Attorney Diane Miller is well-prepared when she heads into the courtroom on General Hospital. Her portrayer, Daytime Emmy winner Carolyn Hennesy, knows something about preparation. She talked to Soap Hub about her work on the trapeze for this week’s installment of Wellness Wednesdays.
Carolyn Hennesy — Mastering the Trapeze!
There are many ways to work out while also challenging your mind. Hennesy found a unique way to accomplish that by studying the trapeze.
Soap Hub: How did you come to working out/performing with the trapeze?
Carolyn Hennesy: It’s a particular discipline. You have to keep up with it because the body will forget. Yes, there’s a certain amount of muscle memory that comes along with having done it for five years, but some of it is lost if you don’t do it for a few weeks. I’m a spring chicken in my head, but there’s a certain reality that sets in. I’m so glad that I’m still doing both the static trapeze and the flying trapeze at this point in my life.
The trapeze is lovely. With most workouts, you do your workout, you take a post-workout shower, and you walk out of the gym, and then it’s forgotten. At the end of my [trapeze] workout, I’ve slowly built a routine that makes people’s jaws drop on the floor. Who does the trapeze? Doing the trapeze works muscles in your body that you didn’t even know you had.
Soap Hub: What’s the sensation like of being up in the air and you see the bar coming that you know you’re going to reach out and grab?
Carolyn Hennesy: It’s like lifting yourself up to God. It’s the closest feeling I will ever get to actually falling — not free-falling but actually launching myself up. It’s an instantaneous accomplishment. When you catch your partner, and you work with that partner, it’s like a wonderful ballet — a ‘pas de deux.’ Two people of the same mind. They’re trying to launch you up and get you back to that bar. It’s a tremendous trust exercise.
Soap Hub: How did you first become introduced to the trapeze?
Carolyn Hennesy: Many years ago, at university, I was in Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors, which has a circus scene. The two female leads in that play were set up on static trapezes. I launched myself into it, and I got into the best shape of my life — except for the shape I’m in now. I worked on my character’s monologues. I was speaking Shakespeare while hanging from my ankles. You can’t beat that.
I felt so at home on the static trapeze, really at home. Also, I feel at home on a sound stage, in my own home, and when I’m up in the air. Those are the places I’m most happy. It was a very short leap — no pun intended — from the static trapeze to the flying trapeze.
Soap Hub: What else is part of your wellness routine?
Carolyn Hennesy: Hydration is key. I’ve also discovered a liquid called Methylene Blue. It’s a clothing dye, but research has shown that it can be critical in staving off Alzheimer’s and UTIs [urinary tract infections]. I make my fresh fruit and protein smoothies each morning with whatever fruit I can find. I grow my own Kombucha and [drink] detoxifying tea. I try to keep the pathways — neurological pathways, blood pathways, and digestive pathways — as clear as possible.
Soap Hub recommends discussing with your physician or other health professional before embarking on any new wellness plans. Check out the post below to see Hennesy in action on the trapeze. In addition to her appearances as Diane on GH, the actress can also be seen on the Los Angeles stage on Saturdays from September 10 through October 15 in The Secret World of Archy & Mehitabel at the Whitefire Theatre in Sherman Oaks, Calif. For reservations and information, including up-to-date Covid policies on the day of each performance, call (818) 687-8559 or go to Whitefire Theatre.
General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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