Q and A Saturday, June 5, 2010 by Lynda Hirsch on Creators.com

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Q and A Saturday, June 5, 2010

Q: I read that the actor who plays Thorne on "Bold and Beautiful" has been placed on recurring status. What does that mean? — Ella, Melville, N.Y.

A: For Windsor Harmon, who took on the role 13 years ago, it means a smaller paycheck and lots of sitting by the phone waiting for a call. It is sort of like the week before prom night and no one has asked you out. So you just keep staring at the phone.

The decision to make Thorne recurring seems obvious but still totally wrong. For some reason, the folks at "B&B" never has given him much to do, but there is a lot of story line for this character: an attractive widower raising a young daughter. He also has the "mom always liked you best" thing going on with brother Ridge.

Every show is budget crunching so if a story can't be written, the character is pretty much a goner. Dan McVicar, who plays Clarke on the show, has suffered the same fate.

This would be a good time to discuss the different types of soap opera payments. There is the pay-or-play contract. On "B&B," those would be actors like Jack Wagner, Susan Flannery and John McCook.

They are guaranteed a certain number of workdays per week. Even if they do not play them, they are paid. The actor may not work for six weeks, but he is paid. You can bet by the end of the year, they will play all those six weeks even if they have to work five days week for five weeks. No one gets paid for doing nothing.

Next is recurring. These actors are only paid for the days they work. They may be asked to do the show once a month or once a year.

Next, we have a day player. They make less money than a recurring actor. A police officer on "B&B" is usually in that category. They like to use the same actor, but if he is not available, they will get someone else to play the cop. That actor has five or more lines.

Then comes the under-five. That could be the guy delivering flowers to a character.

Next come the extras. They have no lines. Those are the folks in the background at a bar or event. They are not allowed to say real words. In order for the extras to look like they are having fun at a party, they are usually chanting "rutabaga" or "soda water bubbles." Both sound like noise but have no meaning on their own.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.