We’re back with more of our recent chat with Chelsea Hobbs & Ayla Kell from ABC Family’s new show, “Make It Or Break It.” The show premiered last night after the “Secret Life of the American Teenager.” If you watched the show, what did you think?
You can read the first part of the interview HERE.
You were both dancers, but how much training did you have to do to prepare for the show?
Chelsea: Well, before the pilot, we had virtually hardly any time at all. I was cast last, so for me it was just a couple of days, so it was a lot of watching videos and trying to pick their brains, all the gymnasts, as much as possible. And then they gave us actually about two or three months after we found out the show was going to series, so we had quite a bit of time to do training. And I guess it’s more about looking like a gymnast and walking and acting like a gymnast. And we also have been doing a lot of strength training. We’ve been doing beam and learning how to, you know, jump on the bars, so we have been – we’re slowly learning more and more every day, but we still do have gymnast doubles.
Ayla: We do what gymnasts do as conditioning. It is what it is. I’m not all of a sudden doing triple back flips, but I can pull myself up on a bar. Chelsea has got some awesome pull-ups, but it’s that kind of stuff that really helps us understand what we’re doing.
How do these characters compare to ones you’ve played in the past? Have you ever played athletes before?
Chelsea: I’ve played a dancer a few times. Definitely not anything like this. My character, as far as Emily goes, she’s similar to other characters I’ve played, but definitely I’ve never played anyone quite like Emily. She’s got a lot of depth to her and a lot of history, a lot of issues. So it’ll be interesting to see that all play out, for sure.
Ayla: I did professional dance for a long time, and I usually get characters who do something athletic, but it’s usually not this involved, not this much of the character. And when it comes to other character traits, I haven’t really played somebody who is so one focus and really sees nothing else, so it’s really exciting getting to divulge into that and figure out all the little nuances.
Are there any guest stars we can look forward to?
Chelsea: Nicole Anderson from “JONAS.” She’s going to be on a few episodes.
Ayla: Yes, and she was really sweet.
Chelsea: Yes, she’s really sweet, and that’s all we’re saying.
What’s the hardest part of working on the show?
Chelsea:I think that we do feel a lot of pressure to make sure that everything is very accurate. It is important to all of us, so I know for me personally, I’m naturally slight in frame, and it’s something that I work really hard at every day making sure that I have the muscle mass to pull it off, and you know it is a lot of pressure to really make sure that you’re doing gymnastics justice, so we all are working really hard at that.
Ayla: Yes, and on that level, I’m naturally curvy, and I have to be aware that it has to stay muscle since I’m in spandex every day, so the accuracy pressures and, I mean, when you’re doing a show, it’s stressful no matter what. And then doing a show about something so specific and something is such a top elite class know so much about, you have to really, really step it up. You have to Make It or Break It.
What advice would you give upcoming actors?
Chelsea: I think that the mistake that a lot of actors make is they don’t – they’re not themselves. They put too much on it. They forget when they walk into an audition room or something that when you walk in the room, the casting director wants you to be the right person, and they forget to just be themselves. They’re trying to be what they think the casting director or producers or directors want them to be, and I think that that’s a really important thing to remember is bring as much of yourself and take risks.
Ayla: And you have to remember that auditions are a huge part of the process, and if you aren’t doing your best on auditions, and if you’re not trying your best on auditions, you’re setting yourself up. It’s work at all times. Even if you aren’t getting paid, it’s work.
Be sure to catch “Make It Or Break It” on Monday nights on ABC Family at 9pm EST.
Photos Courtesy of ABC Family
