While Glee is on a long midseason hiatus, the cast and crew are hard at work with new episodes, set to debut on April 13th. Recently, I spoke to one of the show’s stars, Dianna Agron, who plays the pregnant, former cheerleader Quinn Fabray. Fabray spoke about what’s to come on the show, including the return of Kristin Chenoweth and Joss Whedon directing an upcoming episode.

Question: So last we saw, all the secrets were all out. Can you talk at all about when we pick up what’s going on for you guys?

Dianna Agron: Quinn’s still pregnant and moving toward having that baby, and she is focusing on other things. She’s not down on herself; she’s not focused on feeling sorry for me, myself and I. It’s about moving past it in a healthy and strong way and being present in high school and these newfound friends. You’re really seeing all these characters who we’ve nicely set up who they are in these first thirteen [episodes], and so we get to come back and play. People know who these people are, so let’s show them more and let’s really get into it. And that’s what we’re doing, and it’s so fun. I think everyone will be really, really happy with where things are.

Q: Finn found out the truth and was furious with her, so where is Quinn living now?

Agron: She’s not in a box on the side of the street, I promise you. [Laughs] Quinn wouldn’t like that. She likes to dress nicely and be well groomed even though her stomach is growing. No, everywhere we left off is where we pick back up again.

Q: Are you happy to be rid of the cheerleader outfit?

Agron: I am very happy. It’s a cold place. The cheerleading outfit is a cold place. There’s not much fabric, and I wasn’t a cheerleader in high school, so I kinda fulfilled that in the first thirteen [episodes]. Or not even the first thirteen; the first six. Who knows, she might be back; I might be cold again. But right now I’m enjoying the dresses.

Q: Besides the Madonna episode, what are you really excited about in the second half of the first season?

Agron: Gosh, we have some amazing guest stars coming. Olivia Newton John… Amazing. I mean, I don’t know if you guys grew up with Grease, but I certainly grew up with Grease. And, yeah, Idina Menzel is coming,who I can’t wait to meet. Lea Michele knows her very, very well. And Kristin [Chenoweth] is coming back, who I adore. Everything’s so exciting

Q: Who would be your dream guest star?

Agron: Christopher Walken. I’m telling you… I have said this. This might be the fiftieth time I’ve said this, so I’m just gonna keep saying it and keep saying it. It might never happen, but I’m gonna keep saying it. I think he’d be amazing. He’s so funny. He can dance so well; I’m sure that he can sing as well as he can dance, and I’m convinced that he would be perfect.

Q: Are you excited to have Joss Whedon directing an episode?

Agron: Yes, I love Joss. You know, it was so funny, because we were joking around when we had met him and said, “Why aren’t you coming over to Glee? I hope that you direct an episode.” And he responded with, “I hope I direct an episode, as well.” Then we found out weeks later that it had been in the works, and it was official. It was so wonderful. And on top of that, we have all the directors that we love, of the first thirteen, coming back. It’s good when you know you’re in such safe hands. We trust them so much, and we’ve seen what they’ve done for our show and our characters up until now, and this world of Glee can be very fun but very quirky. The show is definitely in a very specific area where if you don’t know that are very well, you might not get it and you might miss stuff. So we’re very lucky that all these people are coming back and that we have such an amazing creative team.

Q: Is there a musical number you’ve done that’s a favorite?

Agron: Up until now? I would say “Somebody To Love” because we did that at the Upfronts, and that was the first “Wow, this is actually happening” moment for me. Just being in New York and seeing the billboards and seeing the huge balloons… Glee was everywhere in New York that weekend. You almost feel like it’s a dream. You’re staying in this beautiful hotel, and everywhere you can see are advertisements for your show. It’s the, “Pinch me! Pinch me all day long,” type of thing.

Glee returns April 13th on FOX.

Source: IGN

The TV Addict: When we last saw left Quinn, the identity of her babydaddy’s father was finally out in the open. What can you tell us about what happens when we return?
Dianna Agron: While Quinn is still very much pregnant and moving towards having that baby, she’s not down on herself and not in any way feeling sorry for herself. Quinn’s all about moving past the drama in a healthy and strong way and being present in high school with these new found friends. If the first thirteen episode were all about setting up who these characters were, the rest of the season is about saying, “Let’s just have some fun with this.” I’ve read the first three episodes and they’re so delicious, amazing and I think that everybody will be really really happy where all the characters are headed.

Now that the secret’s out in the open, where is Quinn living?
She’s not on a box on the side of the street, I promise you. Quinn wouldn’t like that. She likes to dress nicely and be well groomed, even if her stomach is growing.

And speaking of Quinn’s expanding stomach, is it a relief not have to dress as a cheerleader every day?
I am very happy. Cheerleading is a cold place. There’s not much fabric and not being a cheerleader in high school, I kind of got to fulfill that fantasy in the first part of the season. Right now I’m enjoying the dresses.

