Chasing Life Cast Interviews | Intimate & Personal

Chasing Life Cast Interviews – Intimate & Personal #ABCFamilyEvent

It’s been a really long time since I was hooked on a drama. I used to love watching dramas on TV every week, ensuring that I didn’t miss a single episode. But then reality show hype kicked in and the writing for dramas became a lost art overnight. It was only until recently when I was introduced to Chasing Life that I found my love for dramas again. Chasing Life on ABC Family brings for me the “heart” missing in TV shows today. The raw emotion, the real situations, and the bond of family draws me in, sitting on the edge of my chair and screaming when the episode ends all too soon. I was so fortunate to sit down with some of the amazing cast and producers behind my new favorite show of the year.

(photo credit: ABC Family/Craig Sjodin)

Chasing Life follows the story of April, a young 24 year old who finds out that she is diagnosed with Leukemia. A young reporter trying to work up the ladder, you follow the reactions and relationships with Sara, April’s widowed mom, and Brenna, April’s rebellious sister as everyone tries to cope with April’s diagnosis.

Sitting in small round table discussions, we hit the heart of the matter with the stars of Chasing Life.

(photo credit: ABC Family/Eric McCandless)

Italia Ricci – Tears, Being a Cancer Awareness Advocate and Decompressing

I have to admit, I was a little beyond star struck meeting Italia Ricci. “April” in real life, right here. And she’s just as beautiful, kind and determined in person as she is on-screen. How does this girl find the strength and inspiration to be the center stage of Chasing Life? It’s not without difficulty. “I’ve never had a close personal experience with cancer,” Italia explains. She had to really think about how she would react in a situation. “I have cancer, but it’s not my life. And cancer only has the power you give it.” April would draw from her own life experiences to bring that raw emotion when filming. But some of those episodes are tough to get through. Italia finds solace after a hard day of shooting with a glass of wine and good friends. She watches episodes and still cries. Her biggest fans? Her parents. Her mom held a viewing party with 70+ guests and a red carpet in Italia’s honor. She even plays episodes of Chasing Life in the house during the day, just to hear Italia’s voice. And you can find dad jumping up and cheering like a football game during a great episode.

How does Italia feel about being an advocate for cancer? “I love it. It’s like we’re standing up and saying you suck cancer. We have beat you.”

(photo credit: ABC Family/Eric McCandless)

Mary Page Keller – Being a Mom to a Child with Cancer, Best Parenting Tip, and Hope for Bloggers

Sitting down with Mary was like having a cup of tea with mom late at night. You sit on the couch with your knees drawn up and talk about life…your goals and dreams, your heartaches and failures. A mom of 2 boys now in college, Mary feels that empty nest syndrome. Mary just loves being a part of this show. “I feel like this was written for me.” She drew from her relationship with her sisters to form her mother/daughter bonding on-screen. “Italia and Haley are the daughters I would want to have,” Mary explains. She just adores them, which is so sweet! The hardest part of being Sara on Chasing Life? “I’m trying not to overthink the response…if this happened to my kid. It needs to be a spontaneous response.” She strives hard to get that emotion across to the audience. “I love that you are putting your experiences out there,” she explains to us bloggers. She tells us how important it is to get out those feelings. After a tough day of shooting, you can find Mary Page Keller cooking to decompress. What has the show taught Mary? “I’m more grateful on a daily basis for two healthy boys.”

Mary Page left us with her best parenting tip. “They are who they are with our without your immediate input. You have to embrace and learn to navigate.”

(photo credit: ABC Family/Eric McCandless)

Haley Ramm – Life as a Teen, Finding the Sisterly Bond, Relating to the Rebel

Sweet, innocent and polite….Haley Ramm is certainly nothing like the rebellious Brenna on Chasing Life. So super young, Haley explained her life as a teen now. She was homeschooled, didn’t have may friends and wasn’t super rebellious. So how does she relate to her opposite pole character? “I relate to Brenna’s innocence. She’s just trying to find her way in life, like I am.” He favorite part about playing Brenna? “She doesn’t have to explain herself. She just owns it.” Being one of the youngest on set, Haley found herself creating that sisterly bond with Italia off-screen through shopping. You might even see them at a mall together one day! This being Haley’s first big role, she’s still not used to the spotlight. “I will watch at 8 o’clock and I forget that I’m on TV.”

“Brenna makes me feel better about myself. I didn’t mess up THAT bad.”

Besides meeting some of the talented actresses from Chasing Life, we were also fortunate enough to interview some of the executive producers as well. A great drama would be nothing without great people behind the scenes. We got to sit down with Executive Producers Sean Smith, Joni Lefkowitz and Susanna Fogel as we got down to the DNA of Chasing Life as we talked about striking the right emotion, casting the show and challenges faced.

Executive Producers – Casting actors, overcoming challenges, striking the emotional connection with all audiences

I think we were all so eager to get a glimpse into the behind the scenes of Chasing Life. Joni, Susanna and Sean could not have been more eager to dish with us. It was important to the producers to get a bunch of “unknowns” to be casted. You get lost more in the characters and emotions that way, instead of being wrapped up in what they’ve been in before. “The goal is to be authentic emotionally and medically,” Sean explains. “Everything is related to April and this shift in her life.” The producers use medical experts and real life cancer patients and families to draw their emotional connection from. But they couldn’t help throwing in little comedy too. “Comedy in the context of drama is more effective.” We have been told that Dominic (April’s love interest) will be back, as well as something BIG for Brenna, and definitely more of grandma (she’s one of my favorite characters!).

I do find myself getting lost in episodes of Chasing Life. Tears misting in the eyes as I follow along with April’s journey. Such wonderful talent emoting beautifully on-screen!

(photo credit: ABC Family/Ron Tom)

And speaking of amazing episodes, a brand new episode of Chasing Life airs tonight! Tune in on Tuesdays at 9:00pm ET/PT on ABC Family as April and her family are preparing for aggressive chemotherapy.

Official ABC Family “Chasing Life” website: www.abcfamily.com/chasinglife

Facebook: Facebook.com/ChasingLifeonABCFamily

Twitter: Twitter.com/ChasingLifeABCF @chasinglifeabcf #ChasingLife

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Instagram: Instagram.com/ABCFamily

So seriously, if you have yet to pick up this show, it’s just amazing. The writing, the emotion, the comedy, the drama…ooooh the drama! It’s like eating a whole tub of popcorn. I can’t just eat one. I’m seriously loving Chasing Life and hope that you will join all of the drama Tuesdays on ABC Family.

Do you love Chasing Life too? What’s your favorite draw to the show?

Disclosure ~ I received a free once in a lifetime Disney trip as media for this event. All opinions are my own, but the experiences and conversations are memories I will never forget. Be sure to follow Raising Whasians for more reviews, giveaways and more.