1. How did you come to be involved in The House Between as a producer of the series?

I think I was a late-comer to the series. I visited the director and his lovely wife around Christmas 2005, and they started telling me about an idea they had for a bare bones science fiction series. I don't think anything had been committed to paper yet, but a few members of the cast were already in place. That's the kind of enthusiasm that John inspires - he had a cast before he had a script! Since he knew that I was working as a producer on the Discovery Channel series "A Haunting," he asked me to come on board. I liked the story concept. I trusted the writer/director. Even at that early stage, it seemed like a completely viable project. Why would I say no?

2. How would you describe your behind-the-scenes role (or rather, roles...) on the series, and how does it compare with the network television you've produced?

I have worked for a few years on reenactment-based shows for the Discovery network, in several roles - from production assistant to researcher to writer/producer. The subject matter has varied from military history to crime, science and the paranormal, but all of the programs have been in the docu-drama format. THB was a chance to work on a straight dramatic series, and I was excited about the prospect of helping to develop character arcs beyond a single episode. Given the financial and logistical limitations of the production, developing the characters had to be our main focus. I tried to be sounding board for John during the writing and editing phases. During the shoot itself, I was more of an A.D./script supervisor - making sure that everything in the scripts got shot... and, in some cases, lobbying for last-minute changes and deletions to the script, so that we could make our days without compromising the story.

3. What was it like (is it like...) collaborating with this cast and crew?

Easy. Everybody in the cast and crew put their own creative stamp on the project, and then some. It was a labor of love for everyone involved and we were all rowing in the same direction, which made the seemingly-impossible possible.

4. What's the funniest story you remember from the first season shoot?

Just about everything that happened on Day 5/Episode 5 was funny. By that point in the week, we were all a little loopy. Conveniently, that's when we had to shoot the most comedic script of the first season ("Mirrored"). The script - especially the bits with Travis's alter ego - lent itself to improv, and some of Lee's deliveries had me in tears. Some of the hysteria of Day 5 also bled into Day 6 - I remember John and Jim both crumbling into random fits of uncontrollable laughter - and we had to work a little harder that day to keep it in check during shooting.

5. What was the one thing about The House Between that you couldn't have imagined before hand, but which became apparent upon shooting?

First and foremost, I was amazed by the actors - everyone in the cast brought a sincere dedication to their roles. They all quickly became the characters they were playing, and managed to memorize a LOT of dialogue VERY FAST which still amazes me. If that hadn't happened - and I know from experience that it could have easily gone the other way - we wouldn't have a show.

6. You are intimately involved with the development of every script on the series. Can you tell me a little bit about how the first season scripts evolved? What concepts do you think the scripts had a handle on to begin with, and what kinds of improvements did they generally need? Was there any character or concept that originally gave you pause?

I had difficulty with the first script because I had trouble picturing the characters. I don't think that John had that problem when he was writing, because he knew the actors that he was writing for. With the first few scripts, I focused mostly on trimming dialogue and maintaining continuity. By the time I read the later scripts, I had a better sense of the characters and was more comfortable questioning specific dialogue and character motivations. For the most part, however, John had well thought-out reasons for the decisions he made in plotting - he didn't want his characters to always do what was expected of them, and I think that he was right to keep shaking the tree. The trick was making the pivotal moments seem as believable as possible, which usually just meant discussions about the dialogue. This process continued with the actors during shooting.

7. What was your favorite script of Season One, and why so? Which was your favorite to shoot? Now - separately - what is the best first season episode?

This is a character-based show, and I think the script for "Settled" (episode 2) did a great job of defining the characters and setting up the series. "Mirrored" (episode 5) was definitely the most fun to shoot. It's more difficult to pick a favorite completed episode because I think that each episode works on a different level. I really like the atmosphere of "Visited" (episode 4), in large part because of Bobby and Kevin's lighting schemes and Cesar and Mateo's excellent score. "Trashed" (episode 6) is satisfying to watch because it provides so many partial answers to the major questions of first season. I also think that the finale of "Departed?" (episode 7) has some of the best acting and editing in the first season.

8. What was it like working inside "the house at the end of the universe?" From dawn till midnight (and beyond), can you walk us through your typical day as producer?

I was the only member of the cast and crew that slept "off-campus," so I started and ended each day with a twenty-minute drive... which was great, because it gave me a chance to mentally prepare and reflect. After several cups of coffee, I started each day by reviewing the shot list. (We were able to shoot the first few episodes more or less in order, but as the scripts got more complicated, it became necessary to group scenes according to shooting location so that we could avoid losing time on lighting setups.) Once the actors started rolling in, I spent most of the day in close proximity of the camera - paying attention to continuity, feeding lines to the actors, and trying to reassure the director whenever he got that panicked look in his eyes.

9. I understand you were also critically important in the editing stages of the first season. You saw the episodes in rough cut form. What kind of suggestions did you have as the episodes were developing? How did the shows change most from rough cut to final version, and which episode do you think changed the most from conception to broadcast?