Do you have a dream guest star?
It might never happen, but I’m just gonna keep saying this: Christopher Walken. I think he would be amazing. He’s so funny and I’m sure he can sing as well as he can dance. But we have some amazing guest stars coming up. Olivia Newton-John, who loving Grease I grew up with; Idina Menzel, who is good friends with Lea Michele and I can’t wait to meet; and of course Kristin [Chenoweth], who is coming back and I adore. It’s very exciting.

Is there anything you can tell us about Joss Whedon’s upcoming stint as director?
I love Joss. The world of Glee is in a very specific area and while it can be fun it’s also quirky and if you don’t know that area very well you might not get it. So we’re very lucky to have Joss and really, all our great directors.

Has the success of the show sunk in yet?
My pinch me moment came during the May UpFront in New York. You’re staying in this beautiful hotel, seeing the huge billboards, giant balloons, Glee was everywhere in New YOrk. I almost felt as if it was a dream.

Source: http://www.diannaagron.net/?p=265 Dianna Agron always knew she wanted to be in showbiz. The San Francisco native even scrapped college plans to move to Los Angeles and chase down her dream. But when she faced her potential big break—a starring role on Fox’s musical sensation, Glee—she almost didn’t get out of the car to attend the audition. “I was nervous out of my mind,” recalls the 23-year-old. “I was sitting in the parking lot thinking, Are you going to do this or are you going to walk away?”

Source: Women’s Health

Rachel obviously has some strong feelings for Finn (Cory Monteith). And she’s quite the little detective. Now that Quinn and Puck are in glee club, will she be the one to first discover that Finn’s not the baby daddy?
LM: Anything is possible. I think she really cares a lot about Finn, obviously, but [she also cares] about Quinn more than you realize. The journey our characters take, separately and together, I think is really great.

Will the kiss that Rachel shared with Finn impact that budding friendship she’s forming with Quinn?
LM: Isn’t that so great that Ryan Murphy didn’t make you wait [for their kiss]? It’s was like, let’s just throw [them together]. We’ll see. I think it’s safe to say that the love triangle between Finn, Quinn and Rachel is very active throughout the first 13 episodes.

And Puck, we can’t forget him in that equation.
DA: A square.
LM: It becomes a little square.

So I hear you girls already have a favorite guest star. True?
LM & DA: Kristin Chenoweth! [both laugh]

LM: Not that the other people weren’t amazing, but we just had the greatest time working with her, both off camera and on. She just is such an incredible performer to look up to.

DA: And I think with somebody like her, to be so talented, witty and charming in real life and behind the camera, and have so much respect from everybody on our set… a lot of them hadn’t worked with her before, but she didn’t have to demand respect, it was just [given to her] because she’s such a kind and generous person and so easy to work with.

LM: We really hope she comes back, that we get the opportunity for her to come back.

Is the door open for her character to return?
DA: It’s a possibility, yes!

Source: Zap2It.com

More recently, the cast have embarked on a mall tour, which has put them in direct contact with the newfound fans that single episode has given them, going into Wednesday night’s debut of the second episode. When that tour hit Los Angeles, and a local Hot Topic — on an incredibly hot day, that had myself and fellow journalists, Glee cast members and fans alike sweating up a storm — I stopped by and chatted with two of the show’s stars: Lea Michele, who plays the music obsessed, unpopular Rachel and Dianna Agron, who plays a conniving cheerleader named Quinn who is happy to torment Rachel.

The cast have actually already wrapped production on Glee’s initial 13-episode order, as they wait to see if the ratings warrant a full 22-episode season and the “back nine” episodes that would come with it. Speaking about the pilot airing on its own, Michele told me, “I think it was a really good little boost for us, to sort of push us through, but I think the great thing about us getting to film the thirteen without it being on television is we kind of had the privacy of just doing it because we loved it and because we believed in it. And then getting to air after Idol and getting the response it got was just really awesome.”

As for the tour, Agron remarked, “We walked in the first mall not expecting anything or anyone and there was all these kids singing ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ and their voices were echoing through the whole mall. And that was special – that’s something that we’re never going to forget. Every single time kids came out, it was, ‘I identify with this’ or ‘I so look forward to this’ or ‘This song, I love so much.’ With that wide range of reactions, it kind of lets us know that we’re doing a couple things right, and hopefully that continues.”

Michele added that she felt, “People are craving a show like our show. So many people have come up to us and are like, ‘Oh my gosh, finally a show I’ve been waiting for!’ A lot of moms too are like, ‘Oh great, a show I can watch that I can enjoy and my kids can enjoy as well.’ So yeah, I think we’re both really proud to be a part of a show that we both believe in so much.”

As for the antagonism between their characters, Agron and Michele both saw room for them to find some common ground eventually, with Michele noting, “I think that the journey that our characters take together is really amazing. We have some good ups and some good downs.” Added Agron, “It’s very well rounded. It’s an example of just phenomenal writing. ”

Within the first three episodes, Rachel (and thus Michele) has to endure having slushies thrown in her face by her classmates. When I asked if this would continue, she replied, “Let’s just say they stop throwing slushies in my face, but I did get some sort of fettuccini alfredo thrown in my face at one point. That was not fun.” She then made a knowing look toward Agron and remarked, “But those slushies, they’re going to be turned around on somebody else…” Agron laughed and exclaimed, “I don’t know who she’s talking about!”

