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Photo by Anne Burke UCLA Today
Herb Stein (left), who teaches video production at UCLA,
directs actors before shooting “Days of Our Lives.”
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dividing time between classroom and soap
Director marks 20 years on 'Days'
BY ANNE BURKE
UCLA Today Staff
How did the much-loved Marlena Evans turn into an evil stalker
who is killing off Salem townspeople one by one? Is she possessed
by the devil ... again? Could Marlena go to prison for her bloody
crimes or even — gasp — face execution?
The answers are so secret that even Herb Stein, an adjunct assistant
professor who this year marks 20 years in the director’s chair
at the long-running soap “Days of Our Lives,” is in
the dark.
“All I can tell you is that the ‘reveal’ at
the end of this story line is going to blow everybody away,”
said the Emmy-nominated director and winner of a Directors Guild
of America Award.
“Days” has surged in the ratings since the Salem Stalker’s
murder spree began last fall. But directing has become bittersweet
for Stein; many of his longtime friends in the cast have fallen
victim to the evil killer. “We shot one death scene after
another, and although that’s the nature of the business, I
found it heartbreaking to think I might be working with these people
for the last time,” he said.
But the UCLA theater graduate, who shares directing duties with
three others on “Days,” is also experienced enough to
know that, with TV networks fretting over the bottom line as viewers
flee to cable, soaps are slashing payrolls — and veteran cast
members are often the first to go.
Unlike sitcoms, soaps are generally shot in one day. Stein gets
the script about a week in advance. Working in his study at the
Sherman Oaks home he shares with his wife of 34 years, Jessica (the
two met at an antiwar rally at UCLA in 1968), Stein blocks the script,
plotting all character movements and angles for each of three or
four cameras.
The day before shooting, Stein meets with his production team
at NBC Studios in Burbank. Hunched over set diagrams spread on a
conference table, the team goes over even the tiniest details, like
the placement of a letter opener on a desk.
“The key to a great show, in my opinion, is detail, detail,
detail,” Stein said.
Deidre Hall, who plays Marlena, said that Stein has a strong aesthetic
sense that makes “Days” the “prettiest show on
daytime.” Moreover, he’s sensitive to the needs of actors,
she said.
“He’s the only director I know who’s gone to
acting classes to help the actors,” she said. “This
was about 20 years ago, and he was new to directing. Several of
us were taking an improvisation class and he said, ‘I’m
going to do that!’ ”
Stein, who teaches multi-camera video production, is among a number
of working professionals lending heft to the TFT faculty. He also
is a theater director and television writer whose 1991 CBS Schoolbreak
Special, “American Eyes,” won an outstanding script
award from the Writers Guild of America.
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