Chase Masterson really does it all. She dances, sings, performs sketch comedy and stars in TV and movies. Now she’s even producing. Her new film noir Yesterday Was A Lie is a complex story about the nature of reality from director James Kerwin and Chase is a producer.
For millions of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine television fans around the world, Chase is known fondly as Leeta, the beautiful girl who went from nightclub server to marrying an alien destined to become leader of the Ferengi Star Empire. It was a one shot appearance initially, but blossomed into an important recurring character. It’s credit to Chase’s talent and charisma that Leeta became such an integral part of the DS9 family.
I had the pleasure of learning more about Chase, her new movie and even charitable pursuits, which remain close to her heart.
What was it like growing up in Colorado?
I was born in Colorado, but grew up all over. My father was in the Army, so we lived in many different places, including Alaska & Germany. It was great traveling so much, early on – my father loved taking us on sidetrips. He became a travel agent after the Army and was so duly enamored with places we got to go, even on weekend. Morocco, Italy, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, Munich and so many little towns in Germany. Being exposed to varied culture, different forms of theatre & art & music was extremely formative. It was wonderful.
The hard part was always having to say goodbye to people and places I loved and knowing, while it was great, it wasn’t permanent. It’s a very hard way to grow up. Always bittersweet.
The Groundlings. In comedy improv circles it’s legendary. What’s the most useful thing you learned as a Groundling?
I wasn’t actually in the Groundlings. I don’t know where whoever said that heard it. I worked for a long time with some Groundlings in a side comedy troupe called “Hilarions: Gladiators of Comedy.” It was crazily fun. We did mostly sketch, not lots of improv. I got my first agent & film through them.
The most important thing I learned was reinforcement that being positive onstage is key. Too many people have a competitive vibe that destroys chemistry and every other fun, important thing. Ego is the death of creativity. But when you really support each other & want for others to be great just as much as you want yourself to be, that’s key. It makes it all worth doing, finding those who do as well.
Fans rave about DS9‘s dramatic nuances, but it was also one of the funniest TV shows ever. Example: A buddy hated Star Trek, but watched after I sold my Next Gen script then saw DS9 and called me, “This Quark is funny!” Between Quark, Odo, Rom and Leeta, the laughs rarely stopped. The elegant blend of drama and comedy must have been rewarding.
I loved the comedy in DS9. I agree it was some of the best parts of the show. I mean, getting to teach Quark how to be a woman? It doesn’t get any better than that.
As I often say, the beautiful blend of pathos & humor really came out of the hearts of who our writers were. They’re extraordinarily insightful, passionately aware, alive human beings who love to laugh and make other people laugh. Ira Behr and Ron Moore and Rene Echevarria are all people who get it, you know? And they were brought together by one of the top writers of all time, Michael Piller, who we unfortunately lost far too soon. It’s not surprising to me that the show’s deep messages and hilarious antics were often both created by the same writer in the same episode. That’s who these writers are.
Nana Visitor and yourself are dancers. There seems to be something rhythmically graceful about playing a Bajoran woman. How helpful is dance to you in moving as an actress?
My dance background has been invaluable. I think it helps any actor with poise and confidence. Specifically, with Leeta I used a lot of visual imagery to help me get her essence to be what I wanted her to be. (Contrary to some fans’ belief, no, I’m not Leeta, and she isn’t me!)
I saw Leeta as graceful in ways that are kind and loving, but also — this might sound weird — in ways that are like a snake. With nothing extra, only rarely having sudden movements, and much more calculated than she may have appeared — or have wanted to appear. With Leeta’s background, she didn’t want to give more information away than necessary…that’s just one of those things from a Bajoran’s childhood that doesn’t go away. Leeta’s movement style may not have been obvious to viewers, but it helped me in shaping her…or at least they kept me amused.
What I feel keyed Leeta into fans was her “everyday” quality. She wasn’t a freedom fighter like Kira or Starfleet officer like Ensign Ro, yet was a magnetic, multi-faceted woman, whom you brought wonderfully to life. It’s hard playing characters lacking a big arc like a Captain or a flashy alien, but you made Leeta intriguing. Apart from scripts and interplay between fellow actors, how did you keep Leeta fresh and us always interested?
I’ve always felt any person in real life or character onstage or onscreen is, for the people around them, a vessel for the world to enter in on. We have such influence on the people around us. We can cause them to see or feel differently about the rest of the world, by how we see it… by our reactions.
I saw Leeta as someone you’d want to see the world through, with enough innocence that life could remain exciting, even in the midst of the dark times of DS9. I’ve always thought it more exciting to be capable of having your head turned, than to be capable of turning heads. Staying alive, til you die, is the key. It’s not always easy. That’s part of why it’s intriguing when we do it.
