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By GustavoLeao / 17:09, 18 August 2008 / General Star Trek
TrekWeb talks to actress Sharon Savene, who plays Captain Theresa Faisal in the fan production series Star Trek The Helena Chronicles.
Captain Faisal is the commanding officer of the USS Helena. Formally Helena's first officer, Faisal was promoted to Captain and given command of Helena subsequent to the loss of Captain Tolian Naros at the end of the Tholian/Breen Conflict seen in the fan series Hidden Frontier.
We talked to Sharon about her work in this new Star Trek fan series and her future projects.
1- Sharon, how do you rate your first year as Captain Faisal in Star Trek The Helena Chronicles ?
I am very happy with my first season as captain. Even though I can barely call myself a captain in our current situation. It has been great filming the first three episodes of what I hope will be a long series. As for rating Theresa as a Captain...I´d say she needs a refresher course in Duty, Honor, Country, and the Chain of Command.
2- Lets begin with the pilot episode - "Sanctuary Lost". What are your feelings regarding the first episode ?
I really enjoyed that our first episode dealt with the repercussions of the finale of Hidden Frontier. Space ecology is an important issue, even in our own atmosphere. I only regret that we haven´t really dealt with it since that episode.
3- In the second episode, "Obsessions", the script by Brian S. Matthews was quite controversial, in which Faisal makes a dangerous decision for her and her crew against the Federation. What did you think of that development ?
While I think it is a great dramatic turn for the series, it has made a challenge for me as an actress to figure out the logic of my character. I think you´ll see the issue isn´t going to be getting any simpler with the upcoming episodes. And Captain Faisal´s decision-making ability may not get any better either!
4- Finally, there is "The Letter of the Law", the upcoming season finale, which I understand is very epic. What can you reveal to us about it ?
The crew of the Helena is far from being out of trouble after this episode. That is about all I can say.
5- What challenged you more about this first season?
Certainly a big challenge has been memorizing all that technical information! I don´t know why Faisal is usually the one spouting out the techno-babble, but that´s life in space.
Another challenge for me has been figuring out the relationship I have with my crew. Previously I was a member of the crew, and supposedly a friend to many aboard. Now that I am Captain there is a professional distance between the crew and I, which is hard to keep in balance. Also, there seems to be an almost telepathic link between Faisal and Jorian as time and time again we are in unspoken agreement with each other without any conflict or discussion. This is very different from the way we seemed to butt heads in Hidden Frontier.
I wish we had more chances this season to include scenes that establish my relationships with Jorian, Ness, Heta´an, etc. So far we´ve only shown Faisal´s blind dedication to Cory Aster.
6- Your character has become a fan favorite for a lot of Star Trek and fan film fans. Do you ever look at the internet for fan feedback?
I will get into phases where I am studying the HF Forum review threads. Mostly I look for constructive acting criticism, but the occasional expression of undying love/lust is fun too.
I have actually pulled quotes about me from the forums to use in my own promotional materials (much like actors pull quotes from newspaper reviews).
Unfortunately, in the past few months I have had a lot of real life stuff going on, and haven´t had the time to spend on the forums, or the HF Wednesday night chats, So I am way behind.
7- You also plays a villain in Star Trek Odyssey fan series, a blue-skinned power-obsessed Archein named Majan Seram. Do you enjoy playing a character so different from Faisal ?
Yes, that is why I am an actress! The fun of acting for me is in playing very different characters. I know that there are actors who always play roles that are only a slight variation of themself (John Wayne, or Jennifer Aniston for example). But I would rather have a career like Meryl Streep, or Gary Oldman where you couldn´t begin to summarize the type of roles they play.
8- Here is a question I asked Helena Chronicles and Odyssey producer Rob Caves and I want to ask you too. The production values on Star Trek The Helena Chronicles are very high state-of-the-art special effects, good acting and directing, beautiful musical scores. Still a lot of fans have a prejudice against fan films. Do you know why?
Well, I imagine it starts with money. Especially in America especially there is a common belief that if something doesn´t make, or cost a lot of money it must be crap. Why else do you think the first weekend box office is so crucial to a movie. It has to make a lot of money fast to prove it is worth seeing.
So, because our series can´t legally make any money, and since we don´t advertise the desire to check us out is low for Sci Fi purists. Their loss I say.
9- Finally, Sharon, what are your future projects beyond the second season of Helena Chronicles ?
Well this summer I was really busy with 4 different stage plays. Also, I am doing some writing and am currently writing both a comedy webisodic, and a feature film script with some writing partners. This fall I will be busy auditioning during pilot season, so expect to see me on your TV. Beyond that I really want to work in feature films. I love working really hard for an intense period and then getting time to relax, regroup, and enjoy what you made.
More info about Star Trek The Helena Chronicles and Star Trek Odyssey at the official site.
The trailer for the season finale episode "Letter of the Law" can be find at YouTube.
