It’s a warm winter day in what looks like a once-abandoned warehouse that abuts the San Gabriel mountains at the far reaches of Burbank, Calif., dozens of young extras dressed in fancy garb mill about and raid the craft services table under a tent. Meanwhile, inside, it’s easy to recognize pieces of the fictional Hester High, a hallway here, a lunchroom there. The cast and crew of Faking It, MTV’s hilarious and thoughtful exploration of queer identity that also lovingly skewers extreme liberalism, were hard at work on the back half of season 2.
Enter Rita Volk, the 24-year-old Duke grad who’s handily won the hearts of Faking It fans as Amy, a teenager who realizes she’s in love with her best friend Karma (Katie Stevens) after the pair fake being a lesbian couple to gain popularity at their aggressively progressive high school. And although she’s just come from shooting a scene, Volk sports a simple white button down shirt that reveals no secrets about what’s in store for Amy. if Faking It’s past episodes reveal anything, it’s that Hester High’s kids have plenty more secrets to uncover in the upcoming season.
The series, from out creator Carter Covington was initially met with pushback over what many perceived would feed into the old stereotypes about lesbians and bisexual girls putting in on for show and minimizing abiding love between two women. But those who stuck around to the end of the pilot when Amy and Karma seal their deception with an intense, very public kiss that sets Amy out on a journey of self-discovery, soon knew that Faking It was anything but fake.
Volk imbues Amy with a humor, pathos, and vulnerability that is often the heart and soul of the comedy. But beyond the central Amy/Karma relationship Covington has created a world that features the fearlessly out and proud Shane (Michael Willett), and television’s first intersex character Lauren (Bailey De Young), who is also the consummate mean girl. The series also boasts impressive guest spots including one from Orange Is the New Black’s Laverne Cox.
The show’s second season has Amy striking out beyond her once devastating love for Karma and dating the super cute Reagan (Yvette Monreal), whose is truly into and all about Amy. The pairing has spurred the inevitable Team Karmy (Karma and Amy)/Team Reamy (Reagan and Amy) feuds among fans, but no matter where one falls on the spectrum of fandom, there’s no doubt that when Faking It returns tonight, Covington and crew will continue to explore the ever-expanding range of gender and sexuality.
We chatted with Volk on the Faking It set where she discussed the fans, Teams Karma and Reamy, her favorite moments with costars, and just where Amy falls on the spectrum.
SheWired: You didn't work with the venerable Laverne Cox when she was on the show, but did you get to meet her?
Rita Volk: I did.
How was that?
It was awesome. I love the show (Orange is the New Black). Everyone loves that show, and it’s breaking so much ground.
It just felt like we (Faking It) were getting out there -- that we had someone of that caliber on that show on our show. It felt like we were doing something important, so it was very symbolic.
But you’re doing something important. Are you aware of that from day to day or are you just thinking that you’re doing your job?
I think that more and more we realize that. We have a nice little team thing we got going on. But absolutely, the more out there we get, the more fan mail we get, or recognition we get, it’s a daily reminder. As you can see, we’re on set all day, so we live in a bubble. But something will happen, like we’re nominated for something or we’ll show up at an event and get a key to the city… And we’re like, ‘Oh my God, we’re out there in the zeitgeist.’
I’m always interested in feedback from fans, especially with this show, which appeals to people who are at that time when they may start questioning themselves. What recent stories can you share?
Generally it’s been younger girls who have said that this show has been a resource and an outlet for them – that they don’t see characters like this in high school, with people questioning themselves. I actually just got a fan letter from a 7th grader, and her English assignment was to write to a person that she admired, and she chose me. She was like 12. And that’s really young.
How did you like Amy’s journey in getting a girlfriend?
It was a necessary journey. I’ve said this before - I’m very protective of her and what she represents. Obviously she doesn’t know who she is yet and that hasn’t been established, and it probably won’t be for a while. She’s figuring it out.
I think for a duration of time in season one she was under Karma’s thumb- as her friend and then developing feelings for her. As her friend she (Amy) kind of steps back and she’ll kind of let Karma have her moment because Karma is kind of all over the place, and they don’t care about the same things. Amy has to step back and just say, ‘I’m just going to keep my mouth shut and let you do your thing.' She puts her self on the backburner, which is a testament to how loyal she is as a friend.
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How does Amy’s relationship with Reagan fit in with all of that?
I definitely wanted Amy to have more of a sense of identity and her own independence and I think Reagan was a representation of that, of her getting out of this Karma relationship. It’s great because they’re still friends, but Amy needed to explore something else that was her own thing. It was important.
When I spoke with Carter (Covington) he said that you and Yvette had ‘electric’ chemistry. What’s your response?
She’s so sweet and she’s just really fun on set. We’re laughing half the time. I mean, that helps. It helps to not fake the chemistry, right? It just clicked. I was there for the audition process, and you don’t know what people are going to be like. You can say that you think there might be chemistry or it might be good but you don’t what people are going to be like day in and day out on set. Luckily it clicked, and it has clicked with everybody here.
So there's no on-set drama you can spill about? Not that you actually would…
No on-set drama yet that I know of. Maybe they all hate me. I don’t know -- hopefully not.
What sort of fan feedback have you gotten from the Reamy relationship?
Oh they love her. And they love the relationship. And there’s the whole Reamy and Karmy thing going on now. It’s a battle…they love it. I’m not allowed to say who I choose because someone’s going to hate me, but they were both necessary relationships.
On a slightly more serious note, how much attention do you pay to feedback on Twitter and discussions around Amy’s identity. Are there people who want to claim Amy as someone who identifies as they do, or have fans been accepting of the fact that Amy is on a journey of self-discovery?
We’re trying not to label her, not because we want to give everyone what they want in a way, but more importantly because I think that’s just realistic, to be questioning… People are on a journey. But yes, I’m very conscious of the fact that they want to put that label on her. I don’t want to give any idea that she might not be a lesbian, but she doesn’t know, and we don’t know, and that’s okay not to know.
People are very protective and territorial of her and I think that’s a good thing. She is a special character.
Can you share with me your favorite scene or time on set?
There’s a really great detention scene. I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say but…
So there’s an homage to The Breakfast Club coming up?
Almost. I love all of the scenes when we are all together. Season one was a lot of me and Katie, and obviously we are great together, but it’s nice to have everyone there. You see how the show moves along by having all of these characters.
So there's a scene when we’re all in detention, and let’s just say things come out. Everyone has their drama and secrets and people just start expressing themselves and calling each other out. All at once there’s this outpouring of everything that every character is going through. It’s almost like the height of where everyone is. So there’s a lot of tension. It’s a great scene.
Speaking of ensemble scenes, I think one of my favorite episodes so far was when Lauren and Shane have her ex-boyfriend tied up in a chair wearing S&M gear, and the whole gang shows up.
Oh my God, that was so fun. We were not doing our jobs that day. Because there were dildos everywhere, and strap ons… we were just laughing and totally be 12 years old.
What would you like to say about this season or about the series in general?
I sound stupid saying this because I say it every time, but I really do think it gets better and better and better. The writing is so much better. I mean, it was great from the beginning, but I think everyone is finding a groove.
It’s interesting what happens because you see you becoming the characters and the characters becoming you -- because I think the writers see in us what they put in.
I think it’s truly becoming an ensemble. Everyone is getting more of a story. You don’t want to just see me and Katie. You’ll get sick of us -- Amy and Karma all the time. Everyone has something interesting going on, Lauren is intersex, we’re going to learn more about Shane, and then we’ll get more of Liam’s background. It gets even better.
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