MURRAY, Ky — She was in Los Angeles, waiting tables at Tony Roma’s, when it happened. When the first read led to the second audition, which led to the screen test, which led to the phone call.
But the real call had come years before for Chrishell Stause, in a bathroom mirror in Draffenville, where she perfected her dramatic hair toss for her opening credits close-up. Practice eventually made perfect, and that fateful phone call gave Stause the role of Amanda Dillon on ABC’s “All My Children.”
A year and a half later, the 2003 Murray State University graduate hasn’t forgotten her roots. Stause visited her alma mater Monday, and in a forum with students, faculty and a few soap opera fanatics, the Marshall County High School graduate answered questions and kept her audience laughing.
Topics in the informal discussion ranged from her revealing first scene — “All you can think of is, ‘My grandmother is going to see this’” — to advice for the aspiring — “You have to decide what is constructive criticism and what is just mean, because there will be a little of both.”
In high school, Stause dreamed of attending UCLA, but didn’t find the price tag appealing. Four years and one bachelor’s degree later, she couldn’t resist the West Coast any longer. She flew to California, found an agent and embarked on a yearlong journey to her first job.
“I think it probably should’ve been scary, but it wasn’t,” she said. “I’d known for years that was where I wanted to be. I went through one full year of rejection. You have to have passion for it, because it’s hard. You have to take a lot of rejection.”
In May 2005, Stause auditioned for her third soap opera. The number proved as charming as ever.
“Two weeks went by after the audition, and I’m thinking I didn’t get it,” she said. “But then I get the call … so I went in for the second read, and they’d brought in a casting director from New York. A week after that they flew me to New York to do a screen test with one of the actors from the show. I wasn’t nervous because I didn’t think I would get the part, so I told myself to just have fun. It was a free trip to New York.”
But Stause underestimated herself, and was soon preparing for a coast-to-coast move. Now, with two-and-a-half years left on her contract, she said she looks forward to exploring something new.
“I always said I wanted to be on a soap, and now that I am, I guess I’m going to have to dream a little bigger,” she said. “After (the contract is up) I’ll be ready to move on. I love this job and the opportunities it’s given me, but I would love to go do something else.”
Stause said she’ll probably stick with TV and film roles in the immediate future, admitting that the steady paycheck is major factor. But she promises she hasn’t seen the last of the stage. While at Murray State, Stause played roles from Shelby in “Steel Magnolias” to Mina in Playhouse in the Park’s “Dracula.”
Stause told the audience at Monday’s forum that she’ll never get used to the public attention of stardom, and although she works alongside the likes of Susan Lucci, she sometimes gets starstruck, too. A restroom meeting at the daytime Emmys with Lauralee Bell, Christine Blair from “The Young and the Restless,” left Stause tongue-tied.
“I was so nervous, I didn’t say anything,” she said. “But once I walked out, I turned around and went back and told her I’d grown up watching her and wanted to be just like her. She was so gracious.”
Students who talked with the soap actress Monday wanted advice. Should I go to grad school? Am I too tall or too short? Do I need to be able to sing and dance? Stause’s philosophy is simple.
“It has to deal with passion,” she said. “If you have that drive and passion inside you, it doesn’t matter where you came from. Everyone might not know your name, but a lot of people don’t know my name. My goal was to be able to make a living doing what I love, and I am.”
