Donna Lynne Champlin – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

By starrymag | October 26, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

 

A) I have a seven-year-old so when I’m on hiatus from “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” it’s my husband ‘s (who is also an actor) turn to go and do shows. I did do an independent film over the hiatus and it has gone through many names. It was originally called Yes, God, Yes and it was a short film. It was fun to do, but I don’t know what it’s called now. [laughs] So, I’ve just been getting some quality mommy time.

 

Q) What can you tease is in store this season on “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend?”

 

A) I sort of asked to not be given a heads up – at least pertaining to Paula. Usually, at the beginning of the season we have the series regulars do a one-on-one lunch with the writers which is awesome because I love the writers room. Although it’s exciting to have a trajectory before we start shooting,so many things do change as they continue  I trust our writers’ room implicitly so this year I kind of opted out. I thought, “This season I’m just going to find out what happens as we get the script. It’ll be great and I won’t get attached to ideas that sort of had to get scrapped. I’ll just sort of go for the ride.” So, unfortunately [laughs] I really don’t know what is going to happen. We’re almost halfway through shooting Season 4 and what can I say about it so far? It’s basically still everyone’s journey towards some sort of hopeful mental health.  What I do love about this show is it’s sort of messy on purpose–like life. We don’t wrap up an entire problem in one episode with a bow and then move on to the next one. It’s an ongoing adventure of the highs and the lows of day to day living whether you have a mental or emotional issue. So, as far as I know we’re really sort of continuing on in that vein. It’s not wrapped up in a cute little bow because that’s not indicative of how life is. I think that’s one of the things people respond to about our show – it allows people to reflect on something that is much more authentic to their own lives than what they have seen on television yet our show manages to be funny at the same time.

 

Q) Have you had much of a say in how Paula has evolved throughout the seasons?

 

A) Not much, but it’s only because I’ve learned…If I was on a different show with a different writers’room then I might be more vocal about what I think should happen with Paula. I’ve sort of learned over the past three years that pretty much any idea that I’ve had is never really quite as good as what they have come up with. Especially with this final season, I’ve just sort of relaxed into that security, which I’m sure is not common for people on other shows. [laughs] Every once in a while, I’ll send a text to Aline [Brosh McKenna] or whomever the head writer is on a script and ask for clarification just so that I can deliver better knowing where Paula is But for the most part I’m just following the lead of the writers’ room because in my experience where they are taking Paula is better than anywhere I think we should take her. [laughs] It’s a luxury and I’m very grateful for it. Paula is studying for her finals for law school and for the bar. Therefore, Heather (Vella Lovell) and Valencia (Gabrielle Ruiz) have sort of taken a more prominent role thus far this season in sort of being truthteller-sound boards for Rebecca. I love that because where Paula is sort of a combination of enabling and truth telling for Rebecca (Rachel Bloom), Valencia is just all hard truth all the time with no enabling – take it or leave it, which is also incredibly refreshing. Paula might try to give Rebecca the truth in a warm, fuzzy hug while Valencia will slap her in the face with it. Then there’s Heather whose character’s energy is sort of laid back…making Valencia and Heather sort of the two sides of the Paula coin.  It’s really fascinating to watch the writing this season as we see Valencia and Heather sort of pop up as more of a sounding board for Rebecca. We’re shooting Episode 8 now and I really love that Paula is really focused on her law degree and the law. The writers have really gone deeper into the bench with our other series regulars and our other supporting players. Quite honestly, it’s really exciting to see them all get their moments and have more to do.

 

Q) It’s nice to see that Paula is so committed to earning her law degree.

 

A) Paula is the only person on that entire show that actually enjoys the law. I think Nathaniel enjoys it, but he does it because his Dad does it. Rebecca did it because her Mom does it. Who knows why Darryl (Pete Gardner) does it. [laughs] Everyone at Whitefeather seems to wish they were at some other place. Paula is the only person in the law firm who truly loves the law and she’s really great at it. That sort of theme is popping up more this year.  Paula is really leaning into the law, her love of it and her excellence at it which is exciting.

 

Q) This is such a unique role in that it has combined your talent for comedy, theatre and singing. What has that meant to you?

 

A) First, I have to do a big shout out to our musical team! That’s Rachel Bloom, Jack Dolgen and Adam Schlesinger. The fact that those three people have singlehandedly written over 150 songs and they are all great? It’s a miracle! I take your compliment and thank you so much. That’s so sweet. It’s at least 50/50 with the quality of song that you’re singing as a singer. You can be the best singer in the world, but if the song you are trying to put over is a clunker there is nothing you can do. So, I really have to give so much credit to the musical team.  They give all of us, especially me songs that are always wonderful and right in my vocal pocket. They always sort of seem to give me stuff that is my sweet spot, which is such a gift. So, it’s definitely a team effort for sure.

 

Q) Will we get to see Paula explore any new relationships or friendships this season with some people outside of her immediate friend circle?

 

A) Yeah! I’m actually really excited. Vincent [Rodriguez] and I never in the three years that we’ve been doing this show done a one-on-one scene together and we’ve rarely been in anything together. If Josh and Paula were ever in the same room it was either with one or four other people there. I’m really excited that there is an episode (406?) where Paula and Josh actually spend a lot of one-on-one time together and that was really, really so much fun because Vincent and I got a chance to work together which we haven’t done. We had tremendous fun with it.  We also take a little deeper dive into the Proctor family—my boys and my husband–which I know is a fan favorite. We have a couple of episodes where we deep dive there, which I’m really excited about because I love my boys. [laughs] So, when I get the chance to work with those three guys it’s fantastic. Also, I love the energy of the Proctor family, mostly because we have so many people in our writers’ room that come from families. They are Moms and Dads, but it’s mostly Moms who have two kids and a husband and the things that happen in a family dynamic. The family dynamic is obviously represented really well on television, but it’s a staple. I really do feel that the way “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” does with the Proctor family in particular just has its own special spin on it. So, these two things we’ve already shot and I’m very excited about it. I loved the time I spent with Vincent and the time I spent with my Proctor boys.

