Last weekend, two of the lead cast members in ABC Family's "Greek" rushed the UF campus to celebrate homecoming and promote their partnership with the "Pledge Yourself to Do Something" campaign. Scott Michael Foster and Amber Stevens, who play Greek members Cappie and Ashleigh on the show, sat down to discuss the series, the campaign and their experiences visiting UF.
The actors rode in the parade and then prepared for an autograph signing in the UF Bookstore. Later that night. they crowned the homecoming king and queen at Gator Growl.
When asked about the show's impact on their visits to colleges across the nation, Stevens explained, "Everyone that comes out to meet us at these bookstores are all pretty pumped, and they really like the show and they think that we do a good job of portraying their lifestyle." Foster noted that it's not just students who greet them, but also alumni who "come out and say that we've done a great job portraying the [college and Greek] experience."
That experience is well-documented on "Greek." The series' writers continually perform research at universities to ensure a fresh perspective on what students and Greek members are involved in.
"I've learned so much about the Greek system just by working on this show," Stevens said.
Maintaining that realistic depiction of Greek affairs, the show integrates philanthropic efforts. In addition to various PSAs and previous involvement registering viewers to vote, the show and its cast has partnered up with DoSomething.org for the "Pledge Yourself to Do Something" campaign.
The campaign, which combines the charities of Girls Inc., Global Green USA and Cancer for College, aims to generate community involvement between college students and viewers.
"We want to show that philanthropy is a really big part of the Greek system…and actually get our personal lives involved in this charity as well," Stevens said.
Foster discussed his own role with a fundraising auction for the Cancer for College, a charity that provided college scholarships to cancer survivors.
Foster (who has acted in independent films and is currently recording a CD with his band Siren's Eye) and Stevens (who has recorded a song for ABC Family's upcoming film "Santa Baby 2" and hopes to launch a career in the music industry) both appreciate the involvement "Greek" has provided them and their status as role models.
When asked about what to expect for the Nov. 2 season finale of "Greek," Stevens said, "The episode is about song fest, where all the sorority houses have a sing-off, dance-off performance [to compete for the best house on campus]. It's a really fun episode because it's like a big music video at the end."
Asked about the season finale and what it might entail for his character's on-again/off-again relationship with the character of Casey Cartwright, Foster laughed and gave a surprising response. Viewers are "definitely gonna get some insight on the episode before the finale…you're gonna get some relief about the storyline and find out some things that you've been waiting to find out," he said.