Mostly, I just responded as a viewer. When I saw the first rough cuts, several months after the shoot, I'd forgotten most of the minor story details and I was able to watch the shows fairly objectively. When something wasn't working for me as a viewer, I tried to come up with ways that we could visually manipulate the scenes to make them more impressionistic: more poignant (for example, the montage at the end of "Settled"), scarier (on "Visited," I pushed for the Val Lewton "less is more" aesthetic), or livelier (the stock footage over Bill's speech in "Trashed"). Most of the suggestions were smaller notes about pacing. I probably annoyed the hell out of John whenever I suggested that he add more breathing space between lines of dialogue.

10. When the second season came around, you were even more involved with the scripts (if that is possible...). Without giving anything away, how do you think the second season will be different from the first?

As of this writing, I haven't seen any footage from the second season, but I expect it to have more intensity than the first season footage. For reasons too complex to explain, season two was a trial by fire. Season one had a few dark plot points, but somehow we avoided - as a cast and crew - going to "the dark place." The scripts for season two are much darker (in ways that even seemed to surprise John as he was writing them) and that's probably one reason why the atmosphere during the shooting of season two was darker. By the end of the week, we were joking that this was our "Empire Strikes Back." I don't think any of us would volunteer to go through that week again, but hopefully the drama will come through in the finished shows.

11. Describe your contributions to "Estranged," if you don't mind.

John was writing the season two scripts at a fast and furious pace. He wrote the scripts in order and, if I remember correctly, started "Estranged" (the fourth of eight episodes) a week before the shoot. He was understandably getting a little nervous about deadlines. Even after multiple revisions, the first three scripts of season two had come out longer than any single episode in season one. "Estranged" was the longest script so far (I won't say how long, because I expect that some members of the cast will read this interview). I feared that, by the fourth day of shooting, we would kill our cast with a script that long. So, as gently as I could, I took the script away from John... trimmed, condensed, and rewrote. As I later told him, all of the raw materials were already there (in no sense did I "write" the episode), just in need of focus. As it happened, we almost killed our cast anyway.

12. You've written an episode "Caged" for the second season. What was it like contributing your own story to The House Between canon? Who was your favorite character to write for? Was it hard to be getting feedback on a script instead of giving it? Explain what it was like seeing your script produced...

I started writing "Caged" before I'd seen any of the other scripts for season two. It was conceived as a counterpoint to the season one episodes "Settled" - which I knew John liked - and "Visited." At the time, I had no idea how much the characters would change in season two and, as I read John's first four scripts, I was worried that "Caged" wouldn't fit into the later part of the season. Looking at the season as a whole, I like the fact that it brings the central characters back to basics - back to the undeniable fact that they have to work together. (Of course, as soon as they do, we violently pull the rug out from under them again.)

In early discussions about the character arcs of season two, John and I decided that this should be a pivotal story for Theresa, in which her character reaches an understanding that sets up the season finale. I was excited about this because Theresa is a bit of a mystic, and I had been studying mysticism for a book I was writing. It gave me a chance to inject more of her worldview into a show that thrives on conflict between worldviews. I think John was relatively pleased with the end result... though I will say that, with the roles reversed (me as writer and him as producer), the script got longer during the revision stage instead of shorter.

On the day that "Caged" was shot, I spent a lot of time scrambling to prepare for the next day's shoot, so there are several scenes that I will be seeing for the first time in the rough cut. One scene that I did see during shooting that really impressed me was a rare bonding moment between Bill and Arlo. Both actors added a lot of sensitivity to the lines.

13. Everyone has their own perception of this, but what do you think is the underlying message or meaning of The House Between? How do you see the puzzle all fitting together?

Maybe it doesn't fit together. For me, the theme is co-existence. The question is whether people can ever peacefully co-exist without having a single unified perspective? We all have our own worldview - just like the characters in THB. Who can say which is "right"? How do we even define the term "right"? Should we adopt a utilitarian perspective or an individualist perspective? Should we follow the word of God? If so, what do we recognize as "God"? Which "word" do we follow? And, anyway, who the hell am I referring to when I say "we"? Family? Country? Race? Religion? Species? I think these are the questions to be explored in future episodes.

14. How would you sum up The House Between experience?

I've had more fun working on THB than I have on any other production. The cast and crew is such a great group. The first season shoot was fast and loose, but it worked because everyone brought a high level of enthusiasm into an atmosphere of genuine respect. With tougher scripts that demanded a more regimented approach, the second season shoot was more difficult. The "newness" of the experience had lost some of its luster, and we all began to wonder why we'd taken unpaid vacations to work practically around-the-clock for seven days straight. Despite the tension - despite health concerns - no one faltered. We got every scene in the can - hell, we even squeezed an extra episode out of our week! It's an honor to be part of such a dedicated team.

15. How about 'teasing' a little of Season Two for us (without specifics)? If you had to use one adjective to describe it....?

"Everything you think you know..."

The more time we spend with these characters, the deeper we see into them. Season two is gut-check time. While the most reprehensible actions of the characters in season one could be attributed to knee-jerk impulsiveness, the violence of season two reveals these characters at their most basic, primal levels... suffice it to say, it's not always pretty. Season two is season one's bigger, badder, older brother who came here to do two things: chew bubblegum and kick ass.