Lara Parker cherishes witchy role in 'Dark Shadows' TV show
- The Fresno Bee
Thursday, May. 10, 2012 | 04:45 PM
The blue-eyed, blond-haired Lara Parker arrived in New
York City in the mid-1960s convinced she only would land ingenue roles. A
week later she was cast to play one of the most famous witches in
television history, Angelique on the daytime drama "Dark Shadows."
The ABC series, which ran from 1967-1971, presented the traditional emotional elements of a soap opera but with dark Gothic trappings. Along with the central characters of brooding vampire Barnabas Collins and the lovesick Angelique, the series had storylines during the 1,225 episodes that included werewolves, warlocks, zombies and time travel.
Parker ended up the central villain, but she wanted to be the heroine of the show.
"I was very young and inclined to play the darling girl of the piece. Jonathan Frid took me aside and told me, 'You're the heavy,' " Parker says. "It was hard to shift gears to be evil, so I played the witch with a reluctance. That hesitation ended up being an interesting way to play her.
"I played her as conniving, resentful and heartbroken because she was trying to get Barnabas to love her again. It ended up being a very multidimensional role."
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/10/2832586/lara-parker-cherishes-role-as.html
The ABC series, which ran from 1967-1971, presented the traditional emotional elements of a soap opera but with dark Gothic trappings. Along with the central characters of brooding vampire Barnabas Collins and the lovesick Angelique, the series had storylines during the 1,225 episodes that included werewolves, warlocks, zombies and time travel.
Parker ended up the central villain, but she wanted to be the heroine of the show.
"I was very young and inclined to play the darling girl of the piece. Jonathan Frid took me aside and told me, 'You're the heavy,' " Parker says. "It was hard to shift gears to be evil, so I played the witch with a reluctance. That hesitation ended up being an interesting way to play her.
"I played her as conniving, resentful and heartbroken because she was trying to get Barnabas to love her again. It ended up being a very multidimensional role."
Parker is convinced it was Frid's work that made "Dark Shadows"
so memorable. The character of Barnabas Collins wasn't originally in the
series and didn't come along until the second year. Instead of playing
the vampire as a monster, Frid played Barnabas as a tortured soul who
felt tremendous guilt at having to kill to survive.
That anguish and agony, to Parker, was the heart of the series. It also helped that while the show often dealt with the supernatural, all of the actors approached the work very seriously.
"Sure, we were a soap opera. When a bat came in the room, it was a rubber toy with a prop man at the end of it shaking it. But, that wasn't something where we would roll our eyes. We played it for real. We played every single moment with conviction. We played every single scene as if it was Dickens," Parker says.
She points out the series drew from classic literature, ranging from "Jane Eyre" to "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
It's been more than 40 years since the series ended, but Parker's still living in "Dark Shadows." She's written two novels -- "Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch" and "Dark Shadows: Angelique's Descent" -- based on the daytime drama. A third book, "Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising," will be released this year. She's also provided the voice for Angelique in a new series of "Dark Shadows" audio dramas.
Parker and several of her TV co-stars have cameo roles in Tim Burton's big-screen adaptation of the TV show. She realized when she attended the world premiere that the fan base continues to grow.
"I did so many interviews on the red carpet. And, the phone has not stopped ringing. It's just so wonderful," Parker says.
There was no such extravaganza when the series spawned two feature films -- "Night of Dark Shadows" and "House of Dark Shadows" -- in the early '70s featuring the original cast.
She says Burton's film has made the TV series a lot like Barnabas Collins: "It looks like 'Dark Shadows' is immortal."
That anguish and agony, to Parker, was the heart of the series. It also helped that while the show often dealt with the supernatural, all of the actors approached the work very seriously.
"Sure, we were a soap opera. When a bat came in the room, it was a rubber toy with a prop man at the end of it shaking it. But, that wasn't something where we would roll our eyes. We played it for real. We played every single moment with conviction. We played every single scene as if it was Dickens," Parker says.
She points out the series drew from classic literature, ranging from "Jane Eyre" to "The Picture of Dorian Gray."
It's been more than 40 years since the series ended, but Parker's still living in "Dark Shadows." She's written two novels -- "Dark Shadows: The Salem Branch" and "Dark Shadows: Angelique's Descent" -- based on the daytime drama. A third book, "Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising," will be released this year. She's also provided the voice for Angelique in a new series of "Dark Shadows" audio dramas.
Parker and several of her TV co-stars have cameo roles in Tim Burton's big-screen adaptation of the TV show. She realized when she attended the world premiere that the fan base continues to grow.
"I did so many interviews on the red carpet. And, the phone has not stopped ringing. It's just so wonderful," Parker says.
There was no such extravaganza when the series spawned two feature films -- "Night of Dark Shadows" and "House of Dark Shadows" -- in the early '70s featuring the original cast.
She says Burton's film has made the TV series a lot like Barnabas Collins: "It looks like 'Dark Shadows' is immortal."
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/10/2832586/lara-parker-cherishes-role-as.html
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