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 together on the set was November 1, 2004. First day of actual shooting was Nov 2, 2004. We starting shooting episode #2 first.

How did 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. Stacey recommended actor Mark Scarboro (Seth). Shane introduced me to Bryan Gallagher (Chad) and I found Shayne Kohout (Lisa) through a talent agency in Atlanta who I worked with on our film "Me & You, Us, Forever".

What was the most difficult thing about shooting the series?
Without question, working around the actor's schedules was the toughest thing to do. They were all involved in other projects or other jobs and so trying to work around that was very difficult at times.

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 entitled "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.

Can you talk about changes in Season Two?
One foundation I established for this series was that I would not depart from the original vision, so I feel like Season Two and Season Three are simply an extension of Season One. I hope that viewers will agree. I do not like it when a series gets off base so much that you don't recognize it anymore down the line. I would stop doing this series before I would ever let that occur. In Season Two, schedules made it very difficult at times and because of it, a couple of new characters eventually surface. The direction I took the show was something I had in mind back in the early days, so none of this was a surprise to me. Most of the ideas and storylines presented in Season Two and Season Three I had since Season One.

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, "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. So in Season Three, the idea came along for "Didn't Get The Chance", which was another special one to do. It is a 1940's Detective mystery and probably the favorite for the cast in that Season. They enjoyed dressing up and playing the characters from that era.

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. And then in Season 3, my vote for the most significant episode is "The Name". In particular, the last scene in that episode is one I hope every Christian will seriously take to heart.

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. It was the most difficult sequence we attempted in the entire series.

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. It's probably my favorite scene we did. In Season 3, the end scene with Shayne Kohout and Hugh McLean for "The Name" is something special. Shayne plays a 6th grader and really did a super job.

Tell us about Season Three?
We started shooting Season 3 in August 2008 and because of scheduling, it strung out for several months. We have a couple of new developments in the storyline that I hope viewers find interesting. Also, I'm happy with the way the Season (and Series) will end. We did 24 episodes for Season One and 24 for Season Two, but then I moved 4 of those second season shows into Season 3 to make it 20 in both Season Two and Season Three. So the total count made it to 64 episodes, one shy of the initial goal when this all began.

Will there be a Season 4?
Regretfully, no. I enjoyed working on this series, which has been a ton of work, but it ends after 3 Seasons and 64 episodes. I feel that the ministry of the series can continue as the show is seen on television and dvd, plus, we opened a museum in Hendersonville NC to help continue the ministry of the show and honor those who worked hard on it.