Okay, as an OPRF grad, it was weird enough watching High School Reunion. But it was even weirder seeing Tim Gittings on the show. During my senior year, I don't think I was acquainted with more than three or four freshmen, but Tim was one of them. We were in a student-run production of The House of Blue Leaves together -- my appearance as "Head Nun" was brief; his was even briefer as the "Man In White Suit" who carts one of the main characters off to the loony bin. But hey, we had fun. After the firstHSRrecap, Tim emailed me to say hi; he suggested we get a beer sometime, and agreed to be interviewed as well. We met up last week at one of the old-school Irish bars in Forest Park (because you can't drink in Oak Park), and between swapping stories about stuff like that one theatre party in that big-ass Forest Park mansion where someone stole the plastic tongue from that creepy taxidermied bear, he answered a bunch of questions. Oh, and before I start: HOLLY AND DAVE ARE TOGETHER. They're TOGETHER. They broke up but they got back together so THEY'RE TOGETHER. Now shut up. Wendola: I guess the first question I have is how this all got started. Like, how did OPRF get involved, and whose idea was this? Tim Gittings: First time I heard about it -- that any of us heard about it -- was through the ten-year-reunion website. [The producers] contacted the people who were running the website and were like, "Hey, this is a new show idea that we're trying to get started; please send this link out to all the people on your mailing list." And they sent out this link and it was to this whole application thing -- it was all these questions. It was kind of like a Cosmo quiz. Oh, yeah, I think I remember seeing that application. So then what happened? Well, you'd fill out your questionnaire, and then they'd email you back…they started emailing me a lot, and they'd be like, "Hey, can you loan us one of your yearbooks so we can check this stuff out?" And then at one point, as they were narrowing down people, they sent out a list of all these different girls, and they asked for my thoughts about all of them. I guess the girls got sent a similar list. And they kept trying to get me to talk a little more shit about people, but I wouldn't fill out "who's still the most likely to be annoying" or "who I wouldn't want to see at my reunion." I would tell them, "Dude, that's ten years ago."
[We digressed a little while and talked about our real-life, non-televised high school reunions. The OPRF Class of '92 held theirs at a Chicago bar where they had to be kicked out at closing time; allegedly someone puked in a storage room; someone else was caught pissing in a sink; there were rumors of people having sex in a closet; and a bottle of Captain Morgan was stolen. My class reunion, on the other hand, was held at a convention center and fizzled out around 11:30 PM. Reality show material we weren't. Anyway.] Okay, let's talk about the experience of being on the show. Yeah, I didn't really know what to expect. I don't watch a lot of reality TV to begin with. But it was interesting…it was kind of stressful, which is why we were drunk all the time. But once everyone started to be comfortable around everybody, we were a lot more fun. Like Jeff and Dave both seemed to hop right in and be at home. And Dan [Barbato], who just doesn't seem to be fazed by anything. It took me a little bit to ease into it. Were the cameras just everywhere? Oh yeah, they usually had like three or four crews on the floor at any given time. And then also they'd have hidden microphones all over the house. So they'd hear a conversation that they'd be interested in and -- bam -- there'd be a camera crew right there. Oh, that would freak me out. It was kind of funny -- we'd play around, just to fuck with them a little. We'd be sitting there and we'd be like, "Wait, you got together with so-and-so?! Are you kidding?!" Five seconds later the cameras would be there, and we'd be just playing cards, and were all, "What?" We knew there were hidden microphones, and we were never sure if there were hidden cameras, but I never saw any footage that would've been from a hidden camera. Well, except for the night-vision camera that got those shots of Dan and Natasha. Yeah, we didn't know about the night-vision cameras. That was kind of creepy. I remember you mentioned in one of the emails that you kept going out in the ocean to get away from the microphones. [laughs] Summer and I called the ocean "the office," and we'd talk there a lot. Yeah, now Summer and I -- when I saw her show up, I thought, "Okay, there's a point to all this." We really did have some bad blood and some stuff we wanted to reconcile. We both were pretty into that idea. We hung out all the time, and we were kind of each other's touchstone. Especially by the middle of it all, when it started getting really weird.
