Jul

21

Exclusive Interview with Eden Riegel Plus the Latest “Imaginary Bitches”

Filed in: celebrity by admin on 07-21-08

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Eden Riegel is the center of the web hit called “Imaginary Bitches” that walks into a new realm bitchy meets funny. She technically fills the role of 3 characters. Eden plays a woman facing the solitude of being the last in single girl in her close knit group of friends. To battle the blues of being lonely Eden invents a few imaginary friends.

Riegle, commonly known for her Emmy award winning portrayal of Bianca Montgomery on “All My Children,” was kind enough to sit down and let me poke her with some questions.

Cara: Your character invents some friends to seek solace in after being snubbed by her real friends. What was your first reaction to the concept of adult imaginary friends?

Eden: “I basically said “Bring on the Bitches!” from day one. Andrew, my husband and the creator of IB, sent me the first three scripts while I was on location for a film, so I was introduced to the idea in the context of the show, not in the abstract. Because of that, I guess, it didn’t seem so off the wall. Just clever and nutty and all kinds of fun. And it made me realize that many of us, myself included, are really just one step away from having imaginary friends. If you ever talk to yourself to psych yourself up for a date or ask for a raise, or to stop yourself from eating another bowl of ice cream, or if you ever hear those nasty voices in your head saying you’re too fat or not pretty enough, then you can relate to our story. My character’s inner voices are just louder and more fun. They say all the things we might think but would never dare say. They are definitely bitchy, but they are also helping my character get in touch with who she is inside. In the past if she ever had a mean or unpleasant thought she stuffed it down and tried to ignore it. But you can’t ignore it forever. Now the IBs are forcing her to deal with this stuff. And she is becoming much stronger and more secure in herself because of it.”

Cara: Obviously it is a bit more challenging to carry on a “dialogue” by yourself. Do you find it at all daunting to have a reaction to someone who isn’t there?

Eden: “It’s so fun. I always get the sweet girl parts so this will probably be the only time in my career that I get to say totally raunchy and nasty dialog. On IB I let the audience know what the imaginary girls are saying by responding to them and repeating choice barbs. So I get all the fun lines! It’s hard doing whole scenes with just myself. It takes a ton of preparation because I have three times the lines to learn. In rehearsal I figure out what the girls say throughout the scenes, and then I just imagine their lines and react to them in real time. I gotta tell you, when I am in the middle of the scene, I would bet non-imaginary money that they are real. They are weirdly starting to come alive for me. It’s spooky.”

Cara: “Imaginary Bitches” digs into some sex driven content that knows no bounds. Are you ever offended by the material?

Eden: “I’m definitely titillated by some of the stuff. It’s edgy! And there are some lines that make me blush and giggle so much that I need to bite down on the inside on my cheek to keep from cracking up when we shoot. But I love it. None of it is really that offensive and it’s all in good fun. Our show may be about a crazy lady and her bitchy alter-egos, but it, perhaps surprisingly, has a lot of heart. It all comes from a very sweet place. Part of the comedy is that this girl is so nice you can’t imagine these total bitches could have sprung from her mind.”

Cara: What is your favorite episode and why?

Eden: “My favorite episode hasn’t aired yet…. I don’t want to give it away! But my favorite of the ones we’ve aired? Episode 3. I think that’s the one where the series started to gel. Brooke is trying so hard to get through to Eden, because she really loves her. But it’s just not enough. To me the show is so interesting because there’s no bad guy (I mean, except Jessalyn, of course!). All of the characters are striving towards intimacy, and failing every time. I also love Episodes 5 and 6.”

Cara: We have all had our bitchy moments. What was your bitchiest moment?

Eden: “Only my husband gets to see me at my bitchiest. When I’m tired I get cranky like a little baby. It ain’t pretty.”

Special Thanks to Eden Riegel for taking the time to answer our questions!

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