Whereas drama, I think, is more open and free to interpretation <STRONG>BSW:</STRONG> Patricia, I once heard Ray Romano say that the reason you won the role was because you were the only actress who would kiss him at the audition But she was the one [character] who I had to make up what her background was It's funny, I had a similar situation to Doris in that I had a babysitting problem, and I needed to get in and out of there gif" width="300" height="250" alt="Click Here" border="0" /></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><table class="adtbl2" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="width:180px;border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="width:180px;border-collapse:collapse;padding-top:20px;padding-left:15px;"><tr><td><table class="bg5_1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td class="bg5_2"> </td></tr><tr><td class="bg5_3"><table class="bg5_4" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td><table class="mh_outer5" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="width:150px;border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td><table class="mh_inner5" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td><span class="mh_txt5r">More on TV</td></tr></table></td></tr></table><table class="box_wt5" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="width:150px;border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td class="tb5" valign="Top"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td align="Left" valign="Top"><a class="vl6" href="http://entertainment And I thought that was hysterically funny But I think Debra has her own stuff she carries around with her <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> For the sex <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> Patty's an extraordinary woman The Emmy-Winning Women of 'Raymond' <FONT size=3>For Patricia Heaton and Doris Roberts, it's all in the timing </FONT> <EM>By Jenelle Riley Back Stage West</EM> If "Seinfeld" was a show that made history for being about nothing, "Everybody Loves Raymond" is its kinder, gentler cousin -- a program that has won fans and accolades for making a big deal out of every little thing We all were just sort of feeling around And it's interesting, I was actually directing a play, and I had no time msads Elsewhere It's also apparent that "Raymond," unlike "Seinfeld," will never get the chance to get old It's extraordinary com/tv/netcal/?netcal=125">Reality TV</td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="tb5" valign="Top"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td align="Left" valign="Top"><a class="vl6" href="/tv/article Are the Emmys starting to feel like old hat now? <STRONG>Doris Roberts:</STRONG> Never So on top of all the great acting, she uses it in a smart way to do humanitarian work And this is our last year, so it would be great Everybody else came with a family structure, a background, everything We both have now worked for Neil Simon: I did "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" onstage, and Patty just did "The Goodbye Girl" for TV, and if you change the rhythm of it, you won't get the joke Two of the performers, =/celebs/celeb To juggle that many things and do the work she does on that show, it's amazing <STRONG>Patricia:</STRONG> We had like one rocky week the first year where, I'm not a writer, so I didn't know how to say, "This is who [Debra] is," and I wasn't completely sure myself It just really made it clear what her background was and where she was from and what a strange marriage match she had made for herself Both performers have taken roles that could have easily veered into familiar territory and instead created two of the most indelible and true women on television today I'm a woman who's very right and uptight but in the early stages of Alzheimer's But even when the improv was about something serious, I tended to find humor in it; people would always end up laughing Yesterday I had my first surfing lesson Prior to "Raymond," Heaton was probably most recognized for her dramatic work on such programs as "thirtysomething" and "Party of Five," roles that never hinted at the life and originality she would bring to frustrated housewife Debra Barone So I felt sorry for them, I didn't find them unpleasant people <STRONG>Patricia:</STRONG> I'm sure that's true You're not worried about what they think of you If you give him an hour and a half, he can also get it done in an hour and a half I have great compassion for those women It has a lot to do with timing, you have to be able to hear the way something should be said <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> Yes, she's anaesthetized And that's very much the way the show is <STRONG>BSW:</STRONG> Can you tell me something that it might surprise people to know about you? <STRONG>Patricia:</STRONG> Doris goes out four or five nights a week -- she's got her acting class, she goes to the opera, she goes to little theatrical productions, she goes to New York to see every play that's out there msn I saw a woman this morning in a coffee shop who was bopping around to the music, and she was so out of time I could not believe she could be that bad And that's a very special thing And I don't think people know the amount of work she puts in for children affected by AIDS And all those people I've worked for who have written comedy -- Terrence McNally, for instance -- same thing <STRONG>BSW:</STRONG> Did you have to fight to get your part on "Raymond"? <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> Over a hundred women read for it And, yes, they are intrusive and control freaks, but I've learned not to do that with my own children <STRONG>Back Stage West:</STRONG> You've each won two Emmys for playing these roles I didn't add lines and I didn't change dialogue, but my contribution is my contribution, and I'm very pleased because I walk a very thin line <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> It's a rhythm That's how I treat her <STRONG>Patricia:</STRONG> I have found myself attempting to do more things since I've started working with Doris And the best thing is, we not only like each other and that's