Also, Ira Behr said something interesting to me fairly early on, around the time Leeta & Rom got married. He told me that he thought Leeta & Rom would be the only truly happy married couple on television. Think about it. Most couples on TV are rarely role models for the institution of marriage, they mostly hate each other or just tolerate each other, deep down. It made me contemplate that real love – onscreen and off – is fun, or why is in it? And it should be portrayed that way. So part it was in finding things I absolutely craved about my husband Rom. Things that threw me smack in the middle of the throes of love with him again.
Thankfully, the writers made that easy. So did Max.
How great to have started in a small role and then grown to such a level at the conclusion. Did you have a clue how important Leeta would become to the DS9 mythos?
I had no idea. I was, as all recurring characters were, just thankful to keep getting to play! Any episode was a real treat, and we never knew how many more there would be or wouldn’t be. That’s part of the joy that they kept us on for so long. Having the story line of getting with Rom was so much fun, but I never dreamed it would end with such a very “Star Trekian” ending — Rom being named the Grand Nagus (above Quark & Brunt) 😉 – how fun is that?
Have you seen the Star Trek: Experience in Las Vegas?
I do love going to The Experience – it’s one of my favorite places to go play, in this country anyway – I’d definitely recommend it! (And the Warp Core Breach. Also, try Leeta’s soup du jour–)
What do you miss most about DS9? Steady job? Professional camaraderie? Craft services?
Boy, you really got me. How did you know that my favorite part of being an actor is the free cappuccino?
It’s funny what you miss. Being in the make-up trailer with that incredibly talented team. Being at Paramount at 5 a.m…I was usually the first person on the lot other than security and my makeup girl. The moon was still out. And it was very quiet. Joyful. I do miss those days.
I miss being part of that team, working with that gang, working with the actors who were starting to direct. And especially I miss Rom. Max, too, but Rom separately. He was so very sweet to be around, and kept me laughing. Those were good times.
Geez Louise, I sound like the end of “Our Town.”
Terry Farrell. Do you recall the mood on the set knowing she was bowing out of the last season? Was there animosity at all? Did Nicolle DeBoer coming on as Ezri feel a bit left out of the DS9 family?
I don’t think there was any animosity at Terry leaving. She could have stayed if she’d wanted, and everyone had the option of leaving. Actors generally keep each others’ professional decisions in a separate place emotionally, because we all have had to make tough ones.
And we’ve all been the new kid on the block. I think we did a pretty good job at welcoming Nicole, because we know how hard it can be. It’s especially hard doing guest stars, because you’re the new kid on every show you’re on, it’s like trying to blend in with the cool crowd, you know? And by the time you start to do actually do it, you’re done.
Rick Berman. Criticism of his handling — some would say mishandling – of Star Trek is everywhere these days. Recently, Garrett Wang of Voyager charged Rick with not being a hands on producer, that he was never on set and basically sought to advance his career at the expense of Star Trek. Can you shed any light on this from your experiences with producers on DS9?
Rick Berman was always very good to me; I wasn’t around on the level that Garrett was, and I don’t know the specifics that his frustration involved. Also, Voyager was a very different show, with different personalities & complications that DS9 didn’t generally have (thank God).
In my eyes, our producers could do no wrong. Seriously. I think our whole cast felt that way. They wrote beautifully, cast a winning team, and put the show onscreen, on time, and on budget every week for 7 years. It was the #1 syndicated show in the world when we left the air. It touched a lot of lives, even years later, in a lot of ways.
Each of our producers went on to do fabulous work, but it wasn’t that they advanced their own images or careers in order to do it, as you’re saying Rick did. They’re just plain damn good. That’s all I know.
JJ Abrams. Do you think it’s wise to do a prequel? When all is said and done, is Star Trek mainly about Kirk and Spock, at least in the most commercial sense?
It’ll be a tough sell for some fans because obviously Shatner & Nimoy are etched so indelibly into our minds. It would be like having someone else play Seinfeld. Still, Zachary Quinto seems like a good choice for Spock–
No, I don’t think that ST is mainly about Kirk & Spock – there are just too many other great stories involved. But the visual images and acting styles of the cast of TOS are definitely synonymous with the Trek legacy. JJ Abrams is a great creator. I hope he & Paramount commit to have the film speak to faithful fans of the show, & not solely try to bring in a new audience. It’ll be a huge challenge to satisfy both, but I hope it happens.
Talk about Of Gods & Men: Xela is an Orion Slave Girl. Here your dancing definitely comes into play. How fun was it to play an icon of Star Trek? Did you study Susan Oliver’s classic performance for inspiration?
It was SO FUN doing XELA. Really just a blast. Partly ‘cuz I’m such a Susan Oliver fan, especially since she was on the cover of Geek Monthly, which is my lifetime goal. I love working with Tim Russ, he’s a fabulous director, and the script was good and dark…it was overall a yummy experience.
