What is in the dark always comes to light, that message lies within R. Kelly's cult hip-hopera series, "Trapped in the Closet" which will once again see the light starting this Friday.
The series rose to popularity in 2005 and saw new installments regularly through 2007. Kelly recently announced in an interview that 20 more chapters of "Trapped" are going to be released on IFC.
The series has become famous for its ability to show the power of a person's lies and infidelity and the shock wave of destruction it can cause in everyone's lives.
No matter the scenario and how far fetched it might seem, the series is deeply rooted in reality. Yes, that's right; there are people who thrive on this level of drama.
I recently had the pleasure of chatting over the phone with "Trapped" stars Rolando and LeShay T. Boyce. They are best known for their roles in the series as Cathy and Rufus - the couple whose relationship drama seems insurmountable.
Thanks for taking the time out to chat with me today. I'm sure you both are glad to be working on the series again; it has to be a lot of fun. How did it all start for you the both of you?
LeShay: It's amazing. Seven years ago, it was an audition for one R. Kelly music video, maybe two or three. We get to the set and then realize that there's probably going to be five of them. Then it turns out that he has written all of these chapters, but at the time we only knew of 10 additional chapters. Now, we're up to 23 and probably to infinity.
Rolando: The first time we were on set, we knew that this was going to be different. It was definitely something that had never been done before. We had a sense that it was going to be something - we just didn't know how people were going to respond to it. It seemed to get a response from everyone though, it was spoofed on a major awards show, "South Park" did something on it, Jimmy Kimmel did and so did Weird Al Yankovic. It was huge.
Everyone who watches will get something from "Trapped in the Closet." What does each of you get from the show?
Rolando: Everyone had a secret, all the secrets came out. For me, I just played the character as real as possible. Although I couldn't personally relate to it, I knew that there were people - especially people in the ministry, Pastors and such who were dealing with secrets. I wanted to play this as honestly as possible.
LeShay: I agree with Rolando. I think the reason that it is so popular is because there is truth to it. There are people that have multiple relationships. There are people who are trying to balance their homosexual life and their heterosexual life, or they are wannabe gang bangers. It's not even a hidden message anymore, it's a thru line. These are real characters with real life issues. Even though it's staged in a humorous way, a lot of the feedback out there is 'Oh, I know someone who went through that same thing.'
Although they were already acquainted prior to doing the show, Rolando and LeShay met again during the series and got married a few years.
But, uh... For drama you'll want to stick to Rufus and Cathy, they seem to have that covered. Watch the newest chapters of "Trapped in the Closet" on IFC starting this Friday, November 23rd.