Working On My “Night” Moves, Round 7

This is it, folks – the last of my interviews from the set of General Hospital: Night Shift. (Sniffle) Who better to wrap things up than the much loved (or much hated, depending on who you ask), Steve Burton? During his more than 10 years as Jason Quartermaine/Jason Morgan, Burton has been a straight-A student, worked for a mob boss, entered a marriage of convenience, acquired a hacking sidekick and, most famously, lost his memory – twice. Just three days from the premiere of Night Shift, Burton tells us a little about his new gig as GH’s newest janitor.

What differences did you first notice between “General Hospital” and “Night Shift”?
The storylines are going to be faster; you don’t have to play the same story for two weeks or two months. It’s going to be like an episodic prime-time series, where stories do wrap up in the hour and then some stories can get strung along a little bit. I think there’s probably much more closure, which is nice, because that’s why we watch prime time. Then you have some new characters, and you have some characters they’re familiar with from General Hospital – I think it’s a great combination of everything.

It’s different in we’re shooting a lot more in a day, we’ve got new people so it’s a different energy, it’s a new show so there’s that air of, “Wow, this is kind of fun; it’s new, it’s for prime time, for SOAPnet,” so we’re doing something different from our show. We’re using a green screen, which is new for us. I think it’s going to be a bigger show, in the vastness of it, compared to General Hospital.

You told me that actors new to soaps “have to learn quick” – how’s that going?
The new people I think are getting used to it now. Last week was an “OK, this is how it is!” kind of thing. People will say, “Well, I –,” and the director will be like, “Moving on!” They just don’t care. Usually they can fix [it] in the edit, but it’s a different animal than other shows or movies. We’ve got to tell the story, get the shots [and] do the blocking in one or two takes and move on. People come here from TV and film and tell us, “You guys are nuts!”

Is that pace second-nature for you?
It’s just like a job now. The memorization part is a lot of time management for me, because I have kids. I just plan everything out as much as I can and try to do it.

Do you think “Night Shift” is going to attract new fans?
Obviously, [we’re] trying to get new viewers. I think they’re going to get GH fans. A lot of people, I can’t believe it, still don’t have SOAPnet! People are asking me all the time, “How do I get SOAPnet?” I’m like, “Call your cable company!” It’s going to be interesting. It’s new for SOAPnet, too; it’s a new adventure for them, and for us. It was going to happen sooner or later. Daytime’s in such trouble as it is.

Are you worried about soaps disappearing entirely?
No, not a bit. It means I don’t have to act or memorize anymore! I’ll be a janitor! Yeah, man – I’m blue collar!