How was that? It was crazy -- there was a period during the middle of the whole stretch where nobody was sure what was going on. You'd completely lost touch. Because [the producers] did such a good job of pressure cooking -- of keeping you in this insulated little world -- and everything started to get turned around, like things you knew really wouldn't be important in the outside world started to become paramount. Was that about the time things like the cocktail party started happening? Yeah, there was all this sort of crazy shit going on. But then everybody kind of lightened up a little bit more, and it was back to good fun. Did you guys have to hang around with Mike Richards? He was hardly ever around. Pretty much all he'd do is wake us up with the gong. Yeah, that doesn't endear you. Yeah, well, he didn't want your love. Tough job. You know, I think they should hire Jeff to be the host of the one. That would be great. They need someone who doesn't have so much of that guidance-counselor vibe. Yeah. How do you feel the show as a whole turned out -- in terms of the whole high school reunion concept? Overall, I was pretty happy with the way everything turned out. They kept saying, "Look, we're not trying to make you look bad; we think there's an interesting story here," and we actually doubted them a lot. But in the end -- I think they were very honest. I think a couple times they might have spliced a couple things together, but it was so minor that it wasn't a big deal. Do you think they should do anything different time? I think they could make it a lot better by not dumbing it down so much. Not focusing so much on people hooking up and drinking. There was a lot more going on besides that. Yeah, a lot of people on the boards were saying, "I bet there's so much more going on in the house." I think people really would have been interested in seeing that. And even with the hooking up -- I mean, Amy and Chris went on two Hall Passes, and they went to Prom together. And that was never built up as a story. Yeah, we were also beginning to suspect that there were a lot of Hall Passes that we weren't seeing. Pretty much everyone got a Hall Pass, or went on a Hall Pass. Except me. Really? You didn't? Never did. Well, they were really trying to get me to make me a romantic play for Summer, and I kept saying, like, "No, I'm not going to do it." I mean, that was part of my feelings for her, but…you know, that's not where it's at. The friendship is a million times more important. So they were trying to get me to make more of a move before they would give me my Hall Pass.
Well, that sucks. But do you feel like everything got resolved with you and Summer? Oh, yeah. It wasn't the way I pictured things working out, but it wound up being exactly what I wanted to happen. I mean, I wound up being reconciled with Summer and also got to share a really cool and special moment…so that we didn't just have bad memories to look back on. Yeah, what was up with that stuff? When she was telling that story about how you didn't ask her to Prom and then you'd shaved your head or something? That wasn't me! She was blaming ME because I didn't go with her to Prom and the guy she wound up going to Prom with did that. Ohhh, okay, because on the show they made it sound like you wouldn't take her to Prom and then you freaked out and shaved your head, like you'd joined a cult or something. Heh. Yeah, I guess they did. So when you were watching the show, was there anything that came as a complete surprise to you? I had NO IDEA that Nicole had those kinds of feelings for Dan B. We were ALL like, "Oh, my God! Oh, Nicole." Well, in some of the interviews it sounded like that she was kidding a little. Yeah, they tried to get you to say the craziest things, and if you joked about it, they'd catch you. I kept on having to be like, "I'm NOT going to say that. Ask me another question." [We talk about the various local viewing parties, and I mention how thankful I was that nobody in the cast kicked my ass. We talk a little about the press Natasha has been getting, and wonder whether the show will have an impact on her acting career.] Who knows? It could be an opportunity. I know for me, I had to put those thoughts out of my mind before going into [the show], because it could hurt my career a lot more than it could help it. I mean, if I'm trying to be doing serious acting…like, chances are, the director over at Chicago Shakespeare is NOT going to be watching the show and be like, "There's my Hamlet!" Yeah. But if it helps me get the word out about my band and helps me sell a couple more CDs, then why not? And I got free beer and free food out of it. Um, I'm not paying for your food. [kidding] Okay, this interview is over. Was there anything that didn't make it on the show that you think should have? Oh, there was a ton of stuff. There was one night when Jeff did impersonations of everyone and it was so fucking funny. There were a couple big group moments where everyone was together and having a great time, and that was one of them. Another night Ben and I were sitting by the pool and I started playing the harmonica, and I had my eyes closed, and the thing I know everyone was there and they all cheered…that was probably the most personally significant moment for me the whole time I was there. There were probably a million moments that they didn't show.
