7TH STREET THEATER: The TV Series
An Interview with Writer, Producer and Director Dave Christiano

How did the idea come about for this TV series?
I was planning to shoot a new movie in 2003 and was making plans to do so when the TV series idea started to surface. So in 2003, I sat down and wrote what eventually became the 2nd episode entitled "Surprise!". From there, I started writing the shows and laying the foundation for the characters and how this would eventually play out. I found a building where we could build the sets needed for the show and the initial goal was to produce 65 episodes for this series.

When did the production actually begin?
Our first day on the set was November 1, 2004.

How have you found your cast?
I had worked with both Hugh McLean (Gates) and Josh Gaffga (Jamie) on my movie "Late One Night" in 2001 and cast both of them from there. I went through a talent agency in Charlotte NC to find Stacey J. Aswad (Andi), Johanna Jowett (Kelly), and Cody Harding (Joanna)). Shane Willimon (Travis) was recommended by Hugh McLean. Jack Kelly (Rudy) came from Beverly Holloway out in Los Angeles, a casting director my brother Rich had worked with. Terry Loughlin (Mr. Wheeler) was cast for my movie "Me & You, Us, Forever" and so that’s how I knew him. For Season Two, Stacey recommended Mark Scarboro (Seth) and Shane recommended Bryan Gallagher (Chad). I found actress Shayne Kohout (Lisa) through a talent agency I had previously worked with in Atlanta.

What is the most difficult thing about shooting the series?
Without question, scheduling the actors and working around their schedules is the toughest thing to do. They are all involved in other projects or other jobs and so trying to work around that has been difficult.

Why did Josh Gaffga leave the show after Season One?
When Josh signed up for the series, he was in for the 65 shows, but just as we got started, he sensed a career change coming and was eventually offered a full time job in Colorado as a worship arts Pastor. He was able to stay on for the first Season of 24 shows. I had originally written the episodes entitied "Jamie's Brother" for Season Two, but then moved them up to Season One in order to have Mark Scarboro replace Jamie as his brother.

Are there any changes in Season Two?
Yes, and again, schedules have made this difficult but there will be a couple of new characters eventually surfacing in Season Two. About two and half weeks before production was to begin on the 2nd half of Season Two, I got a curve ball thrown at me that really was a sudden change in this series. So I sat down and wrote two episodes with that name. Viewers will see what happens as Season Two unfolds. But in the end, I think it all works out fine and I’m happy with the direction of the show.

Do you have a favorite episode or scenes you’d like to mention?
Well, we’ve worked hard on all the shows and the key to me has been the talent of the actors. I’m very pleased with their effort. I think most everybody in the cast and crew would cast their vote for "Movie Star" as their favorite episode from Season One. It was a special show. Johanna Jowett gave a fantastic performance in that one and the supporting cast was very strong. Plus, there was a good editing effort with the visual effects. In Season Two, I think "Star Mission" will get the vote. It was by far our most expensive episode to shoot and really was a big effort for our small production team to pull off. The cast had a lot of fun doing that show and it made me want to write more episodes like that because they really did enjoy working on that one.

When I look at the shows, I think "The Word" in Season One is the most important because of the topic and I think "A Day Ahead" in Season Two is the most thought provoking. It was an interesting episode to try and do.

Other special moments for me are the last 9 minutes of the episode entitled "Andi" in Season One which was a great effort by all. I really liked the way that played out.

For “scenes”, there are many to me that are touching and well played by the actors. Jack Kelly’s speech in "One Lucky Lady" from Season One could be the highlight of that season and the scene with Shane Willimon and Stacey J. Aswad in "The Bus Stop" from Season Two has heart and hope. I also like the end scene we did in "A Sudden Change (part 2)" from Season Two. This is between Hugh McLean and Johanna Jowett where she plays a college student and he plays a hard line professor. When the two actors did the scene, my sound mixer Fred Pachter looked at me and we both got a little choked up. It’s beautifully played by Johanna and Hugh is as solid as ever.

Is there going to be a Season Three?
Yes. We started shooting Season 3 in August 2008.