonde girl about my age to fill the role of a character they were bringing back. Since it was a general, I wasn't given a side to prepare, so she just handed me a scene and asked me to read it with her.

The cold read went surprisingly well, and she called down executive producer Chris Goutman, and had me do the scene again for him to see. He then asked me to come in for a screen test because I had no tv/film acting experience and wanted to see how I handled the quick pace of learning, blocking and then quickly taping a scene on camera. I wasn't up against anyone else, so if I didn't get it, it was entirely my own fault, which was pretty scary, but it worked out well and I got to test with the lovely Grayson McCouch.

Although I had never sought out a career specifically in soaps, I fell in love with the world and with the people instantly. I love acting in general, and I have been blessed to work with an extremely talented group of people who are also nice! It's a great environment to work in and I love the character, so for me it was a win-win situation."

You've worked on both The Young and The Restless as well As the World Turns and were featured in L.A. Diaries (the online only show); how would you compare the experiences?

"I would say that my initial experiences on ATWT and Y&R were pretty similar, with similar blocking, writing, and the pace of it all. Obviously now, I am biased towards ATWT because I have been able to see all the hard work, talent, and dedication that goes into everything we do, but initially both shows use the same formula to create their product, and people on both show were very welcoming to me when I first started.

For the webisodes it was definitely a different experience for me because it included, longer days, location shoots, a smaller more intimate group, different types of shots, and the pace wasn't quite as quick, so it was very much like a mini film we were shooting. At that time I had never shot a film, so I had no idea what to compare it to, but I loved all three experiences and had a great time."

What is the most difficult storyline you've had to portray so far? What was the most fun?

Marnie Schulenburg

"The most difficult storyline was the porn star one because I wasn't completely informed on what was going to happen with the character nor did I ask because I was the new girl. I just sort of rolled with it, which was probably for the best because I didn't over think things, like certain scenes. But, I had just graduated from a Catholic college, and though I am not a devout Catholic, I am religious and grew up in a family that was pretty tight-lipped about sex in general, so I was slightly scared when my first day included me lewdly licking a lollipop and having a stranger kiss my back while wearing lingerie in front of a bunch of strangers! You want to make a good impression on your co-workers your first day. Well, I definitely made an impression, and luckily I wasn't in for another 2 weeks after that. So, I just hoped that they had forgot about it, haha!!

The best storyline though is a tough one to pick because I have really loved all of them and found them very challenging, but I did think The Stewarts vs. The Hughes was a very intriguing and complicated storyline that really could have gone any direction, which I think added a lot of suspense to it and kept the audience invested."

Soap opera actors film a number of episodes a week, how does your theater training support you?

"Well, my theatre training as well as the work ethic my parents instilled in me at a pretty young age helped the transition into the soap world a lot. I started working when I was 13, and was used to crappy jobs with long hours, so by the time I got to shooting on a soap it was like a dream come true for me. I am getting paid to act, so the hours, and the pace has never really gotten to me too much. I also performed in a lot of Shakespeare and classical plays in college, and was used to having to memorize a great deal of lines for each show."

Who are your favorite actors/actresses to work with?

"I really love and respect all the actors on the show, but I do become attached to the ones my story lines include. Agim Kaba, Dylan Bruce, Kelly Hensley, and Marie Masters are definitely my favorites."

In Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell, how have you prepared for the role of Andromeda? The premise of the play is outstanding and ideal for the stage, could you see it translating to the large or small screen?

"In preparing for the role of Andromeda, I have only just begun all the work that will go into the character because we have just started rehearsals. Usually I like to get a feel for what the writer and director have in mind for the character and then after that I fine tune it and make it my own.

For this role though, the director Cristina Alicea had actually seen me in another reading playing a character that had similar qualities to Andromeda, so when reading the play I had certain ideas and choices about how the character would behave moment to moment. But, really the work has only just begun!!

In reference to this play translating to the silver screen, I know that the premise of the play itself came from a movie trailer that the playwright David Stallings saw of the classic movie "The Women", and was inspired to explore the many fun and possible options. However, I personally think that existential pieces fit the stage better than the silver screen because a stage audience will be more likely to have a longer attention span and focus while a screen audience will expect some sort of big action right away to keep their attention, and that isn't what a play about existence usually entails."

What is your ideal role? What roles would you like to play over the next few years?

"There are so many roles I would love to play, but I have always had a desire to play Velma Kelly in Chicago, however I think I would have to work on my dance skills a lot more before even auditioning for a role like that, and wait a few years. I really love the stage, so really any role that I connect to and find challenging is a role I am interested in playing."

LoveToKnow Soap Operas would like to thank Marnie Schulenburg for taking the time to speak with us, and wishes her continued success on As the World Turns, in Andromeda, and in all of her future endeavors..