 

Q) “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” has done a great job exploring such incredible topical themes like LGBT families having children and mental health awareness. How does this season continue with that hallmark?

 

A) It started in the season premiere with the observations of the penal system. Caucasian women, versus women of color, will get two months for stealing a sweater where a woman of color will get three years. They’re consistently using the situations that Rebecca finds herself in to always heighten awareness to those kinds of disparities that, again, we don’t’ really see on television. The fact that our writers’ room finds a way to bring those things up in a humorous way is mind boggling to me. The fact that you can simultaneously listen to that bit where a white woman gets two months for stealing a sweater and a woman of color got three years…you can simultaneously be horrified and also have the release of laughing at it because of the way it was presented – mostly through Rebecca’s eyes where she is obviously horrified by it. I think our writers’ room is always looking for ways to bring awareness to issues of diversity and not only in gender, but also in age and minorities and sexual preferences and exploring white privilege. They’re doing what they always do, but in different ways because the situations that we’re in for Season 4 are different.

 

Q) What have you personally taken away from your time working on the series?

 

A) Well, it’s funny because this is the first TV show I’ve been on regularly. I was a day player on “Law & Order” and “The Good Wife.” So, my distinct impression [laughs] is that I’m spoiled for life. This experience that I’ve had on “Crazy Ex,” even though I have no other experience on television to compare it to, is unlike any other in its feminism, equality (I’m just talking about going to work each day), inclusion and general happiness. Every once in a while my buddies on the crew will say, “Don’t get used to this. Don’t think it’s always going to be like this. This is special.” When the crew [laughs] says stuff like that I take notice because the crew always knows everything! There is frequently a mantra that is said on set, “This is such a great gig.” I think it’s a tribute to the show. It’s no secret that we have no money. [laughs] We’re a niche show and I know for a fact we have maintained a huge percentage of our crew, year after year after year. These people are top notch and get offers to work all the time. I think it’s a huge tribute to the show and the people working on the show who create a wonderful atmosphere which allows our crew to always come back to “Crazy Ex.” I look at that and I take note that these people from every department from editing to costumes to rigging to lights to sound – all of these people who are very much in demand– return to the show when you know that they have job opportunities that may offer them more money or a better schedule for them and their families. The fact that we have maintained (I don’t know for sure, but just looking around) 85% of our original crew is astounding. I think it really speaks to how happy everyone is at the job. So, I’m actually prepared [laughs] if I’m so lucky to get on another television show that it will be different. I’m preparing myself to not expect.  I’ve been in this business a long time with every show, whether it’s TV or theater, having a different personality. The people who are doing Sweeney Todd are different than the people you are going to work with on No, No, Nanette. It just attracts a different energy. It’s not going to have the same energy as a vampire show, but I’m just prepared to always look back on my career with this show and think, “I’m so glad I didn’t take it for granted. I’m so glad people made me aware of how special it was while I was doing it.” I would be so sad if I took it for granted. I’m grateful to those people who have pulled me aside and said, “Enjoy this while you’re here because this is special.”

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to episodes?

 

A) Oh, I love it! I absolutely love it. I actually just watched a really wonderful YouTube video on “Bagels After Midnight” who is absolutely brilliant. He’s done all of these really in-depth videos of the characters on the show and on themes of the show. The most recent one I just saw was a whole bunch of fans of the show talking about “Crazy Ex,” what it means to them and how it’s changed their life. I was so moved and so touched and thrilled that this show has run the gamut for fans, whether it’s just something they can watch to distract them for an hour from the dumpster fire that is the world right now to people who have literally been suicidal and happen to watch the show. Watching the show, seeing Rebecca suicidal somehow gets them to call a hotline or a friend or a therapist. Not to be dramatic but it seemed to be my impression from watching the show that it actually might have literally saved some peoples’ lives. It’s astounding. As an actor, especially in television, you are very insulated. At least in theater, you have an audience right there and you can feel how it’s going, you can feel how people are reacting so you get that sort of instant recognition of how people are interpreting your work where in television it is still very insular. On television you’re on this set and you’re just doing your thing. You are working on something that is not going to air for another three or four months. So, to watch things like that and to get responses like that on social media from fans I find it so incredibly gratifying and humbling because you sort of forget…I forget the show is going to air. [laughs] I go to work every day, I do my job and then the episode goes in the can and the machine of all the talented people who do what they do after we shoot it. I almost forget that it’s going to be on television in a few months. It’s really wonderful to get that feedback from social media and I absolutely love it.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) Thank you! It is no secret that without the fan support we would not have gotten a second, third or fourth season. Also, the awards that Rachel won (the Golden Globe, the Critic’s Choice Award, etc.). I think Rachel winning those awards that first season and the Emmy nominations…Mostly the fan support and the vocal fan support on social media I think that is a huge component as to why we’ve been able to complete our story. The series was only planned to be four seasons long if we were so lucky to make it to four seasons. It really is because of the vocal fan support that we have been allowed to come full circle and complete our stories, which on so many levels (as an artist and as a person) is so gratifying to have that closure that we are all going to have when we’re done. So, I say thank you to everyone.