See, on the show it looked a lot more like, well -- people would go on dates, and everyone else would just be stuck at the house. They always made the house look like everyone was just sitting around and drinking. But, like, one of the places were the best conversations consistently took place was in the little exercise room. I think they showed it only once. But we'd be in there all the time, like Maya and I would do Pilates there, and talk about whatever. And Dave Goodman would always go in there before he knew something big was coming up, and he'd be all, "Gotta get my swell up!" And then on the other side of the house would be the smoking deck, and Ben and Jeff and a lot of people would be out there smoking and stuff. Yeah, they almost never showed anyone smoking. Well, we kept putting pot on the grocery list, but they'd never get it for us. But did they get you whatever you wanted otherwise? Yeah, once we figured that out, we started requesting all kinds of things. Mo [Maurice] was really into making the lists up. It was weird because sometimes they'd get us really cheap food, but then they'd buy us $30 bottles of liquor. Heh heh -- sometimes I wondered if you guys were in a total drunken haze the whole time. Well, there'd be a lot of drinking, but you wouldn't necessarily be drunk. Well, some people were shit-faced drunk every night…and then after awhile they started getting shit-faced drunk every day. I think I would. Oh -- another thing that didn't make it on the show? The night me and Jeff K did our testicle tricks. [choking] Sure, Puppetry of the Penis sells out when it tours around the country, so we thought we'd bring it to the WB, right? We thought maybe they'd show it because people's reactions were just classic. Oh, God. You guys didn't do "the hamburger," did you? I'm sorry to say I know what that looks like. That, and also "The Red Balloon." Mention "The Red Balloon" by name, that's all I ask. Yeah, and now I'll never again think of that sweet little French film when I hear that name. THANKS. Man, if you wanted to hear some Summer squeals -- she was like "AAAAAIIIIIIIAAAAAAUUUGGGGHHH!!!!" Okay, I totally have to change the subject now. [Note: Tim had ordered a hamburger, which didn't help things. Also, it occurs to me that maybe I should have verified with Summer or someone else that these testicle tricks actually did occur, but obviously I was too traumatized, and whether it's true or not, if I had to visualize this, I think it's only fair that the rest of you do, too.]
So who won those mock elections? Well, we made up some of our own categories because we didn't like all the ones that the producers gave us. Patricia cleaned up that night -- in addition to Prom Queen, she won Best Female Body. Dan P. won Best Male Body -- or Sexiest, or whatever. Chris was The Most Likely To Succeed in The Ten Years; Ben was Most Improved; Dan Barbato was Still Stuck In '92, which -- well, whatever, I mean, I still like to listen to BloodSugarSexMagik. Mo got Best Cook, because he cooked all the time, Sarah got Best Mom, because she really kind of took care of all of us…you really didn't see that on the show. Yeah, we really didn't. She was a lot of fun, and she totally became part of the group really quickly. Like, when we played Century Club [a drinking game] one night, she put everyone to shame. Like, she was the only girl who could keep going, and a lot of the guys dropped out before her, and at the end it was her and me and Jeff, and we were just plastered. So did you ever worry about what would make it on the show? I mean, everyone does and says stuff that they regret. Yeah, they were pretty good about that. They had a psychiatrist there -- Oh yeah, I read somewhere about that. -- and a couple times she came and talked to all of us, and that was kind of weird, and [the producers] said, if there's anything you feel really uncomfortable about, let us know. And you could say, "You know, there was that one conversation…" And it turns out that practically none of those made it on the show. Really? Wow, because there were a few moments on the show that seemed like Major Regret Moments. Like when Sarah flashed her bra. Oh, no. She did that all the time. Oh! Okay, then. So did anyone get voted Most Annoying? No, we didn't do that. See, the thing was that all of us really liked each other and got along. I mean, I guess we kind of knew that [the producers] had a show that they needed to do and everything. But we got to a certain point that we wouldn't go past. We all got along and weren't going to fake like we didn't. The impression I got with Barbato and Natasha was that whatever there was between them, they were really comfortable with expressing it. I think Natasha definitely embraced this as a real opportunity and she jumped whole into it -- you know, more power to her. So did Dan, so did Dave, so did Jeff…I think Jeff came out looking the best out of everybody. He was just awesome. Yeah…you know, I wish they had shown more of everybody.
