NM: Can you expound on the themes of faith and family a little bit more?
JM: With my character, Principal Guidry, there is a scene where a student hurts himself, and one of the themes is that we come together, for his safety, health, well being. It’s refreshing…it’s an ongoing conversation in front of and behind the camera. How will we instill this in episodes to come?
NM: It’s not a very preachy script, but doesn’t shy away from individuals’ faiths and what they believe. Is that accurate?
description of how you want to see the show perceived?
BK: Exactly, and it’s kind of a modern way of how even some churches have done things. More casually, and we’re trying to do the same thing. We want to convey good ethics, good Christianity, good Buddhism, other religions and how everyone can work as a community as a whole and as a school. A lot of those religious themes have been extracted from television now, and that’s one aspect of our show. We show a lot of family life, a lot of sub characters, what happens behind the scenes and the home, school and church life. We’re trying to put them in to make it interesting and to stand out. In addition, we have a more dramatic edge, a little more harsh and in your face. Like in real life.
NM: Erin, can you describe your character? What is her name?
Erin Morris: My character’s name is Erin O’Byrne, changed from my real name. She’s a drama student…She’s a tough girl, very smart. I was with them (Joe and Bryan) in To Inflict, and that’s how I found out about this. I met them through Hercules, then To Inflict, and now Up On High Ground.
JM: And we hope many more.
NM: Matthew, how did you get involved?
Matthew Becker: I got involved because of working with BK and Brayden Patterson and a lot of the other cast and crew on Hercules with David Malone. BK approached me towards the end of that project and said “Hey man, we’re looking to do a TV show and we’d love it if you’d do it with us, and I was like “Yeah man, I’m interested.” And it just escalated from there.