But it’s not easy being green…I mean, it was Everywhere. I’ll just leave at that & not ruin the image of Susan Oliver & the rest of us girls cavorting in our tiny slave-suits.
Manticore. This Sci-Fi Channel Original Film impressed me on every. It had an Alien vibe – isolated group struggle against a savage, powerful beast. Robert Beltran and your excellent, full-bodied performance are why it’s a favorite of mine. Was it fun? Are you as satisfied with it as I am? Am I “Mad” over Manticore? Am I a certified Manticore Maniac? Shall I start a Manticore Fan Club? Well, you get the idea ; )
Ummm…I have to go now… Security…?
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Your episode of E.R. is fondly remembered. Of the current crop of shows like LOST or Grey’s Anatomy is there one you’d love to guest or even land a recurring role?
Not surprisingly, all the DS9 alum writers’ shows are really on. The 4400 is spellbinding. Battlestar Galactica is such an amazing show. Medium is hauntingly good. Other than those, Lost is still very intriguing, and there might be room on it especially now that they’re home. Or “Dr. Who”, definitely. Let’s do it!
Ugly Betty seems like a fun idea, but they only cast supermodels, I think.
Talk about your new movie Yesterday Was A Lie. From what I’ve seen on the website – it strikes me as an atmospheric, film noir – yet also appears to be quite intellectual, even philosophical.
“Yesterday Was A Lie” is one of the best scripts I’ve ever read. It’s the brainchild of award-winning writer/director, James Kerwin. I’m more excited about it than anything in a very long time.
The film, done in classic black & white, deals with theories of quantum physics explored in the 1930’s and 40’s by Feynman, Wheeler, and Schroedinger, as well as other experiments done more recently at MIT and other labs. It raises questions about the nature of reality and time. So it has elements of sci fi, which might also be sci fact, as we’re beginning to understand.
It also contemplates the issue of social responsibility, which is a core issue of mine, and one, which a lot of people don’t ever address. I play a singer who the lead character comes to know; she’s a noir anti-heroine, with an extremely interesting journey. And the threads of symbolism are amazing… truly. In this film — the more you look, the more you see.
In addition to being one of the leads, I produced the film, which could be a whole ‘nother interview someday.
I don’t want to give too much away. Check out our site, http://www.YesterdayWasALie.com
Celine Dion was digitally paired with and sang with Elvis Presley on American Idol. If you could sing, dance or perform with an entertainment idol of the past whom would it be and why?
Wow, what a cool question. My ultimate dream would be to sing & dance opposite Gene Kelley, but who wouldn’t? Second to him would be none other than Donald O’Connor. Or maybe Tommy Tune. Or Vivian Blaine or Gwen Verdon. Or Rita Moreno, just for the electricity factor — those ladies really lit it up.
I know, I know, I was born too late. I did get to sing with Jimmy Darren in Vegas. That was pretty much a dream.
Any other upcoming projects or anything else you’d like to share?
Okay, fine! About Manticore. Just kidding, it was fun. Tripp Reed is a really good director, I think we’ll see more from him. I loved working in Bulgaria, with UFO (the film production company. And Beltran was great to work with, as always.
Sci Fi Channel fare (I call it “We scream, we point, we get eaten”) isn’t generally rocket science, it isn’t meant to be, but it can be fun to shoot. I’ve turned down a lot of horror/scifi because it’s very often stuff that’s bad for the soul, in my opinion. But some of it can really be intriguing, with deeper meanings than those seen at face value.
Talk about your music.
I’m extremely excited about what’s happening musically right now. I sing 4 songs in “Yesterday Was A Lie” and we’ll be recording those in the next week. After the film wraps, I’ll focus more on putting a new band together for music of the Golden Era, all that fun, romantic stuff that Ella Fitzgerald, Julie London, Frank Sinatra, Deano & the guys sang.
I have two CD’s out, Thrill Of the Chase and AD ASTRA! We’ve gotten some great reviews. Check ’em out. Chase Music.
And your charity work. What’s happening there?
That ties into the music. A portion of the proceeds from CD sales goes to a really worthy charity. My fanclub has been raising money for some time now for different causes through ebay auctions (thank you so much, Club President Stompy Hollo!), including the Foundation For Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa, http://www.FHSSA.org.
Lately, I’ve been making donations to Iris Ministries, a children’s charity in war-torn Mozambique. The people who run that, Heidi and Rolland Baker, have a policy never to turn away a child who needs help. There’s some amazing stuff that God & people are doing there. Check ’em out. http://www.irismin.org.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share these memories and thoughts with me, Chase!
Thank you, Will! I appreciate it — God bless you!