Each episode of Glee features several songs performed by the cast, ranging from Broadway classics to contemporary rap. Referring to her favorite song they’d performed so far, Agron said, “There was one that we did in the thirteenth episode, so I probably shouldn’t call it out, but it’s something that my mom used to sing to me all the time as a child, and so when I read that in the script, I keeled over laughing. But there are so many great ones.”

Source: IGN

Just ask Cory Monteith, the Calgary-born, Victoria-raised cast member of one of the most promising network shows this fall.

The series, about a misfit group of high school students and teachers involved in a singing, dancing, glee-club band, officially launches next Wednesday on Fox and Global after a sneak preview in May, which was rebroadcast earlier this week.

One of the songs the cast performed on that preview show – Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” – soared to No. 1 on iTunes, a fact that astonished Monteith.

“To think that the first time I was recorded singing anything it went to No. 1 – it’s crazy,” he says.

The tall 27-year-old plays the all-American high school quarterback who risks his cool-kid status by becoming one of the “gleeks.” Interviewed last month at the Television Critics Association Fox press tour party, he said he and the rest of the cast have been working seven days a week for the past eight months cranking out the first 13 episodes.

“I’ve just been working and working,” he said. “We’ve been in a bit of a bubble since we began in February or March.”

Monteith said it took weeks to learn some of the dance numbers at the beginning. “Every moment that we’re not shooting the show, we’re learning the dance routines or choreographing the dance routines or recording songs.”

And all that work is paying off.

“The Internet buzz has been shocking,” Monteith said. “All of these people on Twitter and Facebook – it’s just startling.”

Monteith’s Glee co-star, Lea Michele, says she gained “5,000 Facebook friends overnight” after attending the Comic-Con convention in San Diego, Calif., in July. Monteith himself has a Twitter name he borrowed from his character’s nickname on the series: “Frankenteen.”

He is one of three Canadians in the Los Angeles production, including Montreal-native Jessalyn Gilsig (Nip/Tuck) as the scheming wife of Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), the noble teacher who runs the glee club.

Gilsig has the unenviable task of playing nasty on an otherwise joyous and uplifting series. Her character gets even more manipulative with a plot twist introduced next Wednesday that will rock Will’s world the whole season.

“I felt sorry for her at Comic-Con,” says Morrison, also at the Fox party. “We screened the pilot episode there and people in the crowd were yelling, `Dump her! Dump her!’ She’s terrified she’s going to get written off the show.”

The show’s third Canadian is B.C. native Patrick Gallagher (Da Vinci’s Inquest), who plays the Ohio high school’s obsessive football coach.

“He cracks me up every time,” says Jane Lynch, who plays the even more manipulative cheerleader coach/arch-nemesis Sue Sylvester.

Another Canadian, Victor Garber, will guest star in future episodes as Will’s father, a development that thrilled Morrison.

“I’ve always been a huge fan of his,” he says.

A Canadian songwriter/performer is also getting some Glee glory. An Avril Lavigne song is being featured in an upcoming number, and it is Michele’s favourite moment from the series so far.

“It was so touching and so moving,” said Michele, who didn’t want to give anything more away by naming the song.

Glee features plenty of music, but the cast doesn’t just burst into song for no reason.

The musical moments come out of the story room and are not forced, said executive producer Ian Brennan.

“It’s not about lawyers singing or doctors singing,” he said. “The music is in there. We just kind of let it breathe.”

Lynch, known for her scene-stealing roles on Best In Show and other comedy improv films, says she hasn’t been called upon to sing yet but she does do at least one big dance number. She loves playing larger-than-life characters such as Sylvester.

“She has to be the most scheming, unashamed, entitled person I’ve ever played, and I’m just adoring it.”

Source: The Star

HitFix: What do you think Glee gets about high school that maybe other shows don’t?
DA: I think that it shows that regardless of who you are and what group you belong to, that there are so many emotions behind each person in high school. Sometimes with teens, writers or directors, anybody, short-changes them and makes them be simple, simple individuals, you’re either the jock or the popular kid or the nerd. They don’t show those shades. Everybody has those shades to them. This show, it really expands upon vulnerability and excitement and anger all the experiences that you probably actually go through in high school.

HitFix: And you didn’t actually ever do cheerleading?
DA: No. I’ve been dancing since I was three, ballet and jazz and hip-hop eventually, but I didn’t have time. It wasn’t even something that I had time to think about wanting to do.

HitFix: And do you have a newfound respect for the craft now?
DA: I do, because I slightly hurt myself during the pilot, coming down from one of the stunts. It’s better now. I didn’t tear something in my knee, but I strained it. Knees are very sensitive, I’ve learned. It’s crazy, because I’ve been dancing since I was three on my toes and all these things. And you should never say this, but I’ve never injured myself ever. I’d seen gnarly injuries with dance and all these things. You shouldn’t say that, though, because every day is an opportunity to fall, hurt yourself, so that was my experience.

Glee premieres on Tuesday, May 19 on FOX and will return to FOX in the fall.

Source: HitFlix.com