Yeah, it seemed like some of the others there were just there to have a good time, and didn't have a problem with anyone else, and so they just got less screen time. Definitely. You know one thing that really surprised me -- okay, I spent a lot of time making fun of Dan Barbato and his man boobs during the show, and all the posters on the boards were like, "Oh my God, what does Natasha see in him?" But when I saw him in person I was surprised at how much taller he was, and…I hate to admit it, but you can see that he sort of has it going on somehow. Yeah, the thing with Dan is that he's just totally himself. He's always himself in all circumstances and he makes no apologies for that. He's just like -- well, if you don't like him, he doesn't care; it's not that he wouldn't want people to like him, then it's no skin off his back. He was just really cool to hang out with. Yeah, and by the end of the show a lot of people on the boards were beginning to come around to him and were like, "Okay, Dan's all right." Incidentally, one of the best boxing matches that one day -- because everyone fought -- was Dan P. and Dan B. Wait, you guys all boxed? Oh yeah. And the Dans -- that was an epic battle; that was the heavyweight bout. Because both Dans are big, like Dan P. is pretty cut, and Dan Barbato's pretty fucking strong. They were both dishing it out. That was a good fight. So what were some of the other fights? Natasha and Maya got in the ring, and they were just kind of kidding around, but then Summer and Sarah got in the ring, and they totally went at it! Like, at first they were joking around, but then Sarah hit Summer in the boob, and so Summer clocked her on top of her head, and then it was this huge fight. It was awesome. Oh, that would have been great to see. I'm sure there are guys who would pay to see that, too. Yeah, the boxing was so much fun…Jeff K. and I fought, and we were the only ones to make it through three rounds. It was pretty funny, because I was supposed to fight Dave Goodman. I mean, we asked for all that boxing stuff, and when we got it we were trying to decide who would fight who, and Dave was like, "Hey, you want to fight? We're probably about the same weight and everything." He would've probably killed me, but I was like, "Sure, okay." But then at the last minute [the producers] were like, "Hey, we're going to have Ben fight Dave. Why don't you fight Jeff?" Because Jeff and Ben were going to fight originally. And we were like…uh, okay.
No kidding. They filmed an extra ending, which I'm so glad they didn't use. Because Dave didn't punch Ben out of the ring; Dave punched Ben pretty hard and then Ben dove out of the ring. Yeah, I was wondering about that, because it sure looked like he dove out when I did the slow-motion on TiVo. [We order another round.] Okay. Best moment that made it into the show. Well, personally for me, I'm really pleased with the way they shot that whole final day with Summer and me. They really could've played it different ways and made it look bad. I think they tried to give a really balanced representation of what happened, and that really pleased me. It was a really special time, and I'm really glad with the way it came out. I'm glad they showed at least some of the stuff on that bike ride. And we got plastered at that little lodge afterwards, and everybody was just having a ball. I mean, they showed little moments of a lot of the good times. Yeah, I could tell in those clips at the end there was a lot of that. I think one of the best times was right after the show wrapped. A couple people had to fly out, but the rest of us got to stay in the house an extra night, and they let us play music, and they had a stereo that pumped music throughout the whole house, because we hadn't been able to listen to music for a long time. [Note: for purposes of continuity, background music isn't allowed in most reality show living quarters.] We had this huge dinner and we all went out to this party with the whole crew, and we just got shit-faced. So have you been recognized a lot when you've been out? Yeah. The high-school-age attendance at my Pilates class has gone up a lot. And sometimes I've been out at a bar and someone will be like, "Hey, aren't you that dude from the show?" And I'll say, "I am if you buy me a beer." Does that mean I should pay for this round? [laughs] Yep.