Soap opera

A soap opera, soapie, or soap is a serial drama on television or radio which features related story lines about the lives of many characters. The stories usually focus on emotional relationships to the point of melodrama. The term soap opera originated from such dramas being typically sponsored by soap manufacturers in the past.

Origin of the genre

The first series considered to be a "soap opera" was Painted Dreams, which debuted on October 20, 1930 on Chicago radio station WGN. Early radio series such as Painted Dreams were broadcast in weekday daytime slots, usually five days a week, when most of the listeners would be housewives; thus, the shows were aimed at and consumed by a predominantly female audience. In the name, "soap" refers to the soap and detergent commercials originally broadcast during the shows, which were aimed at women who were cleaning their houses at the time of listening or viewing, and "opera" refers to the melodramatic character of the shows.

The first nationally broadcast radio soap opera was Clara, Lu, and Em, which aired on the NBC Blue Network at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time on January 27, 1931.

Justin Gaston

Justin Michael Gaston (born August 12, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter, model, and actor who was also a contestant on Nashville Star on season 6. He finished 10th overall out of 12 contestants. He portrayed the role of Ben Rogers on Days of Our Lives for less than four months in 2014.

He appeared on the magazine cover of Tetu in 2013.

Career

In 2005, Justin Gaston left his hometown of Pineville, Louisiana, to pursue a career in acting. Gaston first worked as an underwear model for Christian Audigier, Adidas, International Jock, and Hugo Boss.

Gaston appeared as Taylor Swift's love interest on her 2008 music video for "Love Story", and also appeared on the pilot episode of the television series Glee, which premiered on the Fox network on May 19, 2009.

In February 2010, Gaston began appearing on Simon Fuller's interactive reality show, the If I Can Dream webseries, which aired on Hulu. The show provided round-the-clock coverage of the daily lives of five aspiring stars who had moved into a house in Hollywood, California. Gaston's costars were Ben Elliott, Giglianne Braga, Kara Killmer, and Amanda Phillips.

Melissa Ordway

Melissa Pam Ordway-Gaston (born March 31, 1983) is an American actress and model. She has modeled in many campaigns and acted in such films as 17 Again and on television in Privileged. She currently portrays the character of Abby Newman on the drama series The Young and the Restless.

Background

Ordway was born in Atlanta, Georgia, an only child, to John and Christine Ordway. She began doing community theatre in Atlanta and also acting in theatre productions at her high school in Snellville, Georgia. She starred in the stage performances of Beauty and the Beast, The Women, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and many other shows. After graduating from high school, Ordway attended Georgia State University and is a member of the Delta Zeta sorority. While at Georgia State, Melissa was chosen to participate in a reality show on MTV called The Assistant. She won the show and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting and modeling. On September 22, 2012 she married Justin Gaston, whom she met during the filming of 'Escapee.