Feature interview, Why is this woman smiling?:
She's the girl with the golden glow: beautiful hair, a killer smile and a vivacious personality to match. So, does Port Charles Erin Hershey (Alison) ever suffer from the same stress, fatigue and off days as the rest of the working world? You bet! In fact PC's sunshine kid has had plenty of tough times during the last several months. Combine the show's new accelerated taping schedule with an ongoing frontburner storyline and the recent passing of her beloved grandmother, and you get the picture. How does she cope? By keeping an attitude of gratitude---- not to mention a sense of humor!
"Im very appreciative of the faith and the trust of [Executive Producer] Julie Carruthers and the writhers who believed that I could pull off 60 to 70 pages a day," she says. "It's been really flattering and fun for me to portray."
Heigh-How, Heigh-Ho...
The disciplined actress says that her daily life has become very structured, which is the real secret to how she's been able to pull it off. "All I do is get up, go to work, exercise if I cans squeeze it in---- and sometimes even when I can't!— study my lines, and go to sleep so I cans start over in the morning," she reveals, grinning. "And on the weekends, I've become addicted to 20/20 and DATE LINE."
In her spare time, she squeezes in quick trips home to Washington to see her family. Why? Because they're her No. 1 priority. "It was really hard to be talking about angels and running around doing beach scenes when my family was upside-down," she says of their recent grief. "I've been lucky enough to have such a great family. To me, it's the whole meaning of life."
Co-Stars In Love
Ironically, just as Alison discovered a great love Rafe, Hershey, too, found a special someone with whom to share her ups and downs---- PC cast-mate and new fiancé Brian Presley (Jack). "He's one of those subjects I could just go on and on about, " she gushers of her new beau. "I'm so head over heels for him, and I really respect him as a person and a friend."
Although the couple have little free time, they squeeze in moments together whenever they can----at the gym, commuting to work, even at the Academy Awards! When Presley was tapped to co-host ABC's pre-and-post Oscar shows, cheering him on was behind the scenes was his biggest fan. "I was so excited for him and so proud----and we got to see Russell Crowe and all those people," she enthuses. "We were laughing because last year we snuck into Radio City Music Hall before the Daytime Emmys and were looking around going, "Oh wow, we can't believe we're in here!" And this year, her's nominated, and we were like, "We can't believe they let us into the Oscars----what were they thinking?"
Do You Believe In Magic?
If there is one thing Hershey would like for Alison, it would be that she could share some of her newfound joy. The character's done a lot of growing up, form dealing with the vampires to being held at gunpoint to breaking up with Jamal and "marrying" Rafe only to have him leave her. "Alison feels so empty inside----she doesn't think anyone will understand her," Hershey offers.
Now, it seems Ali's become so desperate to reconnect with Rafe that she'll do anything to get him back—even dabbling in an ancestor's witchcraft. "When crazy things come up now, it's not such a stretch for her anymore," Hershey suggests. "Sometimes when you're feeling so badly, you alienate everyone around you. [But] in finding Rebecca, she started to feel a connection again to someone who was important to her."
While her character's life is turning inside out, Hershey herself is hitting her stride, looking forward to the show's summer taping hatius and feeling exceedingly fortunate. "I'm ver happy to be working. I have a great family in my life who treats me like a women should be treated, and I'm healthy." she offers, beaming. "I'm very blessed and very greatful."
----------Kelli M.. Larson------------