For the last ten years, popular actress Crystal Chappell has amassed a loyal fan following in her Emmy-winning role as the feisty anti-heroine Olivia Spencer on the daytime drama, Guiding Light.  Earlier this year, her popularity shot to new heights as Olivia became one half of the same-sex soap couple that fans have referred to as "Otalia," the portmanteau name for the characters of Olivia and Natalia (played by actress Jessica Leccia). 

However, earlier this year, CBS announced that it would be canceling Guiding Light due to low ratings, ending this long-running drama after 72 years on the air in both radio and television.  A few months after the April 1 announcement by CBS, Ms. Chappell released word that she would be moving to the west coast to reprise her first breakout role, that of Carly Manning (aka Katerina von Leuschner) on the serial Days of Our Lives, beginning in early October.

2009 has definitely been a year of changes and transitions for Ms. Chappell: an old job ending, a new job beginning, a new home, and a new venture.  In addition to returning to Days of Our Lives, Crystal has teamed up with her friends/production partners to create Venice: The Series, a new online serial drama  that is currently in its formative stages, but which has already attracted mainstream notice and press ranging from The New York Times to, well, us.

Last week, we spoke with Crystal Chappell about all of the above and more.  In this first chapter of our special serialized interview, we discuss her time on Guiding Light and her role as the multi-faceted Olivia Spencer.  In future installments of this interview series, we'll talk about her feelings about being back on Days of Our Lives and working once again with her real-life husband, Michael Sabatino.  We'll also go in-depth to bring you all the scoop on her upcoming buzzworthy project, Venice: The Series.

Our thanks to Crystal Chappell for speaking with us and to Cathie and the gang over at ccandfriends.com, and Crystal's publicist, Leslie Penny, for making this all happen.

US Townhall:  As an actress, what types of roles do you find yourself attracted to?  By the same token, what types of roles or stories do you NOT like to play?

CRYSTAL CHAPPELL:  I try to find characters that challenge me -- that force me to go to unfamiliar places.  Playing characters that are safe are not very interesting to me.

USTH:  Which actors and directors in primetime or film are on your wish list to work with in the future?  Put it out there in the Universe, and it may just come to pass.

CC:  I love Deniro and Streep, and I would love to work with Martin Scorcese.

USTH:  Describe the audition process for Olivia on Guiding Light (GL).  What were you told about the role, and how long was the role supposed to last?  Which actors did you read with?

CC:  I auditioned for [Guiding Light Executive Producer] Paul Rauch and [Procter & Gamble Executive in Charge of Production] Mary Alice ("Mickey") Dwyer-Dobbin and never read with any actors. The role was supposed to be for 3 months and the character was supposed to be killed off.  Fortunately for me, she lived.

An important chapter of New York City broadcasting history is about to end.  Daytime drama Guiding Light has been canceled by CBS and will air its last episode on Friday, September 18, 2008.  As a New York based media business ourselves, we at US Townhall wanted to do one of our longform articles to cover this event and pay tribute to the longest running series in broadcast history.

Check back often as we continually update our tribute to Guiding Light's 72 years of broadcasting with more clips and remembrances.  To whet your appetite, we start off with a selection of Guiding Light opening themes over the decades.