Weekly: Do you think you'd be able to do this if you were still on OLTL?
Hutchison: No, I don't think so. I mean, now I can certainly. It's not stopping me from doing work, but I have to say that if I hadn't left ONE LIFE TO LIVE I obviously would not have probably [done this]. I've thrown my heart and soul and energy into this and that's why I think it's working. Although now that it's up and running and we've been able to bring some people on, we're beginning to delegate. The nice thing about this is that I don't feel like an actor who's just getting old waiting for the next audition. I'm helping and affecting change and I can see it. I'm really liking that. And I love producing. I've always loved producing. I'd love to produce in daytime, that's one of my goals.

Weekly: So how about ONE LIFE? Do you tune in every now and then?
Hutchison: I haven't had the time at all.

Weekly: Well they did mention your character, Gabrielle, the other day, for the first time in a long time.
Hutchison: They did? God. Oh, god. Obviously if it were my show I would have done things differently. And not just pertaining to my character. Boy, I'd love to get a crack at producing that show, I really would. I think I could put OLTL back on its feet, I really believe I could.

Weekly: What would you do?
Hutchison: Well first of all, I would absolutely pay attention to the history. No. 1, you cannot in daytime television ignore the history of a show. As soon as you start ignoring the history of a show, it is like you have cut the lifeline and you are now floating in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with not a single lifeline. No one will understand what they're watching. ONE LIFE TO LIVE is not the only show that's gone through ups and downs, they all go through ups and downs. But it is interesting, when the show, whatever the show it is, starts to pull away from the history of its own background, that's when it starts to lose people. It's a trust factor. You need to be able to trust your show, that it will be there, that you'll see the people that they got you interested in and you won't suddenly drop the storyline like a hot potato. That's where the pain comes in [for fans]. When they tune in and all of a sudden a storyline is dropped, it's like losing your best friend. Of course you're not going to make everybody happy.

But I give credit of course to the people that are there on every show. Frank (Valentini, executive producer) and I get along very well. He goes into every meeting wanting to make a successful show. He goes into every storyline wanting it to be a hit, he doesn't want the ratings to go down, he cares deeply about the show...I'd love to get a crack at that one day. Who knows? I'm certainly studying very hard. I come into New York and I shadow a couple of producers so I'm really trying to get a lot of producing under my belt.

Weekly: On the soaps?
Hutchison: Yes, because it's an area that I know so well. I've been in it for so long and I've been frustrated every time I personally get affected by a decision of a writing team and I always think, okay, that's fine, that's their decision. I never take it personally, I just take it as the direction of the show.

Weekly: Can you tell me what shows you've been working on?
Hutchison: No, I can't. I wish I could. It's such a long way off. I'm learning. This is a good thing to be my age and learning something new, this is a blessing. Because I'm not a spring chicken and it's awfully nice to find there's another area I can sink my teeth into and I can enjoy. I don't know all the answers, but I'm really excited to give it a try. Meanwhile, I get up on stage and do my little acting thing.

Weekly: And you're around your husband and sons all the time.
Hutchison: I know. Life is not so bad.

What's On Her Plate? runs for from Oct. 7-11 and Oct. 14-17. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $12 for students, veterans and seniors. Detailed information and tickets are available by calling The Copake Theatre Company at 518-329-2506.