not bull, we trust each other And what's good about that is it gets you work, but you have people who think you can't do anything other than comedy, and I fooled them this year, I think <STRONG>Patricia:</STRONG> Right, the sex we never have " "Raymond" also features one of the best ensembles on television, a group of actors whose work has become so fluid and reliable that four of the five cast members have already won Emmys for their roles, and the show received this year's Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series So I think that was sort of my bent They are fabulous, every one of them And Meisner is a lot of improv aspx?c=301736 class="art">Patricia Heaton and =/celebs/celeb Whether it's a battle of the wills between spouses over who will be first to move a suitcase, or a brother's laziness in planning his sibling's bachelor party, the cast of "Raymond" manages to find laughs in some of the most universal and unlikely of places But seriously, I don't know how she does it <STRONG>BSW:</STRONG> When it came to developing these characters, did you have a lot of input with the writers? <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> They gave me freedom And as her nosy mother-in-law, Marie, Doris Roberts has found a whole new legion of viewers who remember her work on such programs as "Remington Steele" and "St 1??PID=2231114&UIT=G&TargetID=1032920&AN=23770&PG=ENT9AQ" target="_blank"><img src="http://global Then when the kids go off, they feel that they have no purpose in life and are obsolete And we do our jobs expertly well, then go on and have our own life <STRONG>Patricia Heaton:</STRONG> I'll be really happy if the show wins, because I think we deserve it, and we're an ensemble cast msn We work four days a week, so we work very quickly, we have very short lunches, there's not a lot of hanging around com/0AD0000S/621779 aspx?c=167058 class="art">Doris Roberts, have won the award twice in their respective Lead and Supporting Actress categories What prepared you to do a sitcom? <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> I wasn't trained in comedy, but I think it's one of my talents </td></tr></table></td><td valign="Top"><table class="adtbl" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="width:300px;border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" style="width:300px;border-collapse:collapse;"><tr><td align="Right" style="color:gray;font-size:7pt;">advertisement</td></tr><tr><td>="http://g And my agent said, "You have not been up for anything, and we have an appointment for you Monday afternoon She has four boys We were showing each other pictures of our kids " I said, "I can't," and she said, "Yes, you can, we talked to your producer, and you have Monday off And sometimes -- and I think Doris would agree with this -- when you're distracted, you need to get going, you're free It helped when they had actors come in as my parents, and we decided we were from Connecticut and were sort of opposite to the Barones, a more upscale family <STRONG>Patricia:</STRONG> It's the alcohol Elsewhere" (for which she won her first Emmy, in 1983) If you break the rhythm, you're in trouble She's single-handedly organized so many events and appears at these events and gets all of us to appear, which we're happy to do I had no problem If you change an if, an and, or a but in comedy, it can kill the joke " It's not that I didn't want to do it; I was in over my head with the play I was directing It really is like a musical score: There's only a few interpretations that really work Not only that, if we win, we will be triple-crown winners You're more likely to have actors changing the words in a drama, and it doesn't make that much difference And if there was an opportunity, here or there, to deliver a line differently or something, the writers didn't know me or my character well But women of that ilk, that age group, were never taught that they should do anything but get married at a very young age, have babies, take care of the family How she handles all of that is beyond me net/ads/2609/0000002609_000000000000000093379 It's more like the kind of work I did on "St When this year's Emmy nominees were announced, "Raymond" was the only sitcom whose entire cast received nominations Because I see Doris with her grandkids, going to their laser-tag birthday party, and she's in there with the goggles on and the gun, and I thought, Of course, why shouldn't I take a surfing lesson? I've learned so much from her Star =/celebs/celeb I think maybe some people have questioned why someone like Debra may have married someone like Ray If you give him five hours to do something, it will take five hours It's like, Let's get down to business, do the work, and go home Four! A husband, a household, all kinds of involvements in producing and reading plays and pitching and doing all that I guess that's a fight We come prepared, we're not wasting any time, and we all have lives to go back to <STRONG>BSW:</STRONG> Before "Raymond," neither of you was particularly known for comedy But unlike "Seinfeld," Raymond is also a show with a heart, filled with characters that genuinely care for one another and occasionally allow it to show She has a passion and joie de vivre, and it keeps her young and healthy <STRONG>Patricia:</STRONG> I studied with a guy named William Esper; he teaches Meisner Technique at Rutgers University in New York and a private studio in Manhattan I don't think rhythm can be taught An actor will expand the amount of time he needs to fill the amount of space you give him And those children are to eat with a spoon And then she'll have her vacation in India I think comedy is a little more of a craft; it's very musical aspx?c=70047 class="art">Ray Romano and creator/ executive producer Philip Rosenthal have claimed that next year will be the last for "Raymond So it took a little while for them to hear my voice No, Ray and I really hit it off " So I'm proud of that I did a Hallmark movie ["Turning Homeward"] where's there's not one laugh And I prefer that She never hit one beat aspx?news=156518">2004 Season Finales It's very specific <STRONG>Doris:</STRONG> I also think we're all grown-ups She hasn't