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'Trading Spaces Family' takes a spin on UD ice
While Santo-Tomas stood shivering, Farrell, Walker and Dewar donned skates and took to the ice with varying degrees of success. While Walker skated with ease and even executed a few spins, Dewar and Farrell, who said they had never skated before, perfected the art of stopping by slamming into the acrylic panels that line the rink. As the film crew arrived, Farrell rehearsed the show’s famous opening lines, welcoming the audience to Delaware for the show where ”two families have just two days and $1,000 to spend completely redecorating one room in each other’s homes.” The sound man wired the participants, and a makeup artist applied blush to Walker, as Santos-Tomas, known for covering walls with such unusual items as straw, feathers and old LPs, said she hadn’t brought any of those supplies to Delaware. “No, I’ve already done that. I would never repeat myself,” she explained. As taping began, Walker and Santos-Tomas wandered into the coaches’ box and prepared to judge Dewar’s skating on a scale of 1-10. When it was his turn, Farrell looked into the camera to deliver the opening as senior pairs skaters Emma Phibbs and Michael McPhearson whirled and twirled effortlessly behind him. The skaters train at UD where McPheason is majoring in business. Phibbs is a senior at Newark High School who will enroll in UD next year. During the filming, Kathleen Blake, one of three producers on hand, said the day is what the crew calls “Day Zero” of the taping in Delaware. “On Day Zero we shoot the opening and then go directly to the homes where we will be working,” she explained. “It literally takes us eight hours to set up Carpentry World, [the area where the carpenter builds items for the designers to use in the home]. And, since we are dealing with children ages 9-19, we spend this day playing with the younger ones and talking with the older ones so they can get to know us and be at ease on camera.” Blake said the cast and crew, who seem to operate as a family themselves, call themselves “the Traveling Circus—we’re always on the move, rolling into a new town for a couple of days at a time,” she said. Days One and Two of taping begin with morning calls at 7:30 a.m. in whatever hotels the group is lodged. Typically, the group arrives at the homes to begin the room makeovers at 8 a.m. on Day One and Day Two and stays until at least 8 p.m. at night. Families who participate are given “homework,” projects to finish up after the crew departs and typically continue working until about 1 a.m., Blake said.
Thousands of actors auditioned there for the role of host and carpenter, Blake said, with Farrell and Dewar winning the parts. The crew films in the north in the spring and summer and heads south to warmer climates in the fall and winter, Blake explained. Homeowners can apply to be part of the show online. After about 20 families from one geographic area have applied, producers contact the families for telephone interviews and decide to visit about 10 homes to check out the personalities and rooms involved. From those 10 families, the final set of two neighbors is chosen. The cast on “Trading Spaces Family” has to be able to interact well with children and teenagers, Blake said, and most of the time it is a great experience for all. Teenagers are especially fun to work with, she said, always supporting the most outrageous room designs and colors. Afternoon basketball breaks with the families and crew are built into the schedule of Day One and Two, she explained. After their shoot in the Rust Arena, the traveling circus pulled out for the two Newark homes to be featured in the segment, although no one would disclose a specific location. For more information on “Trading Spaces Family,” its cast and crew, visit [http://tlc.discovery.com/fansites/tradingspaces/family/family.html].
Article by Beth Thomas To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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